Jess Hitchcock ~ A Fine Romance ~ Songs That Made Me ~ Adelaide Cabaret Festival 24 Review

Cabaret  –  Music                   

Space Theatre Thu 13 Jun

Jess Hitchcock is no stranger to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival but tonight she has her first solo show and it’s a full house. With an incredible resume including fronting her own band, singing opera with Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, singing at the 23^rd AFL Grand Final, and with the likes of Paul Kelly and Kate Miller-Heidke it is clear she is a talented and well-respected artist, and we are in for a treat.

Without pomp or ceremony Jess wanders casually onto the stage with her three piece band of piano, viola and guitar. She does her own sincere Welcome To Country and gets straight down to it with a snappy version of Cheek To Cheek. Her jazz sensibilities are on immediate display as we hear her handle some intricate timing seamlessly.

What follows however is not a night of jazz standards as one might expect with the show title A Fine Romance  and then opening with this song. Instead we hear a collection of songs covering a myriad of genres from country to pop, opera and musical theatre. Along the way we learn about her early beginnings as a classical pianist, how she got into jazz and opera singing and some of the incredible opportunities she has seized along the way.

As well as being an excellent interpreter of songs, Jess Hitchcock is also a gifted songwriter, and many of the songs tonight are her own compositions from her first two albums, and they are impressive, especially her use of melody. The lyrics are also strong and heartfelt. Some standouts for me tonight are Unbreakable, a song about resilience with the powerful line “my life is not my youth”, and a sweet melodic ballad Stay With Me. The only song from the Unbreakable album not written by Jess is a strong song offered to her by Tina Arena – I Don’t Have The Heart.

Another gorgeous moment comes with a rendition of Archie Roach’s The Jetty. This was written by Roach when he was in Scotland and Jess’s performance enhances the plaintive mood to spine tingling beauty.

An equally gorgeous moment comes as she sings in language a lullaby from the opera Wundig Wer Wilura by Guy Ghouse and Gina Williams which she performed in at the 2024 Perth Festival.

Every Day My Mother’s Voice by Paul Kelly and Dan Sultan about Adam Goodes is a powerful inclusion into the set and helps underscore a message of resilience that seems to define tonight’s performance and Jess’s own songwriting.

Near the end of the set Jess tells us that she woke up this morning with hardly any voice left. Thankfully this doesn’t seem to have hindered things too much, despite no doubt adding to her nerves, as her rich mezzo soprano tones and her soaring range are captivating and compelling.

Concluding with a memorable version of Sia’s Chandelier Jess leaves the stage with a well deserved standing ovation.

4.5 Stars

Catherine Tune

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