With big tunes and big vocals, The Celebration of Swing takes you on a musical nostalgia journey of music, back to the 1940s. Performed by John Morrison’s Swing City and two renowned jazz soloists, Gregg Arthur and Jacki Cooper, the show comes to Canberra Theatre on Saturday 12 November.
Recreating the hits from music legends such as Sammy Davis Jr, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole, this is more than a tribute show. The performance endeavours to offer the audience an experience true to the ‘40s. The instruments aren’t enhanced by microphones, and each theatre is arranged with platforms and stage seating to enrich the sound.
“Trumpets at the back, sax in the front, in the middle trombones,” Arthur says. “You get this perfect blend of music the way they traditionally did it.
Arthur has performed all over the world; the past 25 years have been split between home in Sydney and performing in the United States. He has taken notes from great showmen like Sammy Davis Jr, and has incorporated elements of acting in his performances, even studying the craft.
“That is why Sinatra was so great. He was a very good actor, you could see on his face the emotions and what he was thinking.”
Arthur says he can’t pinpoint a moment in time when he knew he wanted to be a part of the big band scene; rather, it has been in his blood ever since he was a toddler, while growing up on a cattle property on the Macintyre River.
“When I was very young, my father had a fantastic record collection. … I just listened to Dad’s music.”
Leaders of musical invention, many principles born with the big band sound can still be found in modern music, according to Arthur. He says the sound goes in and out of fashion; it saw a big boom in the late 1980s after the release of When Harry Met Sally. Harry Connick Jr sang the film soundtrack, which featured classic hits like It Had to Be You. Another boom came with the rising popularity of Michael Bublé.
“All of these pieces of music have wonderful depth and beautiful stories about love and life,” Arthur says. “They are very addictive; like reading a great novel, they all have a beginning, middle, and end.”
Catch Gregg Arthur in The Celebration of Swing at Canberra Theatre, 12 November 7.30pm; canberratheatrecentre.com.au
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