Following her performances at Crazy Coqs and the Cadogan Hall, the Broadway actress returns to London’s cabaret scene with a debut concert at Ronnie Scott’s, which will honour the oeuvre of the renowned composer and long-time collaborator, Michel Legrand. Guillermo Nazara chats with the artist to learn more about this unique event and why every musical theatre fan should come watch what happens on the Soho stage this Sunday.
How does it feel to return to the London stage by debuting at Ronnie Scott’s?
Thrilling, exciting, daunting, and enthralling. Ronnie’s is obviously the summit of the jazz club universe. And as I’ve been propelled ever upwards from stage song into the high art of jazz singing, having the chance to make music there is astounding good fortune.
London, in a larger sense, has become a very meaningful musical home for me. My concert at the Cadogan Hall introduced me to a large, loving audience who seem to listen with extraordinary curiosity and generosity to me. It was overwhelming to see it full and to explore what the Cadogan makes possible — and that is a hybrid experience. It’s part church, part elevated lecture, part classical, part free expression — theatre, jazz, spirit, all flows there.
Ronnie Scott’s is a different atmosphere but equally thrilling — I expect it will feel intimate, conversational, interior, deep, and a bit exotic. I’ve dreamed of performing there for so many years. To make my debut with music by Michel Legrand feels unimaginable. But I did imagine it! I am so happy and grateful.
What prompted you to perform in this venue?
Jazz lives there, and so do great songs. Michel Legrand belonged naturally in many worlds —he wrote for cinema, Broadway, jazz musicians, symphony orchestras, ballet, art songs… His music refuses to stay inside one category. It feels like the perfect meeting place. Michel played at Ronnie’s in 2015 with my current drummer, Sebastian De Krom. We will be bringing a lot of memories to life. I met pianist and Ronnie’s Artistic Director, James Pearson, when we were paired to perform at Michel Legrand’s London memorial at the Royal Festival Hall, and it was magical. We instantly clicked, and he seems to embody music as much as he plays it. I went to hear him play many times, and Ronnie’s became Oz. To me, he’s the Wizard. James and I have performed together twice at Lichfield Jazz Festival and for an engagement at the Crazy Coqs. Always Legrand! I feel inspired to share in his world.
What made you want to dedicate a whole concert to Legrand’s legacy?
Legrand is one of the two pillars of my musical experience, along with Sondheim. I heard him in my father’s piano hands as a girl, and I instinctively recognized the sensual power of his music. It was almost my first sensual experience! Then I got to play the leading role in his only Broadway musical, Amour, and we became collaborators then, leading to my recording of Legrand Affair with his amazing oceanic orchestral arrangements.
Michel changed my life. To say we became friends would be belittling of it — he became one of the greatest influences of my life, artistic and otherwise. His songs obsess me — they are sophisticated, emotional, and with a directness and indirectness that I find challenging (and sometimes, easy). It feels good to sing him. Every melody contains longing, romance, and surprise. As the years pass, I feel a little responsible, too, for keeping this remarkable body of work alive — not as nostalgia, but as living music. He loved life and he has a lot to give us. Even though we can’t talk to him now, he wants us to sing him!
Will the concert feature any special arrangements or will it stay truthful to the songs’ original styles?
Both. The melodies are sacred — you don’t improve upon Michel Legrand. But every performance is also a conversation. My wonderful pianist, Tedd Firth, and I have created arrangements that respect the originals while allowing room for intimacy, spontaneity, and discovery. Sometimes I do half a song in rubato in the original French (often by Eddy Marnay) and then swing into a rhythm. That’s exactly how Michel himself liked musicians to approach his work — freely. I never come to the end of the lyricism and magic of his music – it’s pure unspooling poetry, and what makes it more amazing is that you can bend it and entwine with it and play with it, and it will still go back to its inevitable shape. It’s like the most amazing kind of musical clay.
I do have a few arrangements- such as Windmills Of Your Mind -that were done by the George Benson band when I opened for George at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2023 at Salle Pelletier. That’s the incredible work of Chris Walker.
The concert will also feature a few things that were written for me- like In Another Life, or the third verse (yes, by the Bergmans!) to You Must Believe in Spring -as well as some music I was able to debut like Hurry Home (2017), The Fishing Song & Maybe Someone Dreamed Us, which was published long ago but I was the first to record, on the album “Legrand Affair.” It’s such a great song, so I recorded it twice — it’s also on my lullabies album. For Maybe Someone Dreamed Us, you might be interested that Michel scribbled on my sheet music “Mozart Goes Folk.” Typical!
What’s been the process of selecting the repertoire like and what are the reasons for those choices?
I wanted to tell Michel’s musical story as much as my own. There are beloved songs people hope to hear (and will!), but there are also hidden treasures that deserve to be rediscovered like Francoise Sagan’s Dis-Moi. Some pieces come from films, some from Broadway, some from recordings that deserve another life. Together they become a portrait of an artist whose imagination seemed limitless — and perhaps, collectively, also a journey into one’s less rational mind. I chose songs that capture what I feel after a lifetime of hearing this music — I was a little girl when my father taught me this music. He carried it with the pathos of his Italian nature, the sadness of Vietnam, the escapism of 60s pop. I got all this as a kid, and it’s moved on from there. I hope I’ll never be done growing and changing with Michel.
What particular challenges have you faced with this repertoire?
The challenge is resisting the temptation simply to admire it. These songs are harmonically intricate and emotionally demanding, but they only come alive if you forget the complexity and tell the story honestly. In other words, I must be myself and not try to be someone else: Michel always insisted that music should feel inevitable — as though it had simply appeared in the room. That’s much harder than it sounds. He also used to say, “Melissa the more you feel, the more quiet.”
Will there be any special appearances you’d like to share or give us a clue about?
I’ll keep a little mystery! But audiences can expect a few personal stories about my history with Michel, and perhaps a musical surprise or two. I suspect the drummer Sebastiaan will bring something truthful and wild to the room. Tedd will also take hairpin turns on the piano. I’ll probably react and we will all know something just happened. I’m making room for a bit a chaos, you know? Those moments often become the ones people remember most.
Are there any other highlights you would like to share?
It’s been a remarkable London visit. I’ve been here with my family, celebrated Patrick McEnroe’s birthday, spent a magical afternoon in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, and now I get to end this week by sharing the music that has meant so much to me. It feels wonderfully full circle, circles in a spiral.
Why come see The Summer Knows?
Because Michel Legrand understood something rare: we must remember, and we must forget. Both. Remember. Forget. Connect. Escape. All the time! And dare to dream, to laugh, to fall in love again. If people leave Ronnie Scott’s feeling they have spent ninety minutes inside a beautiful film—or perhaps remembering moments from their own lives—then we’ve done our job. That’s the kind of summer afternoon I hope to create. Summer, after all, is a feeling we spend all our lives longing for.