From suds to success in the music business (From Brentwood Weekly News)

From suds to success in the music business

9:30pm Tuesday 31st January 2012 in Sound Check By Neil D'Arcy-Jones

IF this is Lucinda Belle’s way of getting her sound out there, hopefully there will be more visits to Colchester.

But if the rumour mill is to be believed, this weekend’s concert at the Lakeside Theatre, at Essex University, may be your last chance to see a very exciting musician before she goes stratospheric.

Billed as the perfect tonic to beat those winter blues, Lucinda and her orchestra will be playing their infectious brand of Parisian cafe and gypsy-influenced jazz.

Lucinda, who until recently ran her family’s launderette in Balham, says: “I’ll be honest, this year is really about working on the second album and making sure that is right. But I’ve been wanting to do a lot more regional gigs to get us known elsewhere, so we’re fitting in a few gigs here and there.”

An internationally renowned harpist with a love of music which reaches from Django Reinhardt to Michael McDonald, Leonard Cohen to the Mamas and Papas and Queen to Debussy, Lucinda honed her skills playing harp in hotels. But soon she ditched that to become a jazz harpist in none other than Nashville.

Returning home to London, a new era began, where she earned a reputation as a songwriter and session player in the good company of Rufus Wainwright, the Pet Shop Boys, Jamaroquai and Robbie Williams.

She says: “It started when I was 16, when I really got into black music. I just got into stuff like hip hop, R&B and gospel. I had grown up playing the harp and at that age it wasn’t cool. I could just see myself playing in churches to old ladies drinking tea.

“Many years later I came back to the harp, and it went from there really.”

Lucinda Belle Orchestra, Lakeside Theatre, Square Five, Essex University. Sunday, February 5, 8.30pm. £15, £12 concessions, £8 university students. Call 01206 873288.