A Treasure Just Discovered.

I was trying to surprise Poncho before Ramadhan by asking him for a date to No Black Tie and didn't tell him that a singer we knew in common is going to sing there.

Back then, I can only remember the Malay numbers she rendered like Kupendam Sebuah Duka, Doa Buat Kekasih, Potret Kekasih, Mengapa Aku disalahkan... but she's singing in a Jazz club and I wonder what the connection was.

It's a club that is surprisingly, the kind of place I dream of owning. Small, snug, woody, with a mezzanine floor that enables some audience to look downwards, most importantly, the place is so snug that everyone gets to interact with everyone. Pegi dengar orang nyanyi kat Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil tu lagi bagus tengok TV.

Khaty Ibrahim was clad in a long satin high collared black overall with red frills around the neck. There were three back up singers who are all double XL size but with megawatts smile and sleek image. So much finesse, she was really all out to make an impression, as if it is something she missed doing.

Guess who's songs she sung? She actually belted out numbers by Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Yeah! She sang Don’t Rain On My Parade, Luck Be My Lady Tonight, Rollin' and Fever in her own flavour. I don't think I'm the only one yang mulut ternganga, totally surprised to see this part of her. The three girls are actually her daughters, who can sing almost as good. I could imagine how much fun they have at home jamming together in the living hall every now and then. I mean she revved her voice, she sustained long ends, very lively, very effortlessly!

In between she was joking and poking around in Bahasa about her new biz venture, a Restaurant that sells makanan Melayu near University Hospital with promises that her Ikan Masak Asam Pedas and Gulai Masak Lemak are to die for and she'd even entertain home delivery. If I'm not mistaken, it's called Khaty's Kitchen.

Seriously, if Anita Sarawak heard this, she'd feel very very small. Camelia, the jazz singer wannabe... tak payah laaa. I wonder why people never hired Khaty for special occassion events such as Secretary's week etc. She's definitely side by side with Fairuz Hussein, the Malaysian Anita Baker. I hope to see both of them in the same session one day.

We heard just a five minutes medley of all her Malay songs and it looked as if it wasn't even planned, she just squeezed it in to please the audience, and for awhile there's something to sing along with.

Despite the really bad traffic we experienced that day and the trouble to find the quaint place, we walked back feeling so inspired and proud of this elit talent.

People, go book the P. Ramlee the Musical tix quick!