So, I had my second rehearsal with the band this afternoon. And it went much, much better.

We sailed through the tunes, and while we still had to work on certain things, of course, something had definitely kicked in and we were sounding much tighter and more together and more, well, like a band.

After yesterday’s experience, I came to today’s rehearsal with two things in mind. One: that I would lead the band more, and be firmer about what I wanted and didn’t want (a trick which came in useful when D suggested bringing his keyboard in to add string sounds to a lovely ballad we’d just done). And two: that it would be a good idea to put a couple of CDs together for the guys - one a compilation of songs in my repertoire which they don’t know (eg. Nancy Wilson singing ‘Save Your Love For Me’, Harry Connick Jr doing ‘This Time The Dream’s On Me’); and the other, a copy of an album which I realised embodies exactly what I’m aiming to achieve with them: Dianne Reeves’ soundtrack to the movie Good Night, And Good Luck.

This soundtrack is, for my money, the best recent recording of jazz standards by a singer and trio (although the arranger, Matt Catingub, also features on sax). And what Ms Reeves and her band (Peter Martin on piano, Jeff Hamilton on drums, Robert Hurst and Chris Luty on bass, and Alex Acuna on percussion) have achieved is, quite simply, a great collection of standards performed wonderfully in a very straightforward way.

So, not surprisingly, it’s my benchmark for a what will be, ultimately, a gig which is solely about singing jazz standards with a trio in a straightforward way… six nights a week. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel - hell, I’m so straightforward, I don’t even scat sing - and besides, that’s not what they want me to do*. I’m also not aiming to copy Dianne Reeves in any way. But to make this gig as enjoyable as possible - for myself, the band and the audience - I need to aim for what she and her musicians proved with the Good Night, And Good Luck soundtrack. Namely, that you can perform standards in a very ’straight’ way, and provided you do so with taste, conviction and musicality, it isn’t the slightest bit boring. Indeed, hopefully, if I can even hope to aspire to Ms Reeves’ accomplishment, it’s not only not boring: it’s wonderful, sublime music-making.

(To hear what I mean, listen here).

*More on my discoveries about Malaysian musical tastes in a later post.