By Malcolm Holt
Submitted to The Record
In my recent interview with Bill Street, leader and drummer of the Bill Street Band, I asked him what would be the most significant aspect of his show this coming Thursday at The Avalanche Bar?
His response was quite simple, yet it explains a reason why jazz music has become so popular in the Comox Valley.
“It’s very obvious that in the world today, popular music seems to have abandoned ‘tunes’. How often do we hear a person humming or whistling the latest hit? Almost never. As the world struggles in disbelief in the politics of today, we seem to exist in an era with little melody and a complexity of rhythms that defy our basic needs. Well, progress takes on a strange mantle in so many ways, but there are some of us that still love the world of popular music as we once knew it, and it takes the Georgia Straight Jazz Society to make it happen - at least in this great little community.
“Thursday, October 20 will bring back sanity to music!” Bill boasted. “At 7:30, be prepared for a journey in music that will trigger your memories of bygone days; those songs that the great popular composers wrote for the world of amazing Broadway musicals: A Damsel in Distress, Flying Colours, Two for the Show, Wizard of Oz, Porgy and Bess and a plethora of others. They will be heard on our stage at The Av. And why not come prepared to dance just like you used to?”
Georgia Straight Jazz Society is proud to present our local musicians in a fun and nostalgic concert: the wonderful vocal styling of much loved and appreciated Dale Graham, the tasteful keys of favourite Mike Eddy, the soulful trombone of Paul Nuez, the ever-tasty trumpet licks of Jay Havelaar, the creative bass of Grahame Edwards and, last but by no means least, the man dedicated to swing and melodic drumming, Bill Street.
“We dedicate our evening to the great popular composers that have given us lasting memories for all our lives, and those tunes we still love to whistle and hum!”
So, if you’re looking to regain your sanity basking in the warmth of old favourites, don’t miss this show. Bill assured me that we would go home at the end of the evening feeling a whole lot better.
Admission is $10 for members and $12 for non-members.
Please visit our web site www.georgiastraightjazz.com for a complete picture of our activities, our calendar of concerts up until the end of next May, and a wonderful gallery of images of our events during the past three years. Alternatively, you can always follow us on Facebook.