Nandi Bushell has delivered another bewildering cover to show off her multi-instrumental skills, this time tackling Stevie Wonder’s jazzy, funk-tinged classic ‘Sir Duke’.
A tribute to late jazz icon Duke Ellington (who died in 1974), ‘Sir Duke’ first appeared on Wonder’s 18th album, ‘Songs In The Key Of Life’, in September of 1976. It was issued as a single the following March, and promptly topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles charts; in the UK, it reached Number Two, making it one of his two biggest hits in the region (tied with 1969’s ‘Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday’).
For her instrumental cover, the 12-year-old Bushell performs bass, drums and saxophone, honing in on the song’s jazzy, free-spirited energy. In a caption shared alongside the performance on Instagram, she wrote: “Good vibes! I have been working hard on my bass and saxophone playing. [‘Sir Duke’ by Stevie Wonder] was a real challenge. Such a fun song! Hope you are all having an amazing day! Love and respect to you all.”
Take a look at the cover below:
(@nandi_bushell)Bushell’s take on ‘Sir Duke’ follows another multi-instrumental jazz cover, ‘Mr P.C.’ by John Coltrane, which she uploaded back in March. She’s dropped a litany of other covers since then, however, taking on songs like ‘Rap God’ by Eminem, ‘Duality’ and ‘Unsainted’ by Slipknot, and ‘Killing In The Name’ by Rage Against The Machine (alongside her brother Thomas) in recent months.
In September, too, Bushell shared an original song called ‘The Shadows’, written to honour her father while he was battling health issues earlier this year. In another recent post on Instagram, Bushell revealed her plans to release a whole EP of original material sometime in the new year.
The post Watch Nandi Bushell play bass, drums and saxophone on funky cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Sir Duke’ appeared first on NME.
