Jazz in St John's - Trax
'TRAX' at St John's C of E, Port Fairy 08/01/10
A 20-strong big band of musicians from the Hamilton, Warrnambool, Port Fairy and Coleraine districts swung out for its annual 'Jazz In St John's' event on Friday night.
The music played was predominantly a reminder of that which people danced to more than 50 years ago and the church is a splendid environment in which to hear it. The repertoire contained old favourites by musicians such as Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington and Count Basie in addition to some more recently popular novelty songs.
The band's singers Colleen McCosh and 'Wozza' kept the evening moving with their vocal renditions of a variety of old favourites and lively song introductions.
As in previous years, the band was strengthened by the return of several former members who are now living in Ballarat.
An innovation this year has been the introduction of a small jazz group, involving more improvisation than is available to members in the full band context. This quintet-plus-vocalist, known as 'Side Tracks', performed several songs and provided relief from the onslaught of the large trumpet section during the big band numbers.
This event has become an integral part of the Moyneyana offerings and it is hoped to stage similar events in years to come.
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