BIVJA Participants To Play At Ealing Jazz Festival
BIVJA course participants will perform at the Ealing Jazz Festival 2013, full details to follow but for EJF dates please click here.
Verona Chard at the Ealing Jazz Festival
BIVJA Scholarship
British and International Vocal Jazz Academy – Scholarship
Spring term fortnightly Sunday workshop course with rhythm section. For experienced performers and young people at the start of their careers.
Jazz performance; improvisation; instrumental skills; history; vocal technique; harmony; aural; theory; recording; technical skills; marketing; ‘tools of the trade’.
Commences SUNDAY 21 APRIL 10am-4pm in West London
For course & scholarship details contact:-
e: [email protected]
t: 020 8992 1571 (leave message – we’ll call you back)
BIVJA – promoting personal empowerment to perform, championing jazz
Encore Magazine reviews Fever
The August/September edition of Encore Magazine carried a lovely review of Fever which can be found by clicking here.
Visit Encore Magazine for all the latest entertainment industry news.
Verona on Polish X-Factor
April 14 – X Factor – 20:00 – TVN Poland
Polish superstar Tatiana Okupnik chooses Verona as her expert in the judges house for the second series of the show.
For more information, click here.
Verona was also interviewed in April’s issue of the Ealing Gazette about her experience on the X-Factor. Click here or on the image below to read the interview.
Musician’s Union
Verona is now a member of the Musicians’ Union Jazz Section Committee, for details of the MU’s work and membership benefits please click this link.
Cabaret
Verona has been invited by the Central School of Speech and Drama to work with final year students on Kander and Ebbs score – Cabaret which runs at The Embassy Theatre, London from Monday March 4 – Saturday 9 March 2012.
Berlin at the close of the 1920s. Inside the Kit Kat Klub the Emcee invites you to ‘leave your troubles outside … life is beautiful, the girls are beautiful, even the orchestra is beautiful!’
Director: Robert Shaw Cameron and Wendy Gadian MD with Lynne Chandler – choreographer
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music John Kander
Lyrics Frank Ebb
Jazz & Curry Night
£906.00 was raised for the Mayor of Ealing, John Gallagher’s charities on 16 Feb and a good night had by all.
Well done team and a big THANK YOU to Keith and Chris Neill – piano, the staff at Monty’s and everyone who contributed.
Sheltered Housing Petition Update
Dear Friends,
A massive ‘Thank You’ to everyone who signed the ‘Imminent threat to Sheltered Housing’ petition it was extremely encouraging that over 450 friends and well wishers took the time out to do it.
It really lifted the spirits of the A2 Dominion residents too. Ealing Council have withdrawn funding so the Scheme Manager’s job will be cut from end of March.
I’ve not given up yet though and will be seeking a meeting with A2 to see what else we can try to achieve…any ideas greatly received.
Thank you!
Verona x
The Ultimate Jazz Night!
Khukuri are sponsoring an evening of fantastic live music at the Potala Palace Lounge Bar (hidden above Monty’s Restaurant in Ealing).
Come join us for a great evening and pick up a free Khukuri beer with a copy of this flyer.
Contact [email protected] or visit www.khukuribeer.com.
More details here.
Women in Jazz Oracles
Inspired by Verona’s programme on UK Jazz Radio
WiJO make their debut at the Ealing Jazz Festival on 28 July 2011
Red, White Jazz and Blues
Verona performing songs from the British and American Songbook
featuring Digby Fairweather – trumpet and Alec Dankworth – bass with John Horler – piano, Charlotte Glasson – sax and Winston Clifford – drums
Verona Chard Quartet
Modern jazz, funk, standards
featuring Alex Stanford – piano, Dave Jenkins – bass and Felix Weldon – drums
High Tea & High C’s – but not Highbrow!
Duo, trio, quartet or larger band
All these will be accompanying tea and cake for a fun packed show of standards, swing and audience participation
CD of the Month on UK Jazz Radio
Fever has been announced as CD of the Month for November 2010 on UK Jazz Radio.
Women in Jazz
Verona presents a fortnightly programme on UK Jazz Radio called Women in Jazz. The show celebrates lady instrumentalists and singers and those behind the scenes championing the wonderful world of jazz.
Watch this space for news of the new Women in Jazz Oracles Orchestra…
Sandy Brown Jazz reviews Fever
We first mentioned Verona Chard a few months ago when we discovered her captivating interpretation of the Peggy Lee number Fever. There must have been some consensus as Verona is about to release her first album with Fever as the title track. Verona grew up in the West Country and then went to the Royal Academy of Music in London. She made her debut five years ago with Humphrey Lyttelton.
The new album was inspired by John Dankworth’s 1964 release Shakespeare and All That Jazz. Verona came across a copy of the record in a charity shop ‘It sparked a chain reaction,’ she says. ‘I embarked on a journey of discovery finding a wealth of material with a connection to ‘the Bard‘. The comprehensive liner notes relate each of the songs to extracts from Shakespeare’s work – Fever is reflected in the sonnet that begins: ‘My love is as a fever, longing still…’ and Willow Weep For Me by Desdemona’s song from Othello: ‘The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree, Sing all a green willow…’
There are some favourite numbers on the album including Cole Porter’s Why Can’t You Behave, a beautiful performance of Stephen Sondheim’s scoring of Fear No More (The Heat Of The Sun), Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s Cool from West Side Story, Rodgers and Hart’s This Can’t Be Love and an truly exquisite version of My Funny Valentine. You will also find an imaginative arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s music to ‘What light through yonder window breaks…’ from Romeo and Juliet, John Dankworth’s Dunsinane Blues, Elton John’s The King Must Die and Humphrey Lyttelton’s Jail Break. At a quick glance the front cover seems strange until you read that the background is of the graffiti on the archway to Romeo and Juliet’s wall in Verona, Italy …
Verona has the support of some great musicians on the album including Alan Barnes (clarinet and saxophones), Fiona Clifton-Welker (harp), Charlotte Glasson (saxophone), Ray Wordsworth (trombone), Kevin Robinson (trumpet), Alex Stamford (piano/hammond organ), Dave Green, Andy Hamill (bass/electric bass), and Mark Fletcher (drums).
You can sample music from the album and check out the tour dates by clicking here. The album is currently available as downloads from Amazon.co.uk. The CD of the album is also available direct from Verona through her website www.veronachard.com priced £11.99 including P&P. We think this is an inspiringly researched, arranged and performed album – taste it and see.
Review by Ian Maund – www.sandybrownjazz.com
Interview in Ealing Gazette
Verona spoke with the Ealing Gazette about her music and everything in between.
To read the interview, click here…
Verona performs Fever live!
Fever available now!
Verona's fantastic debut album, Fever, is available to buy from this website or direct from Amazon.co.uk.
