Today we welcomed Ruta Di for her debut performance at Jazz at the Croydon Clocktower Café and were treated to nearly two hours of fresh and original music. Ruta’s eclectic musical tastes range from Lithuanian folk to Wes Montgomery to via Philip Glass, and her set here – consisting of songs reflecting soul, jazz, rock and classical influences with a Brazilian slant – was a welcome reminder that jazz refuses to be categorised.
Performing at a long-established jazz venue – this year it celebrates its 25th anniversary – before an almost full-house more accustomed to mainstream jazz and standards was always likely to be a challenge but Ruta overcame this in a set of 15 mainly self-penned originals, during which she displayed virtuosity with her vocal skills and great dexterity on the guitar. Her use of effects pedals created a plethora of different sounds and atmospheres and at one point left a number of the audience wondering from where the sound of an organ was emanating.
Ruta was ably assisted by Giovanni Crescenzi on five-string electric bass, who coaxed some wonderful solos from his guitar as well as laying down a solid rhythm with Finn Genockey who underpinned everything on the drums. The consistently strong set list was drawn largely from Ruta’s albums Yellow Summer and Hooligan, which show her to be a songwriter possessed of an instinctive sense of melody with lyrics ranging from the dreamy to the searingly honest, as in I Like Both Of You. A cover of Stevie Wonder’s Too High displayed her ability to recognise a good song and blend it with her own unique style.
The concert finished appropriately with one of its strongest songs, Harmonics, a rhythmical, more band-driven number played with great freedom and a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, this song is unavailable on record at present but the good news is that Ruta is shortly to enter the studio and record a new album on which it will feature.
Ruta’s concert was very enjoyable and refreshingly different in that she possesses her own innovative style [compared to what? – Ed]. It’s something which should be seen as a strength as she is taking her own path. For the audience at the Jazz at the Clocktower Café it was rewarding to be encouraging an original talent and to experience new music in return.
I would thoroughly recommend checking out Ruta’s work on YouTube (here’s a recent Toulouse Lautrec gig) and, better still, seeing her in concert yourself.
Ruta Di: Jazz at the Croydon Clocktower Café, Thursday 24 July 2025
