Review: Grace Knight at The Ellington Jazz Club

Grace Knight at The Ellington Jazz Club
Friday, February 28, 2025

Icon of Australian music, Grace Knight, captivated audiences across her two standout performances at The Ellington Jazz Club on the weekend.

Knight’s versatility as a performer, both as the former lead vocalist of Eurogliders and as a solo artist, was on show as she took the packed room of devotees on a musical journey, transitioning from jazz to folk to soul to pop with both ease and grace (pardon the pun).

The Ellington Jazz Club, with its small stage and cocktail-style seating, was the perfect venue for an intimate evening spent with Knight and her talented band as she engaged the crowd with humorous anecdotes that gave an insight into the experiences that have shaped her life.

Throughout the course of the evening, the audience was transported from smoky jazz bars as she sang iconic classics like Fever; through to Irish pubs with sea-shanty-esque ballads like One I Love; through to Aussie bars singing Euroglider favourites including Heaven (Must be There).

The evening kicked off with Baby Won’t You Please Come Home, a sultry jazz number from Knight’s 2012 album Keep Cool Fool. This was a perfect introduction to the prowess of fellow band members, including Danny Susjnar on drums, Esther Henderson on violin, Philip Rex on double bass, and Sam Lemann on guitar. Led by Knight, the interplay between each of them was akin to a jam session…friendly, familiar, and supremely professional. It was a delight to watch and clear that they are not only professional but also personally attuned.

There was a step change for the second song of the evening as Knight described how her Fragile album, released in 2016, came about. Knight recounted how her former husband and Eurogliders band member, Bernie Lynch, had a heap of songs lying about that he’d written but never used as he didn’t think they were suitable for the band.

Over the space of one and a half hours, Knight went through each of them and selected 12 songs that became the basis for her album. The audience was treated to several of these through the course of the evening, including Wrap Me Up, Billy, Blessed and Lucky Me. Her rendition of Suffer Little Children, a cruisy emotive piece, was elevated with the awesome double bass and violin accompaniment from Rex and Henderson.

With an esteemed musical career spanning 40 years, the warmth and versatility of Knight’s voice is something to behold with her deep emotional resonance and ability to shift between genres with ease.

The audience was left spellbound when she performed her emotive love ballad Fall for You, before a complete change in tempo with her variation on the 1985 Eurogliders hit Can’t Wait to See You. And it wasn’t only Knight that sang this one, as she encouraged everyone to join in on the chorus.

The mid-1980s release of Eurogliders’ album This Island, together with their hit single Heaven (Must Be There), catapulted the band to notoriety. Knight’s role as the frontwoman was pivotal in their success, with her powerful vocals and charismatic stage presence making her a standout performer. The band quickly gained attention with its blend of catchy, upbeat pop music, combined with a touch of jazz and funk.

A testament to the talent of Knight and her band was deviating from the set list for the night when they indulged a special audience request to perform the iconic hit Fever, which was first released in 1991 on the Stormy Weather album. Initial concerns about whether she could remember all the lyrics were unfounded, and neither Knight nor her band skipped a beat, giving a flawless rendition to a very appreciative audience.

Many would have left The Ellington feeling like they had witnessed their own little piece of ‘heaven’ that night. And not only because they had personally witnessed Knight’s distinctive voice and ability to switch masterfully between so many different music genres, but also the way she engaged with both her band and audience.

Until next time, Grace. You’re welcome back to Perth anytime, and we eagerly await your next visit for another evening of musical mastery.

JOCELYN BIDDLE

Photos by Muhammad Imran