Claire Martin, one of the UK’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists, and multi-award-winning composer, pianist, and big-band leader Nikki Iles have been frequent collaborators on the British jazz scene for over 30 years. Their work together spans intimate trio performances, special big band and orchestral projects, and critically praised albums.

In this wonderful project they bring together the arrangements of composer, arranger, and trombonist Callum Au to offer world-class ensembles breathtaking new arrangements and an unforgettable evening celebrating the great American songbook and beyond.

Claire brings her rich vocal sound and deep musicality to timeless classics made famous by the great divas of jazz—Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday—all expertly directed and conducted by Nikki.
In an evening featuring Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Porter, Bennett, and more, these two masterful artists deliver a joyful and heartfelt tribute to Swing, bringing their expertise and vast experience of big band and orchestra work to the stage. Past projects have included work with the BBC Proms, NDR Big Band, The Nikki Iles Jazz Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Big Band, WDR Big Band, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, to name but a few.

Claire Martin, awarded the OBE for her services to jazz, is a much-celebrated international singer, equally at home in sold-out concerts on the big stages, such as the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, with a symphony orchestra, as well as regular appearances at intimate, top jazz clubs, including London’s Ronnie Scott’s and New York’s Dizzy’s.

Nikki's recent work has taken her across the world as a member of the Julian Arguelles Octet, the Kenny Wheeler Big Band, Claire Martin, and “The North," a Scandinavian/Anglo/Canadian collaboration featuring Percy Pursglove and Anders Morgensen. With a parallel career as a widely respected teacher in composition and arranging, Nikki is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music.

Over the past fifteen years, Callum Au has established himself as one of the busiest arrangers and orchestrators in Europe. He has had the privilege of writing music for many international artists, including Quincy Jones, Jamie Cullum, and Randy Brecker, and ensembles, including the SWR Big Band, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Britten Sinfonia.