Tina May (2)

TINA MAY - A WING AND A PRAYER (2008)

1. Maybe September
2. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home Toby
3. Who Can I Turn To
4. Sunshower
5. Too Late Nowby
6. Blue Narcissus (Black Narcissus)
7. Turn Out The Stars
8. When In Romeby
9. A Wing And A Prayer
10. Easy To Loveby
11. A House Is Not A Home

John Fordham The Guardian
A Wing And A Prayer Singer Tina May's understated chamber-group settings and soft ballads have not exactly grabbed the jazz public by the lapels. But while A Wing and a Prayer is a contemplative album, it's full of subtle activity. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To, a duet with Stan Sulzmann, is a standout track, with May's sliding pitching and airy sound dancing around his Cool School-inflected phrasing. Nikki Iles's piano is full of rich implications, subtle turns and mellow harmonies, and it's beautifully recorded: the deep resonances seem to come up through the floor. Iles slyly boogies alongside May on Who Can I Turn To?, while, on Black Narcissus, the pair are tied so close together that they sound like one instrument. But for fans of the orthodox romantic ballad, meticulously but freshly performed, it's a state-of-the-art exercise.

TINA MAY & NIKKI ILES - CHANGE OF SKY (1998)

1. Come Rain Or Come Shine
2. On The Dunes
3. Black Coffee
4. For Jan
5. You Must Believe In Spring
6. A Timeless Place (The Peacocks)
7. Still We Dream (Ugly Beauty)
8. My One And Only Love
9. Change Of Sky

"I first met Nikki and heard her play on October 13th 1995 when I was invited to perform by Sheffiled Jazz with the Nikki Iles Trio and the following evening we played in Halifax. I found her whole approach to the music refreshing and, of course, her stylish solos and ever sensitive accompaniment made me want to work with her on a regular basis. At the beginning of 1997 I asked her to join my quartet and I have been enjoying her work ever since." - Tina May

TINA MAY - vocals, NIKKI ILES - piano