Jazz Dynamos – Ronnie Scott’s, London 
Reviewer: Mike Wells 
The Reviews Hub – London 03/10/2022 
 

After a three year hiatus, the Jazz Dynamos are back performing in the world famous 
Ronnie Scott’s, this time in the Sunday Lunch slot. Originally formed just 
over two decades ago as a side project while working with Ray Gelato, they 
worked with a number of different vocalists before Lucy Randell joined ten years 
ago and they haven’t looked back since. 
They specialise in creating jazz re-arrangements of songs by an eclectic mix of 
artists such as The Police, Bowie, and Dolly Parton, to name just a few, but to call 
them “covers” would be to do them a woeful disservice. Far more than that, these 
are artistic re-imaginings of songs, many of which better the originals and the 
breadth of the extensive repertoire is staggering. 
As lead vocalist, Randell has an effortlessly charming persona to go with her agile 
and exacting vocals, which make excellent work of the more challenging 
arrangements. At times she invokes the essence of Astrud Gilberto’s famous The 
Girl From Ipanema during playful Latin segments, paired with her similarly 
playful percussion. She moves from sultry samba songs into soulful numbers with 
excellent dexterity showing an enchanting emotional depth which grips the 
audience throughout. 
The arrangements themselves, by Mark Adelman on keyboard are as exquisite as 
they are surprising, many of which include seamless mergers of seemingly 
incompatible songs. A favourite of which includes a version of Pure Imagination 
with sections of Bowie’s Starman and musical motifs that shouldn’t work, but they 
do. Their arrangement takes ownership of the songs in such a way that the original 
versions sometimes seem dull by comparison. 
The quartet is completed with Anders Janes on double bass, Dominique Metz on 
drums, and Stewart Curtis on pretty much every wind instrument going (including 
sax, flute, piccolo and clarinet). The group play with a panache and style only 
achievable as a tight-knit group listening to and working off each other flawlessly. 
The venue itself is famous for a reason. Not just for the music, but for the intimate 
and cosy lamp-lit setting serving fine wine and three-course cuisine in an 
atmosphere as delicious as the food. A setting like this paired with a group like the 
Jazz Dynamos is hard to beat. 
The band’s first CD Hold Your Breath…Make A Wish…Count To Three is 
available now and includes contemporary re-workings of several 1980s pop hits, 
from Madonna to Dolly Parton, plus classic Peggy Lee, and songs from Sweden to 
Brazil. 
Reviewed on 2 October 2022