Did The Venerable Bede like Jazz?

Three Italian musicians (sorry don’t know your names) on keys, clarinet and trumpet, Hildy Harland (vocals)

(Review by Ann Alex.)

It must be the sort of unusual entertainments that I attend, but I find that jazz keeps popping up in the most unlikely places.  This time it was at an event at Bedes World last night, involving readings and plainsong about Bede’s life and writings.  These were performed by a group which meets there regularly, Benedict Biscop Gregorian Choir.  Very interesting stuff as you can imagine. Plainsong must surely be one of the most spiritually serene forms of music ever, and Bede was the foremost intellect of his day (673-735).  The Jarrow monastery was the place to be in those times.

This music was followed by The Bede Concerto, a piece for keyboards and synthesizer by musician Ron Smith, which was a contemporary classical piece in 3 movements, illustrated by photos from the museum. 

Just as it was time for home (or so I thought) up stepped the Italian jazz musicans, who are actually part of a visiting 35-strong wind concert band from Tuscany, who normally play a wide range of all sorts of music.  Autumn Leaves was followed by a tricky tune that I should have recognised but didn’t, so it was probably from the bebop era. It Had To Be You had the trumpet musically flirting with the clarinet, the male and female players chasing each other round the stage, heads together then apart.  Up stepped Hildy, who gave us a lovely rendering of Summertime (sorry Lance!), sweet-voiced but with delicious rich low notes.  This was an eye-opemer as I saw this singer at my local pub a few months back, doing her first ever gig, and she’d improved so much that it was an absolute joy.  The short concert ended with a spirited Girl From Ipanema.

You can catch the whole band in a concert at South Shields Town Hall this evening, (Friday).

Ann Alex