Quite an unusual feat for a band that specialises in (vocal) swing jazz. But its fresh take on an indestructible genre touched a broad audience of music lovers. Consequently, Lady Linn covers the festival field from Rock Werchter - where she played to an astonished but uplifted audience two years ago - to Jazz Middelheim next August, whose organisers bet on her to win a cross- over audience.
That is probably a good stake since Lady Linn and Her Magnificent Seven have, on the brand new album No Goodbye at All, broadened their sound. Jazz afficionados shouldn't worry: the band still swings as if playing a steamy juke joint, but they also delve up an acoustic ballad with a slight bossa feel, engage in jiving pop songs and wander the wide world of soul music.
But the assets of the orchestra haven't changed: seven excellent (and très sharply dressed) male musicians - trumpet, trombone, two saxophones, keyboards, double bass and drums - fronted by charismatic pocket-sized songstress Lien De Greef.
Trained at the Conservatory in Ghent, she sang, almost a decade ago, in the hip-hop outfit Skeemz and was the voice of electro-pop band Bolchi. Simultaneously she started with Lady Linn and Her Magnificent Seven, interpreting mid 20th-century jazz standards.
In 2004, they got their breakthrough in Flanders thanks to the extremely popular open mike slot "Zonder handen" ("No Hands") in the news show Man bijt hond. After a few years, Lady Linn started writing her own songs and recorded, with her seven boys, Here We Go Again. The rest, as they say, is history.
But there's a future too, of course, to this story. The national success of Here We Go Again did not go unnoticed abroad, and Lady Linn and Her Magnificent Seven were signed by Universal France. The company put them in a Parisian recording studio to work with renowned producer Renaud Letang. He helped them to expand their sound, but will it be enough to establish an international fan base?
Time will tell.
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