The violin gently cajoled us into Ravel's Bolero. The horns took it up, the rhythm kept it going, and the scene was set.
The fans in the well-filled Hall One may have sighed with disappointment when they were told that China - the legendary China Forbes - wasn't on the gig but, the moment replacement Storm Large strutted on stage, China was history.
Tall and statuesque - Venus with arms - Storm took the auditorium by - wait for it - Storm - a large one!
Was it Amore Mia she opened up with? I don't know 'cept it was mucho appreciato!.
Brenda Sokell would have loved Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps, (sung in Spanish) as indeed I did myself but the highlight of this set was Splendour in the Grass.with it's diversion into something by, I think, Tchaikovsky. It was sung superbly and the hall erupted with delight. Anna, a baion from a Gina Lollobrigida movie, was just one of the many hand-clapping numbers and I felt like dancing in the aisles. So many moments it's impossible to list them all but The Carioca, the Sing, Sing, Sing type number and Concerto for Trumpet - a piece by that master of the concerto, Harry James - showcasing the band's own trumpet man (was it Gavin? I didn't catch many names) who displayed the same wide vibrato beloved of the former Mr Grable - were some of them . The trombonist too had his moments but this wasn't a jazz gig, it wasn't even at the cutting edge of Latin music; where it was was at the forefront of entertainment - there have been few concerts of any genre that I have enjoyed more - one of the encores, What'll I Do?, is still running through my mind.
This ten piece Martini left me both shaken and stirred!
Lance.
Great revue Lance, can't remember the last time I felt so emotional at a concert. This band must have a massive following and yet I had not heard of them till 2 weeks ago. They would be great on Later but Jools Holland mustn't have heard of them either
ReplyDeleteBrian Chester