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An evening of jazz at St Benedict's

St Benedict's jazz musicians performed with professional singer Linley Weir, at the annual Jazz Concert on March 1st.

St Benedict's Jazz Concert
Linley Weir and friends perform with the Senior Jazz Ensemble

It was definitely a night to remember as pupils and professional musicians combined to showcase their talents. We were fortunate to have jazz singer Linley Weir with us for the evening, whose distinctive contralto voice is described by the Jazz Times as “authentic, smoky soulful and original”. With Caroline Cooper on piano, Matt Fletcher on drums and Paul Michael on double bass, their talent, energy, musical rapport and love for performance shone through as they performed classics such as  Gershwin’s They can’t take that away from me, That old  black magic, and No more blues.

St Benedict's Jazz Concert
The Headmaster with Linley Weir

The evening continued with brilliant performances of Chuck Berry’s Johnny Be Good and One More Once by Michel Camillo from the Junior Jazz Ensemble; Big Band -who played Billy Jean, Somewhere over the rainbow and In the mood; and the Senior Jazz Group  with their sophisticated performance of Red Clay. There were confident and stylish improvisations from many musicians, showing how deep the jazz skill-set runs at St Benedict’s.

St Benedict's Jazz Concert
Junior Jazz Ensemble

The evening concluded with a dazzling jazz set from Linley Weir and friends, the highlight of which was You’ve got a friend: one by one, members of the Senior Jazz Group spontaneously joined in  - impressive, since they had no prior knowledge of the song! An excellent finish to a fantastic evening, described by one parent as “the highlight of the year.”

St Benedict's Jazz Concert
Linley Weir and friends, at the St Benedict's Jazz Concert

An added bonus is that the Jazz Concert raised over £1,000 for the St Benedict's Landscaping Project, the focus of this year's Annual Fund.

St Benedict's Jazz Concert
Big Band

Senior Jazz Ensemble

Mfon Bassey (Vocals), Fernanda Da Silva (Piano), Conor Moon (Bass guitar), Jack Leonard (Drum kit)

Junior Jazz Ensemble

Andre Low (Clarinet), Tom Baotic (Piano), Gregor Brindle (Guitar), Jem Mawer (Bass), Sebastian Zecevic and Josh McDonald (Drum kit)

 

 

Tagged  Senior