“Biggins' 'It’s A Man’s World' show is one with the potential to appeal to a wide audience, while retaining enough genuine jazz and blues elements to keep the purists happy”
Imagine if Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz and Cannonball Adderley were reincarnated in the body of a rural Shropshire Lass…. Imagine no more, and meet Becki Biggins.
The multi-award-winning singer, songwriter and saxophonist cites Donald Fagen and Michael Brecker as major influences, but her vocal and instrumental sounds, not to mention her smouldering looks, are from waaaaay back. Her first tour as a working musician, aged 13, was to the legendary Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and after such an auspicious and eye-opening start, she unsurprisingly fell in love with jazz music and its history. A couple of National awards and numerous TV and Radio appearances later, and Becki was ready to launch into a career which has already spanned 25 years.
Her new show and forthcoming album, It’s a Man’s World, is a celebration of great songs, written, popularised and inspired by good men performed by a strong, secure woman. Her abilities as a songwriter (she co-wrote three albums with Paul Hardcastle (19, The Wizard) which all went to No.1 in the US jazz charts) are also put to use in the show, as it’s peppered with her own stories and those she’s heard and collected over the years.
It’s a Man’s World ‘highlight[s] various sides of femininity with tenderness and poise’, says London Jazz News, and is a representation of the juxtaposition of Becki’s life - a girl-next-door, homemaker and mother on one hand, and a proud, independent, unashamedly sexy woman on the other.
Photo: Martin Hartley
Photo: John Lyons
Photo: James Hacker
Photo: Martin Hartley
Photo: James Hacker
Photo: Andy Torbet
The Band
John-Paul Gard (organ) is an accomplished hammond player, who fronts his own trio as well as performing with The Lee Goodall Trio and The Jon Dalton Organ Trio, based in Venice Beach, CA. Their latest album, Warm Ghosts in a Cold World is currently climbing the US jazz charts. JP has also recorded his own solo album, Come on Rita, and is endorsed by Roland UK and Electro Harmonix USA.
Andy Tween (drums) is not only an exceptional drummer, but also composes music for film, TV and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s drum examination syllabus. He has an extensive touring background, having performed with PeeWee Ellis, Fred Wesley, PP Arnold, Jim Mullen, Carl Orr, Jean Toussaint, Andy Sheppard and Dave Newton, amongst others.
Ben Waghorn (tenor saxophone) began playing in local bands in Bristol at the age of 14 and is now one of the most well-respected and in-demand saxophonists the UK has to offer. He has performed and recorded with bands including Kasabian, Goldfrapp and Portishead, and has performed in West End shows including West Side Story and Chicago. He has played alongside John Critchenson, John Etheridge, Damon Brown, Andy Sheppard, Gilad Atzmon and Steve Waterman, and is a member of the John-Paul Gard Trio.
“Most of all the audience loved Biggins, who presented the show with wit, charm and warmth... Her enthusiasm is infectious.”
— Ian Mann