(Hugo
Radyn, Charl du Plessis & Werner Spies)
Jazz arrangements composed by Charl du
Plessis were certainly ingenious and, well, swinging, (Review by Michael Green)
The Friends of Music offered something very
unusual for their latest concert at the Durban Jewish Centre: jazzed up
versions of familiar classical melodies.
The title was Baroqueswing and the
performers were the Charl du Plessis Trio, consisting of Charl du Plessis, a
well-known classical and jazz pianist, Werner Spies (double bass) and Hugo
Radyn (drums).
Their programme was mainly 18th century
baroque music brought up to date, so to speak. It included Bach’s Toccata and
Fugue in D minor, Jesu Joy of Man’s
Desiring, and Double Violin Concerto; Gluck’s Melodie from his opera Orfeo
ed Euridice; Handel (Messiah);
and Albinoni (Adagio).
A small audience seemed to have mixed
feelings about all this. Some were enthusiastic. Others complained that the
music was too loud.
There was no doubting the skills of the
leader, Charl du Plessis; he is a virtuoso keyboardist, to use the terminology
of this environment. And Werner Spies produced good sounds from an
extraordinary instrument, a kind of double bass cut in half and attached to
wires.
The jazz arrangements composed by Charl du
Plessis were certainly ingenious and, well, swinging, and they were obviously
enjoyed by most listeners. I suppose that a classical purist might regard some
of these items as a travesty verging on sacrilege.
My own feeling is that they were certainly
interesting and catchy but marred by excessive volume. The Gluck, Albinoni and
Bach’s Jesu are meant to be played
softly, not fortissimo.
The most successful pieces on the programme
were, I thought, two authentically jazz compositions by contemporary American
composers, Jeff Hamilton and Chick Corea. And George Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm, played as an encore.
The prelude performer of the evening,
supported by the National Lotteries Commission, was a 15-year-old cellist,
Morgan Oakley. She displayed an accurate tone, a poise and technical skills
that were remarkable in one so young. - Michael Green
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