Presided over by the Hitchcockian Bill Wells, Celtic Connections tonight invites its first Japanese contributors to collaborate with The National Jazz Trio of Scotland. The latter’s opening set is led by Aby Vulliamy’s viola, with Wells proffering gentle guitar over slight percussion ticks and glockenspiel chimes. Their delicate precision is more hushed Shibuya-Kei than the noodling their name suggests, and as such fits the evening like a glove. It lacks, however, a vivid personality: cue Nikaido Kazumi. She instantly captivates; her voice, veering between Joanna Newsom-style affectation and Edith Piaf roof-raising, is as much an instrument as the guitar around her neck. Her eccentricities explode on Shopping Blue, which resembles an acoustic Pizzicato Five ditty sung by a delightfully attention-seeking child. As she skips offstage, it’s hard to see how she can be topped.
Luckily Shugo Tokumaru has talent enough to try. Whether looping and layering samples or relying only on his prodigious guitar skills, he astonishes, though his zeal quickly leaves him looking beat. But he has a final treat before he goes: a ukulele-based Video Killed the Radio Star that faithfully translates the song in toto: guitar solo converted to miniature fret-board and voice suitably pitched for backing vocals. As he exits to enthusiastic applause, it dawns that, somehow, he’s managed to match Kazumi’s considerable charm.
Then its time for “basically everyone”, as Wells puts it. The finale’s collaborations offer various algebraic arrangements: Kazumi + viola = atmospheric oddity; Kazumi + Wells + viola = timeless ballad in the Dusty Springfield mould; incorporate Tokumaru and the rest of the Trio and you get a luscious blend of all their talents (with added laughter at Kazumi’s giddy antics). The communal conclusion is hesitantly performed by some, but the relative lack of confidence can’t detract from an otherwise beguiling evening.
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