This evening I visited Manchester's "hidden gem" of a concert hall, deep within the bowels of Chetham's Music School, not only to escape the smog and smell of bonfires out of control, but to listen to some talented students from Chetham's School play jazz and Big Band music.
The concert started with a selection from the youngest members of the school, with their ensemble know as The Jazz Collective. Under the direction of tutor Jim Muirhead, these youngsters played 2 well-known tunes, namely 'Satin Doll' and 'Manha De Carnaval'. At such a young age, this was inspiring stuff, and although they have a long way to go, their playing was both enjoyable and heartening.
Before the Middle School Big Band took to the stage, a jazz septet of seniors performed a work by Dizzie Gillespie, 'A Night In Tunisia'. This same group also played a piece mid-way through the second half of the concert too, Ralph Towner's 'The Glide'. These seven multi-instumentalists and talented jazz artistes truly put their hearts and souls behind these pieces, wowing us with their skill.
However, back to the final part of the first half, which was once again under the direction of Jim Muirhead. This was Big Band 2, comprising students from the Middle school, and they played three pieces of music for us, bringing the first half to a melodious and somewhat mellow conclusion. First was the famous 'Tequila', which was followed by a more soothing 'Begin The Beguine' with a lovely clarinet solo; whilst the final number utilised the singing talents of one of the band as Maria took the mic and sang the interval in with Ella Fitzgerald's 'I Only Have Eyes For You'.
In the second half we had the company of the senior Big Band (or Big Band 1) under the direction of tutor R. Iles. Five mammoth pieces were played - all using the original orchestrations / scores - and their cummulative sound was amazing. To consider that the oldest these players could have been is 18, their grasp of the styles, their sense of rhythm and improvisation, and knowledge of and expertise in the genre was quite astounding. The five pieces were; 'Northern Soul', 'Sunflower', 'Kinda Bluishy Green', 'Big Dipper', and 'Amazing Grace', and all of these pieces were either arranged by or composed by Iles himself.
A toe-tapping, dance-inducing, and highly entertaining evening. The only problem was the journey home in thick smog!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 5.11.22
on - 5.11.22
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