Photo Flash: Mitch Winehouse Invites Ali Harper to Sing in London

"A songwriter's dream, magical and in complete command of the stage." Those words from award winning New York singer-songwriter Christine Lavin, describing singer Ali Harper who performed her 'Down Under Diva' show at The Metropolitan Room and the Birdland Jazz Club in the Big Apple last week.

Lavin who is nominating the Christchurch based performer for a coveted Nightlife Award, and making contact with Scott Siegel, a well-known pop culture critic who covers the film, theatre, and cabaret scene in NY, was in the audience at the Metropolitan on Thursday night and contacted Harper after the show.

"To hear American standards performed in a way that no one else has, (that) was magical. It was a real privilege getting to watch you in action," Lavin told Harper.

Ali has been excited by the feedback she's had while in New York.

"It's so wonderful to take tunes with me that are either original 'down under' material or genuinely New Zealand like Hine e Hine. That was a special moment in the show for me and the New York Kiwis in the audience," she says.

Singing Les Feuilles Mortes/Autumn Leaves with Mitch Winehouse (Amy's dad) accompanied by Rick Bogart's New Orleans trio at Labane has also been a highlight of the New York trip. Winehouse has invited Ali to sing in his London club.

Another highlight for Harper was "hanging out" out with Julie Gold in her apartment in Greenwich Village apartment.

"She wrote the famous Bette Midler song "From a Distance" and asked me to share her piano stool while she played and sang, suggesting some of her new songs for me to sing. It was all very surreal."

Ali's new album "Naughty and Nice" has been selling well in New Zealand and has attracted interest from a promoter in New York, which she will follow up when she gets back to Christchurch next week.

Ali Harper

Ali Harper and the band

Ali Harper and Mitch Winehouse