| | | Love
Jazz / Love Russia Concert - 11th May |
Graham
McDonald introduces the Beeslack Jazz Band members who start the
concert with a swing
 The
Love Jazz Love Russia fundraising concert attracted over 120 people to
St. Mungo's church hall to listen to the Beeslack Jazz Band with Anna
Duggan on Double Bass and Ross Walker on Trombone, Annie
Patch, and Graham McDonald entertaining us with a wide range of swing,
blues and jazz music. Ann and Andrew Dunsire organised the event, and
special guests Alex and Jacqui Cooke, with Debbie Bradley told
us
what the Love Russia charity was currently doing, and how the money
raised would be used.
The
jazz band took to the stage and opened the evening with the Spencer
Davis group song, Gimme some Lovin, quickly followed by the well known
favourite Route 66. Dating from 1946, most younger folks will
remember the Rolling stones cover version from 1964.
The
band
continued with the bossa nova rhythm One note Samba and the Fats Waller
song Ain't Misbehavin, before Alasdair Ball took to the piano for a
solo.
We headed over to the Carribean for
Malagueña
written by Cuban Ernesto Lecuona before back to London for a favourite
of Graham McDonald, A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square.
After
listening to When I fall in Love, Stuart Ball,
Alasdairs
brother, played us a guitar solo of Fly me to the Moon.
Back
to bossa nova lyrics for The girl from Ipanema, which led us into big
band sound with In the Mood, made famous by Glen Miller .
Peter
Stewart swapped his clarinet for the piano and gave us his own
arrangement of When the Saints go marching in, receiving a great round
of applause for his performance.
We were heading
for the break
and the band played us out with jazz standard Caravan, made famous by
Duke Ellington, and another jazz standard Chameleon.
 After
the refreshment break jazz singer Annie Patch took to the stage with
Graham McDonald on piano accompaniment. Annie opened up with a well
known Gershwin song 'I got Rythm' from the 1930 Broadway show 'Girl
Crazy'. Her next number was also from 1930, this time a Cole Porter
number 'Love For Sale' from the show The New Yorkers.
A
few smiles for the next song 'Whispering Grass' , originally written by
Fred
Fisher and his daughter Doris in 1940, but better remembered as the
1975
No 1 hit single by Windsor Davis and Don Estelle of TV show 'It Ain't
Half Hot Mum' fame. A jazzy blues song 'Cry me a River' from 1953 by
Arthur Hamilton followed.
Back to the Broadway
musicals and
That's Him, by Kurt Weill, from the 1943 show One Touch of Venus
. A piano solo from version of the 1959 song 'If
you go
away' by Jaques Brel , which many will remember as a Frank Sinatra
favourite on his 1969 album 'My Way'.
Who Framed
Roger Rabbit
film featured Annie's next song, 'Why don't you do Right' written by
Joe McCoy in 1936, which was sung by the character Jessica Rabbit in
the film.
Girls of Summer, written by Stephen
Sondheim, for the show of the same name was played as a piano solo by
Graham McDonald.
The
title of the next tune 'Blah Blah Blah' is not because Annie had
forgotten the title, but a Gershwin song from the show My One and Only
from 1983. We stayed with Gershwin music for Saga of Jenny, from the
1941 show Lady in the Dark with music written by Kurt Weill whose music
we heard earlier.
Annie finished with the jazz
standard, My Baby Just Cares for Me, by Walter Donaldson and Gus
Khan. Written for
the 1930 film Whoopee it became the signature tune for Nina Simone.
 Andrew
Dunsire gave the vote of thanks to both Annie, Graham and the Beeslack
Jazz Band who all put in a great deal of effort and practice to create
the selection we heard. Andrew told us that music is so
important, especially for young people, and when on his summer camps
for Love Russia in Estonia and Russia. Even though the children don't
understand what Andrew is saying, and he does not understand their
language, music breaks down those barriers and creates a bond
between people of different cultures, that lives on long after they go
their separate ways.
A
great evening which, together with donations received after the show,
raised £1399 for the Love Russia charity. An amazing effort
from
all who attended and which Ann and Andrew and the Love Russia team are
extremely grateful and thank everyone for their generosity.
Round
of applause for the Beeslack Jazz Band at the end of the evening.
Alex
and Debbie led the service on Sunday 12th and spoke to the Sunday
School children about life for disabled children in Russia.
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