I often look around at a concert and think ‘What are we all here for?’ – and think of Tolstoy, who believed that when we engage with art we want above all to feel things. I also like to think there should be not too great a gap between what we hope for in a concert and what we hope for in living – to feel alive, to feel wonder, excitement and hope, to dream, to love, to boogie. We were thankfully treated to more than a few such moments at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival Opening Gala on Friday night.
Following a brief introduction from Festival Director Michael Tortoni, vocalists Sarah McKenzie, Michelle Nicole and Mahalia Barnes took turns sharing their takes on popular rock songs and pop anthems. The chosen material – all songs that ignited the cultural zeitgeist in their original incarnations, from Ray Charles through Cream to Tears for Fears – begged the question: could they survive jazz treatment to live and breathe another day? Although there were moments of less-than-visceral engagement, each vocalist helped us soar and roar enough to make the project more than worthwhile.
When Michelle Nicole cried out Tim Finn’s gorgeous ballad ‘I Hope I Never’, we all believed her storytelling beauty. Nicole’s trademark heavenly high register is breathtaking, always employed with taste rather than for effect, artfully serving the emotional trajectory of the song. This version was all the more effective for its simple and sublime accompaniment by Hugh Harvey (drums) Hugh Stuckey (guitar) and Eamon McNelis (trumpet).
Mahalia Barnes rocked the house with her huge voice, gutsily belting out soulful hits such as ‘I Shall be Released’ and ‘You Are My Sunshine’, but her approach verged on ersatz when it came to the Ray Charles classic ‘What’d I Say’ – partly due to a slightly fussy arrangement, perhaps a little too obedient to the original.
For Mahalia there were many exciting moments – notably in ‘The House of the Rising Sun’, which she delivered with a strength that broke down the politeness in the room and spoke to our animal innards. We loved her for it. The band shone on this arrangement, including a killer harmon mute solo from trumpeter Eamon McNelis. Alive! Wonderful!
Sarah McKenzie’s vocal delivery was sophisticated and nuanced – her finest moment opening the second half with a delicate and smoky version of Sting’s ‘Fragile’. McKenzie’s classy pianism served the more tender songs beautifully, if wanting for grit and punch in the more bluesy, soulful selections. As musical director, McKenzie’s arrangements were stylistically on message but occasionally over-worked – as in a stop/start instrumental arrangement of Paul McCartney’s ‘Yesterday’, and the too-sudden double gospel feel coda to ‘You Are My Sunshine’, tacked onto the previous section rather than erupting as an energetic consequence of the music’s natural build.
Best and fairest on the field goes to Hugh Harvey whose drums tastefully steered each song through sometimes treacherous waters.
Finally, a small point perhaps – but is this thing a gala or ain’t it? Either it has sequins, sparkles and men that look like Cary Grant or it’s just a regular old garden variety concert – dress: smart casual. So how come everybody else in the audience got the memo except me, my partner and one other grand dame?
Opening Gala: Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Sarah McKenzie – Musical Director, vocals, pianoMichelle Nicolle, Mahalia Barnes – vocals
Eamon McNelis – trumpet
Carlo Barbaro – saxophone
Hugh Stuckey – guitar
Tom Lee – bass
Hugh Harvey – drums
With Sarah McKenzie, Mahalia Barnes and Michelle Nicole
Palais Theatre, St Kilda
31 May
Melbourne International Jazz Festival
31 May – 9 June
