Acclaimed singer Eileen Hunter went from teaching in an Aberdeen secondary school to playing London’s top jazz venues including Ronnie Scott’s and the 606 Club.
Now Eileen will make a welcome return to the Granite City when headlining The Blue Lamp on Thursday.
Eileen taught music at St Machar Academy in Aberdeen in the 1990s before pursuing a musical career in England.
It was a leap of faith that paid off as the highly respected jazz singer has played iconic venues the Royal Albert Hall and the Savoy Theatre.
Eileen also released a critically acclaimed album on Jazz FM’s label Clifford Street Records in 2010.
Now the singer will return to a venue close to her heart.
Eileen said: “I can’t wait to play The Blue Lamp again, it’ll be so lovely.
“Some of the shows I played at The Blue Lamp were for the Aberdeen Jazz Festival which were fantastic fun.
“I taught music at St Machar Academy in Aberdeen before moving to Leeds to do a post-graduate in jazz and contemporary music.
“I had a fantastic few years there where I had wonderful tutors and met great musicians.
“It was where I cut my teeth. Then I moved down to London in 2000.”
Aberdeen offered ‘incredible start’
Eileen began performing live as a teenager in her father’s band Alastair Hunter and The Lorne Scottish Dance Band.
Performing in Aberdeen provided the initial launchpad to her career that led to playing iconic venues
She said: “Studying and working as a musician in Aberdeen gave me an incredible start.
“It gave me so many opportunities to sing and play as a flautist and pianist.
“Whether that was performing jazz, classical or playing for shows, or performing in them.
“I gigged from the age of 18 with my dad’s band, Alastair Hunter and The Lorne Scottish Dance Band, getting to travel all over the UK and abroad.
“Treading the boards in Aberdeen led to a performance for the NODA Centenary concert in the Royal Albert Hall.
“That led to theatre and concert work in London.
“All the while I was still working as a jazz singer and my love for the genre continued to grow.
“JazzFM released my album which led to many great gigs in London and to performances in the London Jazz Festival. I have been so lucky.”
Tribute to legend Blossom Dearie
Eileen will perform a tribute to iconic jazz singer and pianist Blossom Dearie at the Blue Lamp.
Blossom Dearie was a unique jazz voice of the 20th century.
Eileen said: “Blossom Dearie was such an incredible artist.
“When she lived in New York she sat in between the jazz and cabaret circuits.
“She sat in between the East Side and West Side of New York and played a lot of supper clubs.
“She wrote some beautiful songs. A lot of the songs she sang by people like Dave Frishberg were really witty.
“She carried off witty songs beautifully with a wry sense of humour.
“All the songs we perform will be from Blossom Dearie albums.”
Aberdeen based jazz musicians
Eileen will perform at The Blue Lamp with a band comprising Aberdeen musicians.
On the night she will be joined by Colin Black (guitar), Pete Lowit (double Bass), Richard Glassby (drums) and Matthew Kilner (tenor Sax).
She said: “I’m really looking forward to that. I have played with Colin Black and Peter Lowit before.
“It has been really lovely meeting Richard Glassby and Matthew Kilner.
“They are both fantastic musicians.”
The Blue Lamp ‘invaluable’ to jazz
Eileen’s performance is part of a series of Thursday night Jazz at The Blue Lamp shows.
Also scheduled are Hugh Pascall Quintet (May 12), David Lyttle Trio (May 19) and Rachel Duns Quintet (May 26).
The Blue Lamp is recognised as one of the best jazz venues in Britain.
After playing the Gallowgate venue saxophonist Rick Margitza, who worked with Miles Davis, said: ‘All jazz clubs should be like this’.
I will be at The Blue Lamp on Thursday 5th May! A lovely line up of Colin Black on guitar, Pete Lowit on Double Bass and Richard Glassby on drums. Fab musicians and some scrumptious songs from the incredible Blossom Dearie songbook!@JazzatBluelamp @JazzScotland1 @CreativeScots
— Eileen Hunter (@eileenhunteruk) March 17, 2022
Eileen said: “Venues like The Blue Lamp are invaluable.
“The Blue lamp has been such a fantastic venue over the years and so supportive of the music scene.
“Unfortunately at the moment, there are quite a lot of jazz clubs closing as they couldn’t survive the covid lockdown.
“A lot of them couldn’t access funds that were supposed to be available.
“They slipped through the net where funding was concerned.
“Luckily for the jazz scene, we have the amazing Nigel Price (jazz guitarist) who is very active on that front.
“He is a musician but a real activist in trying to keep the jazz scene going and helping clubs stay alive.
“It is fantastic Aberdeen has such a great venue in The Blue Lamp.”
