The Classics meet Jazz

To a philistine like me classical piano music is best kept for use in mood music in films, and Jazz always reminds me of that memorable quote by Eric Morecambe that they are playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order!

So why did I enjoy this concert so much? The pianist was a shy 16 year old lad named Alexander Veitch, who was one of Karen Gooding protégés. He did his classical bit for the first half of the concert and I was amazed. I am not qualified to comment on the finer points of his playing but I do know we witnessed a performance by someone very special who is destined for great things in the classical music world. I sat in awe as his fingers ‘tinkled the ivories’ at an amazing speed, producing a wonderful sound very much as Chopin intended, and doing total justice to our magnificent grand piano. It had to be seen and heard to be believed, it was that good!

The second half of the concert was all about the jazz scene and featured Alexander Veitch on piano, Dafydd Williams on saxaphone and our very own John Murray on bass guitar. It was fascinating watching a classical pianist turn his hand to jazz and as you can imagine, he was very very good. They played many of the pieces that are well known in the jazz and blues world and there was plenty of opportunity for Dafydd to display his exceptional ability on the sax. We have had the pleasure of Dafydd at previous concerts and he is a very talented young man. So what of John Murray? This was a striker from Alford Town FC making a guest appearance for Manchester United! The wonderful thing was he was not phased by the challenge and as they would say in the football world, “The boy done well”.

So all in all a memorable evening. In the future when they are famous, we will be able to say of Alexander and Dafydd, “We were there when they played at St Wilfrid’s” Those who missed it missed a real treat, and even your skeptical reviewer will now approach jazz and classical piano with a new admiration and respect.

David Simcox