(Review by Lance).
My timbers shivered as I awaited the Quaylink bus to paddle me to Sage Gateshead - it was that kind of day! It occurred to me that I wouldn't have endured this weather to see the films let alone the songs and soundtracks. However, meeting up with Liz, Margaret, Valerie and Jane soon warmed me up and, upon reflection, often the songs and soundtracks were better than the storylines anyway. Certainly, the near capacity audience at this matinee seemed to think so.
No way could it be described as a jazz gig although there were quite a few jazz names in the line-up.
Alfred Newman's Street Scene from How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) is one of the most evocative film scores and even without Monroe, Bacall & Grable I wasn't complaining. After all, I had Liz, Valerie, Jane and Margaret. And then Kim!
Ms. Criswell sang I'm the Greatest Star from Funny Girl and, if she isn't, then she should be. Love of my Life from The Pirate gave way to Matthew Ford telling us that Something's Gotta Give (Daddy Long Legs, 1955).
The program promised Laura but it turned out she was only a dream and, instead, we got a ballet sequence from Forever Darling - Confetti. I'd have preferred Laura.
Ford returned for If Ever I Should Leave You (Camelot 1967) and it set, I'm sure, a few ladies hearts a fluttering.
Kim returned for So Long, Dearie from Hello Dolly. This was the showstopper! She had it and she flaunted it and the song contained the immortal line; "I should have said ' so long', so long ago."
The set finished with part of the soundtrack of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).
A 45-minute set and a short interval saw us back on our seats for the overture to My Fair Lady then a suite from A Place in the Sun. Two long orchestral pieces in a row had some of the audience losing the plot but they were back on course when Kim returned, wearing a gown that defied gravity, and took the room apart with two songs from Yentl - The Way He Makes me Feel and Papa Can You Hear me?
What could follow that we wondered, little realising we'd be saying the same after the next one - an instrumental to boot!
Tom and Jerry at MGM is an arrangement by John Wilson of various soundtracks by Scott Bradley of the greatest cartoon series ever. This was an absolute hoot, you could almost see the cat v mouse scenario being played out.
Matt Ford returned for Gigi and Days of Wine and Roses before Wilson announced the finale as a Suite from Gone With the Wind. Not the finale I was hoping for but at least it wasn't Star Wars.
Naturally, the finale wasn't really the finale - we had another orchestral piece before Matt and Kim returned for You're Just in Love from Call Me Madam.
Earlier, as we sipped our chosen aperitif and ate our BLT, John Sibbald was sitting at the piano and playing the most delightful music - nonstop and far more tasteful than our BLT!
Nice to meet up with John again. We gigged together in the dim and distant past!
Lance.
John Wilson Orch w. Kim Criswell & Matthew Ford (vocals) and an 80 piece orchestra including: Jamie Kenny (bass); Colin Oxley (guitar); Matt Skelton (drums); Howard McGill (alto/clarinet/flute); Mark Crooks (tenor/clarinet); Mike Davis (baritone/alto clarinet/bass clarinet/oboe/flute); Michael Lovatt (trumpet); Gordon Campbell (trombone).
1 comment :
an excellent review as ever Lance. For me I would have liked more vocals, so many great numbers from the Oscar winning films of those days. Also, in a quite short concert I thought the Orchestral pieces were a bit long, especially the Robin Hood feature. But hey!a great show
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