Joan as Police Woman, Jazz Cafe

When Joan Wasser emerged as a fully-fledged songwriter with 2006’s Real Life, released at the age of 35, she had spent years playing the side woman. A pianist and violinist from an early age, she turned her back on classical music when she sensed a lack of purpose in repeatedly playing other people’s great pieces. Cutting an eccentric figure as the violinist for 90s indie rock also-rans The Dambuilders, she was dating Jeff Buckley at the time of his tragic death. Joining Antony and the Johnsons as violist in 1999, she remained in the background, never rising to the mic. It was only when another established voice – Rufus Wainwright – asked her to both play with him and support his tours that Joan as Police Woman was finally launched to the world.
Touring to support her magnificent fourth album The Classic, Joan holds a two-night residency at Camden’s legendary Jazz Café. Her previous jaunt, earlier this year, sold out across Europe and North America. On The Classic, her vocals have become brighter and bolder than ever, backed by the most joyous music of her career so far. The title track sails above a warm sea of doo-wop as Wasser’s fine, soulful voice intones words of pure romantic bliss. Single ‘Holy City’ has a propulsive drive that leads it to a scat outro from comedian Reggie Watts, while ‘The Witness’ verges on the manic in its dalliance with ska. Elsewhere, there is a sing-song quality and rhythmic quality to ‘What Would You Do’, which preaches moral empowerment in a way that exposes Beyonce’s hollowness. While her excellent earlier work felt almost claustrophobic and entirely off a piece, torch songs imprisoned in a shadowy world of piano chords and plaintive vocals, here she floats through styles and genres, proving herself a versatile artist. Live, luxuriating in the music of her band, she’s certain to excel.