Noosa Chorale’s solo talent will be on show at the J on August 29 and 30 when the choir presents its “I Got Rhythm” concerts to sing the first notes of this year’s 10-day Noosa Jazz Festival.
Music director Kim Kirkman has invited choir members to audition to perform their favourite numbers. Twelve have been selected and the songs have been woven into the repertoire of jazz standards featuring The Australian Jazz Ensemble.
Soprano Lia Marelie, who joined the choir at the start of this year, is excited to have been selected to sing one of her favourite jazz numbers —”Summertime.”
Lia says Gershwin’s song touched her soul when she first heard it in the film “Porgy and Bess”. She is a special fan of Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition of the song which she says, “draws on the inherent melancholy in the film’s message about abject poverty.”
Bass singer Jonathan Anstock is well-known throughout Queensland for his tribute performances to the great Canadian singer Leonard Cohen. Jonathan will shine a new light on “The Girl from Ipanema.”
Like Jonathan, Belinda Griffiths is no stranger to singing solo, following a family tradition by singing with a jazz band. Her late father was a jazz clarinettist and her uncle played jazz guitar. She will present “Don’t Get Around Much Any More.”
Fellow soprano Jenny Jackson has chosen to sing “Personality” which was sung by Dorothy Lamour in the 1946 film “Road to Utopia.” Says Jenny, “it’s fun to sing, a little bit cheeky.”
Towards the end of the concert, the group Ariabella will kick off with a jaunty little a capella number leading into their version of that old favourite, “Mr Sandman.”
The group’s singers (choir members Pamela Turnbull, Fran Wilson, Debra Schneider, Susi Fox, Cal Webb, and newest addition to the group Debbie Boyles) have been singing together for the last year with a wide repertoire encompassing classical, folk, and popular music in English, German, French, Latin and, lately, Ukrainian.
When not singing a capella, they are accompanied on piano by Olena Kruta, a tenor in the choir. Olena has also introduced the group to singing her own arrangement of a Ukrainian jazz number from her homeland.
The final solo number, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boys from Company B” channels the famous Andrews Sisters and the trio of Fran Wilson, Debra Schneider, and Debbie Boyles will swing to the fabulous beat of this great war-time number, accompanied in full throttle by the jazz ensemble.
Conductor Kim Kirkman, along with choir soprano Paige Allen, also auditioned with a playful version of one of the classics of the 1940s jazz era. We’re not going to spoil the surprise by revealing the name of the song!!!
The whole show will culminate in an upbeat version of “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” with an intro crooned by four singers (Beryl Dwyer, Fran Wilson, Lorraine Bates, and John Davies).
