By Hollie Harris
You’ll feel the room swayin’ and the band playin’ when Noosa Chorale and Australia’s finest jazz musos showcase Louis Armstrong’s greatest hits at The J later this month.
Memorable classics, including Hello Dolly, St Louis Blues, Give Me A Kiss to Build a Dream On, Moon River, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Moon River, will be performed by the chorale, Melbourne cabaret star Juliarna Clark and The Australia Jazz Ensemble led by trumpet player Peter Gaudion.
It’s an all-star tribute to the lovable Satchmo, the entertainer whose trumpet solos, mile-wide smile, gravelly voice and peerless way with a song, still endear him to people all over the world.
From the 1920s to the late 1960s he dominated the world of entertainment as a jazz trumpeter, hit record artist and band leader as well as starring in movies and on stage with famous names like Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Barbra Streisand.
Melbourne’s Peter Gaudion is one of Australia’s leading jazz players and has performed at jazz festivals and concerts in many parts of the world. He has a special affinity with Armstrong.
He has played him in the two Australian productions of the Cole Porter musical, High Society, which also starred Lorrae Desmond and Jennifer Byrnes, touring for a total of 18 months.
His “Tribute to Satchmo” concerts have also been a smash hit, one at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival attracting more than 1000 fans.
Says Peter: “Louis Armstrong was a huge influence on everybody’s attitudes to their playing. He invented popular music in the mid-1920s because nobody played like that and nobody sang like that. Nobody was as free.”
Peter started playing with his schoolmates at McLeod High School in Melbourne and hasn’t put the trumpet down since.
His bands include Frank Traynor’s Jazz Preachers, the long-running The Syncopators and his own group, The Blues Express, which includes his son Ashley on alto sax and his cousin, vocalist Jacki Gaudion.
He is no stranger to Noosa and the Jazz Party, first coming here in 1993, the year after it started and local fans appreciate the fire and power of his playing, as well as his relaxed singing and irreverent sense of humour.
The Wonderful World of Jazz – the era of Louis Armstrong, Noosa Chorale and The Australian Jazz Ensemble at The J Friday, 25 August at 7pm and Sat, 26 August at 2pm. Tickets $35. Book online at www.thej.com.au or phone 5329 6560.
