St Peters Church by the waterfront was the venue last night for a night of music with the jazz band Body & Soul Jazz.
There was no licensed bar but tea and coffee, soft drinks and cakes were available, nibbles were also provided on each table. I did see many of the audience had brought their own alcohol, which the venue was happy for anyone to do. They are hoping to have an alcohol license soon.
The setting was a vast old church, one of Ipswich’s oldest and an absolutely stunning place for a musical event, with high ceilings, lots of floor space and a great acoustic feel.
It was easy to spot the band, the cool guys standing at the bar area waiting for their cue to go on. The quartet came on after their introduction and from then until I left, I was transfixed by the diversity and shear professionalism of this bands musical talent.
With Nick on drums, Bernie on bass guitar and double bass, Mike on lead vocals, saxophone, clarinet and flute and Anne on the keyboard and vocals; I had a really good feeling we were in for a great night of jazz. I wondered why Body and Soul? My answer it would seem is they give their body and soul to the music. The music takes over and there is no room for anything else.
A total of fourteen songs from various Jazz greats the audience were treated to, from Sinatra to Duke Ellington. Some sung by Mike; and what a great voice he had never failing to hit the notes, and others sung by Anne who also had a lovely voice, never missing a beat. Not only did Mike sing he treated us to some truly special saxophone playing. The Sax reminded me of Courtney Pine it was that good. Anne then gave us a beautiful haunting rendition of Jobim’s Dindi. Her melancholy voice really gave the song a Parisian Café feel and I shut my eyes and got carried away with it. It was easy to let the atmosphere wash over.
The diversity carried on with a scat sound, I could feel my feet tapping and my fingers clicking along to these. The most famous Jazz song performed was Yogi Carmichael’s Georgia, Mike really gave it everything and the sound in the church was rich and full. Even Mike commented at the end that this was a wonderful venue; his flute really did ring out. Bernie’s double bass playing was inspired the 1928 Romberg & Hammerstein’s The New Moon really was something special, and Nick’s drumming was fun and enjoyable to watch the entire way through the performance. He smiled and laughed and made the audience feel he was enjoying himself as much as they were. Especially as it was ‘Hug a Drummer day’!!!
The most unusual performance was a Jazz enthused rendition of Titanium by Sia, I had not expected this 2012 hit to be played and it sounded wonderful, Anne’s voice really can sing anything. Another unusual performance was Lionel Richie’s Hello, another song that Anne performed with enthusiasm and competence.
My favourite of the whole night was Cole Porter’s Night and Day, and the Latin Bossa numbers which really made me want to jump up and dance. If you get a chance to see this band I would grab it with both hands, they are not only really great musicians who enjoy their music, but you will never know what song you will get next.
For more information on forthcoming events at St Peter’s by the Waterfront click here.
Wendie Alexander – Undergraduate at University Campus Suffolk
