Zoe Rahman at Pizza Express Jazz Club

I wasn't equipped to take a good photo this evening and failed miserably when given the opportunity to take a portrait after the show - any capture of mine couldn't do justice to such a beautiful woman - so I'm left with the one I took during the performance to share, but it's really just an excuse to tell you about the tremendous Zoe Rahman (there are fabulous pictures of her on her website).

I had only seen her live once before, when she was part of Jerry Dammers' Spatial A.K.A. Orchestra - and it was a very Sun Ra-influenced, rootsy, grooving jam that expanded to places you never quite knew music could go and always with an exciting percussive vibe (sounds pretentious I know, but it's the only way to describe it).

That percussive vibe rang through last night as Zoe Rahman's fingers flew and leapt and bounded across, and reflected upon, the keys of the Steinway keeping us all mesmerised by her astonishing exuberance.

The music was mainly from her new album "Kindred Spirits" and is best described as jazz fusion' - deriving from a mixture of Bengali, English and Irish influences reflecting her heritage. There were tunes from Nobel laureate, Tagore, wild Irish jigs, Stevie Wonder's 'Contusion', a fun take on 'These Foolish Things'; and the stunning opening number, 'Down to Earth' more than nodded a wink at Abdullah Ibrahim. This sounds like quite a mix but Zoe's distinctive percussive style holds it all together perfectly.

Zoe's brother, Idris, joined the trio on clarinet, and later tenor sax, adding a further exotic dimension. Brilliant!

It was a great evening - this is music that raises the spirits, you have to give it a try!