Brigitte Beraha
and Lucid Dreamers
Teasing Reflections
by Howard Lawes
Hearing the title song from the album Light As A Feather (1973) by Chick Corea’s Return To Forever band is cited by Brigitte Beraha as a turning point in her life in an article published in Jazzwise in August 2022. The song was sung by the Brazilian singer, Flora Purim who used her voice, not just to sing words, but as an instrument as well. Brigitte has developed her own style of vocalisation, influenced also by other singers such as Luciana Souza, Sidsel Endresen and Lauren Kinsella (who she sings with in an a cappella quartet called Facades), and has become one of the most versatile and exciting singers and respected educators on the UK jazz scene. Brigitte is releasing her latest album, Teasing Reflections with her band Lucid Dreamers. Here is a video taster of What Does It Mean (to be) from the album:
Brigitte talked to me via Zoom about her career and the new album.
​
Brigitte Beraha’s admiration for Flora Purim was so great that as a student, when Flora’s Fourth World band had a 2-week residency at Ronnie Scott’s, she went to hear her every night. Brigitte’s first album, recorded at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama while she was still studying there, is called It Could Happen To You (2002). The title track is a song by Johnny Burke and Jimmy van Heusen that had previously been recorded in very different styles by both Louie Ramirez and Sonny Rollins. Brigitte’s version is different again and perhaps inspired by Purim, she confidently vocalises a solo on the album. Accompanying Brigitte on the song is pianist Barry Green, a musical partnership that continues to this day, as witnessed by the release of a new album, together with saxophonist Alan Barnes, called Tea For Three , released in May 2025. Here is Brigitte with It Could Happen To You:
Lucid Dreamers first performed as a trio at the 2019 EFG London Jazz Festival in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, on London's South Bank - Brigitte on vocals, George Crowley on tenor saxophone and Tim Giles on drums and electronics. Brigitte and Tim are both members of Dave Manington’s Riff Raff, a band formed from members of the Loop Collective in London that performed at the LOOP Festival in 2009. A review in Jazzwise of their album Hullabaloo (2012) mentions Brigitte’s affinity with Flora Purim’s jazz/rock style. Brigitte and George first recorded together in Rick Simpson’s band on the strangely titled album Semi Wogan (2012) and as Brigitte notes “we live in the same musical world”.
​
Following their initial performances Brigitte decided that the addition of a harmonic instrument would provide many more possibilities. With the conviction that every musician brings a unique dimension to a band Brigitte chose Alcyona Mick as the band’s pianist. Alcyona Mick has collaborated with classical, Egyptian and Turkish musicians as well as jazz and Brigitte had guested on the album Criss Cross (2018) by Alcyona and saxophonist Tori Freestone, both Loop Collective members.
​
Unfortunately, Brigitte's 2020 album, Lucid Dreamers , was released during the pandemic which greatly reduced the number of live performances and sabotaged the planned launch tour. It wasn’t until the launch of the second album, Blink (2022) and tour, that material from the first album was widely performed. 'Lucid dreaming' is a phenomenon whereby a sleeper knows they are dreaming and can to some extent, control what happens, limited only by their own imagination. Coincidentally the artist Aphex Twin, known for electronic and ambient styles of music has referred to lucid dreaming and synasthesia as inspiration for his work. Blink was widely praised for its poetic rendering of emotions, imaginative use of voice, standout musicianship and subtle electronics to create a musical adventure that varied between dreamy soundscapes and enthralling jazz. Here is the title track from the album:
Teasing Reflections (2025) is the next instalment in the story but one that has a more serious and thought-provoking tone. The opening track Words, begins with just words, partly drowned out by background conversation which are replaced by collective improvisation, composition, solo piano before concluding with more, slowly fading chaos. Tracks 3 and 4, called Arnaud (Part 1) and Arnaud (Part 2) respectively describe an imagined life of a person that Brigitte met at school in France where she grew up. From time to time, they bumped into each other before losing touch completely. It begins playfully with vocalisation and tinkly piano before a rather sinister drone and frantic drumming evokes thoughts of the trials and tribulations of life. The piano seems to provide hope heralding a happier time which is taken up by the saxophone. In Part 2 paths briefly cross, stories are imagined, saxophone and piano suggest separate lives but in the end memories fade. The track Moonstruck is divided into three parts, the first being wholly improvised and reimagined from Beraha’s solo album By The Cobbled Path (2021), the second part is re-harmonised and sung with saxophone accompaniment before a new improvised duet between voice and drums. Rather than a dream it portrays insomnia, and being outdoors with only the light of the Moon. The last track, What Does It Mean (to be), is a simple song asking a complicated question and of course there is no simple answer.
​
With Teasing Reflections, Brigitte Beraha has very much cemented her reputation as a singer, composer and band leader of the highest quality. While she sings, and her band play great jazz, their music transcends boundaries with everything from ambient to the avant garde. For Brigitte “This album is deeply personal, reflecting both my own experiences and those of others in relation to this crazy and wonderful world we live in”. However lucid dreamers also live in worlds of their own imagination, and it is a great privilege to share the musical world that Brigitte Beraha has created with her exceptional band.​
Teasing Reflections is released on 12th September 2025 on Let Me Out Records in association with ECN Music.
​
Brigitte's website is here, and her September tour dates are:
18th September – The Be-Bop Club, Bristol
19th September – Birmingham Jazz, Birmingham
20th September – Hafan Yr Afon, Newtown
24th September – The Vortex, London
2025.9