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).
The album will be launched at the 606 Club in London at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 21st July to be followed by a tour around England and Scotland. 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 or from Play.com. 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
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Fever sessions @ Cowshed Studios
On 21 July 2010 Verona’s album ‘Fever’ is due for release, it features her fabulous band of Stellar players and arrangements of songs by Elton John, John Dankworth, Cole Porter, Rogers and Hart, Humphrey Lyttelton, Stephen Sondheim, Galt MacDermot, Cooley/Davenport, Leonard Bernstein and Ann Ronell.
Alan Barnes – Saxophone/Clarinet
Alan is a multi-award winning saxophonist / clarinet player and recipient of BBC Jazz Awards Best Instrumentalist category 2001 and 2006. Eight times winner of the Marston’s Pedigree Jazz Awards. Alan has played with the BBC Big Band and Radio Orchestra and nationally and internationally with numerous bands including Sir John Dankworth, Humphrey Lyttelton and on albums with Jamie Cullum; Bjork; Van Morrison; Bryan Ferry and Westlife.
Mark Fletcher – Drums
Mark is a former pupil of Max Abrams. Mark worked in clubs, bars, Theatres, TV/Radio sessions and cruises from the early 1970s until the mid-eighties, when he became in-house drummer at Ronnie Scott’s.
Lianne Carroll, Ian Shaw, Georgie Fame, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison, Mark Murphy, Tim Garland, Flora Purim, Johnny Griffin, David Gilmour, Hatfield & the North, Soft Machine, Norma Winstone, Geoff Eales , John Etheridge, Tony Coe, James Moody, Cedar Walton, Gary Boyle, Teddy Edwards, Joclyn Brown, Hugh Cornwell, Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, Lea DeLaria are just some of the many fine artists that this exciting/creative drummer has worked with.
Charlotte Glasson – Saxophone
Charlotte has worked with Oasis, The Divine Comedy, John Cooper Clarke, Claire Martin, Will Young, Will Gaines, Unkle and the Latin Soul Brothers plus Julian Lloyd Webber and Ian Shaw to name a few.
Other highlights include the Sydney Opera House, Ronnie Scott’s plus various jazz festivals in the UK and Europe, Philadelphia, Miami and Fort Lauderdale.Winner of Best Newcomer – Marlborough Jazz Festival 2009.
Dave Green – Bass Guitar
Dave was winner of the bass category of the British Jazz Awards for 1987/89/92/94/96 and 98. Dave plays with numerous ‘greats’ from the UK and America including the Stan Tracey Quartet , Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet, Michael Garrick, Peter King, Carol Kidd, Jim Hall, Scott Hamilton, Roland Kirk, Lee Konitz, at Ronnie’s with Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Sonny Rollins and from 1963 – 1983 with the Humphrey Lyttelton Band.
Andy Hamill – Upright/Electric Bass Guitar
Andy has appeared on over a hundred albums and with numerous bands in top jazz venues. He is also a regular favourite of Mark Murphy, Nitin Sawhney and Kylie Minogue.
Kevin Robinson – Trumpet
Kevin has toured nationally and internationally with Simply Red since 1998. He has worked with Ray Charles, George Benson, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, Monty Alexander, Mica Paris, Lulu, Pet Shop Boys, Incognito, Maxi Priest, Jazz Warriors and Courtney Pine.
Alex Stanford – Piano/Keyboards
Alex works with numerous jazz / fusion and free improv. bands. He has played with Lianne Carroll, Jean Toussaint, Alec Dankworth, Mick Hutton and Stan Sulzmann to name but a few.
Fiona Clifton-Welker – Harp
Fiona recently played for the 60th Birthday celebrations for Prince Charles. Has performed with the ENO Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Principal Harp), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, London Concert Orchestra, New London Orchestra, New Mozart Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Ballet Rambert.
Also at the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and Stratford.
In the West End she has held the post of principal harp for The Producers, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast and A Little Night Music.
Live and recorded broadcasts include BBC Radio 3, Radio 2 and Classic FM with a variety of chamber ensembles. As a soloist she has travelled as far as Bombay and has made television appearances in India and the UK.
Ray Wordsworth – Trombone
Ray went professional on leaving school at 16. At 21 he joined Ken Mackintosh, then Sid Phillips, Joe Daniels, BBC Radio Band, Syd Lawrence, Geoff Love, Alex Welsh and has held the post of Principal Trombone chair in the BBC Radio Orchestra.
He has played with Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Mel Torme, Shirley Bassey and Jack Jones. He works regularly with The Humphrey Lyttelton Band, The Gentlemen of Jazz and the Glen Miller Orchestra.
