Blast from the past . . . Latest Online Quarantine Concert goes back in time

An evening of jazz classics is what local saxophonist Elan Trotman promised, and he certainly delivered when his Online Quarantine Concerts continued Monday night.

In previous installments, the artiste featured music from his own albums and recently focussed on the album Dear Marvin, paying tribute to the late Marvin Gaye with the musician’s own favourite songs. In the latest edition he paid tribute to traditional jazz, the music that was prevalent in the 40s, 50s and 60s.

The ace musician aims to recreate the feeling of being in the front row of one of his concerts and has been treating these virtual productions as he would his traditional shows by providing more than an hour of music.

“We are going to continue to produce these shows for your listening pleasure. Until we meet again, this is going to be our stage,” he told viewers.

The talented performer has enlisted an A-list cast to add some extra panache to the production. He was joined by Andrew Marsh on drums, Alex Bailey on bass and Warren Wolf on the piano. They opened with Take 5, one of the  biggest jazz singles ever. For the following performance he was joined by the award-winning Fabiano Da Silva, who was featured on two of his albums, for Girl From Ipanema. Though the instrumentalists were in different locations, many miles apart, they managed to perform in perfect harmony to the delight of their appreciative fans.

Two spectacular vocalists joined the show, heightening the wow factor. First up was Trinidadian songstress Vaughnette Bigford. The performer who has been featured on Elan’s annual Jazz Excursion, was phenomenal with the Billie Holiday classic God Bless the Child. Another sensational singer in the line-up was Will Downing. His velvety baritone voice was divine and found favour with the ladies with When I Fall in Love, which was popularised by Nat King Cole. Trumpeter Sean Jones joined the ensemble on So What.

There was an informative element to the production as viewers were schooled about the origin of jazz by Elan himself. Special guest Terri Lyne Carrington, professor at the Berklee School of Music, provided some deeper insight into the genre.

“Jazz is collective storytelling expressing the history of the people. Jazz is freedom of expression allowing for continuous progression,” she said. Also sharing their interpretation of jazz was Bill Pierce, who was also associated with the prestigious music school.

Creativity runs through the Elan family. His daughter, Tatiana Trotman, took a break from her 13th birthday festivities to show her skill with a tap dance to Take the A-Train. Her father ably provided the backing music.

In light of the social unrest that is unfolding in the US over the murder of George Floyd, Elan chose to remind the world of the beauty of humanity by adding a fitting rendition of What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong.

The 5th installment wrapped up with Elan and the house band bringing down the curtain with the upbeat Cherokee. (STT)