I headed to the 606 Club to witness the phenomenal craft of vocalist Anita Wardell. She has been missing from London for the past four years while holding a teaching post in Adelaide, but now she has relinquished it and is is back here. Wardell’s Betty Carter celebration was a joy, and she has the skill and the jazz chops to do it. The room was packed with other singers, all seemingly awe-struck. And to anyone who comes out with the lazy trope that they don’t like scat singing, there is a simple answer: if there is any current singer who can change minds, it is Anita Wardell.
Sebastian Scotney.