Live Review: Alma Zygier @ Bird's Basement
At one point, Alma Zygier references the number of mirrors and cameras in the room—she deserves the limelight, so it's best she gets used to it.
Alma Zygier (Credit: Kate Arnott)
We recognise the melody, and the lyrics sound familiar – holy crap, is that Don’t Be Cruel!? In the hands of Alma Zygier – backed by her dad Willy and Lachlan Mitchell on guitars, pianist Gideon Preiss, bassist Dan Witton and drummer Freyja Hooper – this Elvis classic is given a refreshing twist, pure without a hint of accusation or reproach.
Zygier’s personality shines through every nuance of her performance – a tilt of the head, raised eyebrows or lyrical arm gesture. She’s edgy despite her old-worldly musical influences (think Liza Minelli, but also fiercely original) and also has great mic technique. Those vocal runs during her take on Nancy Wilson’s (You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am! Flawless.
On the reg, Willy looks admiringly at Preiss (who mixed and mastered Zygier’s forthcoming LIVE album, which was recorded at Brunswick’s The JazzLab and is available for purchase from the merch desk this evening). You gotta love watching extraordinary musicians delight and astound one another during live performances. These players’ ace solos are routinely rewarded with applause throughout the evening.
While introducing Nina Simone’s Turn Me On, Zygier expresses her love for this new song to her repertoire, and we can’t help but wonder how she feels performing what she describes as “naughty songs” alongside her dad! After teasing her first set closer, That Old Black Magic, appears on her LIVE album, Zygier utilises a pleasing, gravelly grunt in her vocal performance.
The second set opener features just Zygier’s vocals accompanied by sparse hand claps from her backing band: “Please don’t treat me so doggone mean…” – Be My Husband is a recognisable highlight for Zygier stans such as ourselves. As is the jazz standard, Red Top – always a hoot.
At one point, Zygier references the number of mirrors and cameras in the room—she deserves the limelight, so it's best she gets used to it.
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We can’t get enough of the daughter/dad banter, either: Alma encourages Willy to “talk into the mic” while he explains that the song they’re about to perform, Smoke Rings, was the first to be recorded using the Les Paul-invented multitrack tape recorder. During her performance of this languorous song, she pronounces consonants ever-so delicately, and we’re completely captivated.
A Zygier-penned song, Go Home, makes a fitting closer. But our vigorous applause earns us one more song: Say Goodnight – from her dad and mum Deborah Conway’s Half Man Half Woman record (2010) – during which Willy plays the ukulele.
An extraordinary talent who is just beginning what will surely be a brilliant career with a soaring trajectory. Exquisite in every way.
Post-show, pretty much the entire audience forms a queue at the merch desk to purchase her LIVE album. We’ve been completely obsessed with Zygier since her 2018 performance to launch St Kilda’s The Fyrefly. She’s definitely One To Watch, and if you missed Zygier’s jaw-dropping rendition of The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights, which closed out a recent ep of Spicks And Specks, we’ve got you:
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