Over the years we have hosted many a jazz star at Bradfield, including John Etheridge, Digby Fairweather and Alec Dankworth. This month we welcomed talented trumpet player and jazz singer Georgina Jackson and we were very lucky to secure her services for a day.
During the afternoon, Georgina workshopped with the members of Big Band, Jazz Band and other ensembles before taking to the stage, resplendent in glamourous evening attire, to deliver a magnificent concert. Her trumpet (and flugelhorn) playing was virtuosic, her singing soulful and elegant, and her charisma mesmerising.
After opening the concert with the very well-known Michael Bublé song Sway Georgina was joined by the Bradfield pupils and the audience were treated to some rousing performances. The College Jazz Band performed two upbeat and energetic numbers, with Seb (G) singing a jive number with self-assurance, with Georgina herself soloing beautifully on flugelhorn.
Elise (K) sang Blue Skies with superb confidence and “scatted” with genuine improvisational skill which earned her a rapturous applause from the audience and Georgina herself. Jessica (K) sang Tom Waits’s Temptation with understated but melodic flair. Chanel (J) and Haydn (A) duetted beautifully on My Funny Valentine with Georgina accompanying with a harmon-muted trumpet. The first half concluded with Georgina herself playing a trumpet feature called I Can’t Get Started and the sheer force of her trumpet playing blew the audience away.
To start the second half, the College Big Band performed an arrangement of Portrait of Louis Armstrong, backing Georgina with tight and precise playing. Verity (M) showcased her seasoned jazz vocals during a tremendous version of Billy Taylor’s I Wish I Knew How IT Would Feel To Be Free.
The pupil-led Patrick D Group performed a Duke Ellington classic before Georgina brought a successful evening of entertainment to a close with the beautiful ballad Cry Me a River and the up-tempo Take the A-train.
