Tiffany Gaze transported us from Ayers House to Paris for a night of Jazz under the skies of Paris
The audience stepped into the Ballroom at Ayers House and were whisked away to Paris with Tiffany Gaze and her band in Jazz under the skies of Paris at this sold-out show at Adelaide Fringe 2025.
As is obligatory in any show referencing “under the skies of Paris” in its name, the setlist starts with Sous le ciel de Paris. The set list is not entirely predictable though, providing a French version of Dream a little dream of me (Les yeux ouverts by Emilie-Claire Barlow), which we had never heard before. Some of the other songs while they may be familiar are given extended musical sections, transforming them into something familiar but new.
Tiffany Gaze has a beautiful, powerful and commanding voice, which soars effortlessly to the high notes, holding them with remarkable control and clarity. She is accompanied by her wonderful band comprised of pianist Solomon Young, bassist Jacob Phillips and drummer Bailey Hall. Each of them has at least one solo throughout the show and it’s lovely to see Tiffany showcase their talents and crouch down to put the focus on them, not her, when it’s their turn to shine. All of the musicians look like they’re having a great time and pianist Solomon Young has the cutest concentration face when he’s playing!
We’re unsure if it was a sound tech issue on the night we attended but for the majority of the songs, after the band had performed their instrumental sections, it felt like Tiffany was having to almost shout over them to be heard. It was as if the musicians’ mics had been turned up for the instrumental section and not back down after it.
Tiffany introduces each song telling us a little about it such as where it came from, for example Sous le ciel de Paris was written for a 1951 film; who popularised it, or whose version she has been inspired by. She doesn’t feel the need to translate or summarise the songs that many Francophile audiences would already know. Tiffany also alternates between saying a little something in English or in French between songs.
Tiffany Gaze also revealed that she had tried to do some research on the song Je ne veux pas travailler and read us the Guillaume Apollinaire poem upon which it is based. It was nice to see that Tiffany has put extra attention into finding out about the songs she performs.
Sadly, and while it wouldn’t be noticeable to a non-francophone francophile audience, there were a few little faults that made our ears prick – Les feuilles mortes for example is feminine whereas Tiffany was singing morts as if it were masculine. Or it sounded like she sang marveilleux instead of merveilleux in C’est si bon. Again, these are minor issues and not something that detracts from the show as a whole, especially for a mainly non-francophone Francophile audience.
While on the French language, impressively, Tiffany Gaze has nailed the notoriously difficult to pronounce French “R” as she shows throughout Je ne regrette rien.
Jazz under the skies of Paris is a transportive hour of beautiful French music by the talented Tiffany Gaze and her wonderful band. You might also be in for a surprise, with a lesser-known song, such as Les yeux ouverts, or unique renditions that add fresh twists to familiar melodies.
4 CROISSANTS
Matilda Marseillaise was a guest of Adelaide Fringe