Two acclaimed musicians who call Durham home will be performing “Jazz on a Summer’s Night” in the City on Saturday 9th June at 7.30 pm. The venue is St Chad’s College on the North Bailey; the tickets cost £12 (concessions £8, students £5) and are available from the Gateway World Shop in St Nick’s Church, Durham Market Place, or on the door.
Prize-winning pianist Paul Edis, who grew up in Durham and attended St Leonard’s School, is recognised as an outstanding young British musician. He will accompany the astounding American vocalist Sandi Russell, who was born in New York City but now makes her home in Durham City.
A regular performer at London venues such as Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express and the Southbank Centre, Sandi has also appeared at the Gala, the Sage and Northern Stage, but this is a rare opportunity to hear her so close to home. More information about Sandi Russell can be found on her website (given below).Paul has toured with Sandi’s much-praised one-woman show Render Me My Song (based on her book about African American women writers). He performed with his trio at the first Durham Jazz Festival in 2010, when Sandi appeared with a line-up including Alan Barnes and Alec Dankworth to give a performance that the Newcastle-based critic Lance Liddle described as “Astonishing! This was Tina Turner meets Dee Dee Bridgewater with a touch of Ella and Sassy and a Covent Garden coloratura thrown in.”
Their unmissable concert on 9th June will be a benefit for a charity that enables students from Southern Africa to study at Durham University. It is supported by staff and students, Durham County Council and the Durham Miners’ Association.
The Ruth First Educational Trust is named for the well-known South African anti-apartheid activist who was a close associate of former President Nelson Mandela. Ruth First taught at Durham University until 1982, when friends and colleagues were
devastated to hear of her death in Mozambique at the hands of the South African secret police. Ruth’s life has been commemorated by her daughters Gillian and Shawn Slovo in the novel Ties of Blood and the film A World Apart.
In partnership with Durham University and St Chad’s College, the Ruth First Trust gives scholarships to gifted individuals who are committed to working for the benefit of their communities. For 30 years, Ruth First Scholars have been putting the qualifications they gained here to very good use in their home countries.
Further information can be found on the website of the Ruth First Trust (given below).
One recent scholar from Zimbabwe took a master’s degree in Law, gaining a distinction for his dissertation on how international law applies to torturers. He is now working with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights to provide dissidents with legal support.
The current scholar is Pearson Nkhoma from Malawi, who worked for Save the Children on issues such as AIDS awareness before coming to Durham to take a master’s degree in Social Work. He has recently won a prestigious Durham University scholarship to study social problems in his home country for a research degree.
Also completing his research in Durham is Peter Okeno from Kenya, who is an active member of St Chad’s College and the Music School. A talented drummer, Peter has created among his fellow students an international choir called Ngoma Vruma Uropa (trans. “Sounds in Harmony – Europe”). This choir will perform a curtain raiser for the concert on 9th June, when Peter will accompany Sandi on drums for an unforgettable performance of “Afro Blues”.
As a vocalist Sandi Russell has won accolades from Humphrey Lyttleton and Lionel Hampton, and been compared with great American jazz divas such as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. When she first sang at Durham University on a misty June evening, students requested the Gershwin song “Summer Time” – “Summer Time!” she replied, “What do you have to do to get spring around here?”
This June’s concert promises to be a sizzler – whatever the weather – everyone is invited to come for the music and support the studentship at the same time!
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