Up Close And Musical - Revision history

Joejulian: category change

2016-09-28T08:40:05Z

category change

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	[http://www.violinmalta.com Violin website]		[http://www.violinmalta.com Violin website]

	[[Category:~~Newspaper~~ articles]]		[[Category:Published articles]]
	[[Category:Articles by Michael Bugeja]]		[[Category:Articles by Michael Bugeja]]

Mikebugeja at 12:31, 6 September 2016

2016-09-06T12:31:25Z

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	[[Category:Newspaper articles]]		[[Category:Newspaper articles]]
			[[Category:Articles by Michael Bugeja]]

Lib66 at 16:14, 31 August 2010

2010-08-31T16:14:25Z

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	'''Wednesday 06 December 2006 (The Malta Independent)'''		'''Wednesday 06 December 2006 (Michael Bugeja - The Malta Independent)'''

	Intimate musical performances are something I find quite alluring; and it doesn’t get any more intimate than [[The Music Room]] at [[St James Cavalier]]. This cosy venue, which only takes a small audience at a time, was the stage for [[Violin]]’s latest event, [[Invitation]]. The largely acoustic show, held over three nights at the end of last month, presented a variety of musical styles performed by some of Malta’s most promising young talent.		Intimate musical performances are something I find quite alluring; and it doesn’t get any more intimate than [[The Music Room]] at [[St James Cavalier]]. This cosy venue, which only takes a small audience at a time, was the stage for [[Violin]]’s latest event, [[Invitation]]. The largely acoustic show, held over three nights at the end of last month, presented a variety of musical styles performed by some of Malta’s most promising young talent.

Lib66: Created page with ''''Wednesday 06 December 2006 (The Malta Independent)''' Intimate musical performances are something I find quite alluring; and it doesn’t get any more intimate than [[The Mus…'

2010-08-25T17:44:42Z

Created page with ''''Wednesday 06 December 2006 (The Malta Independent)''' Intimate musical performances are something I find quite alluring; and it doesn’t get any more intimate than [[The Mus…'

New page

'''Wednesday 06 December 2006 (The Malta Independent)'''

Intimate musical performances are something I find quite alluring; and it doesn’t get any more intimate than [[The Music Room]] at [[St James Cavalier]]. This cosy venue, which only takes a small audience at a time, was the stage for [[Violin]]’s latest event, [[Invitation]]. The largely acoustic show, held over three nights at the end of last month, presented a variety of musical styles performed by some of Malta’s most promising young talent.

Based around the fulcrum of violinist [[Simon Vella]], bassist [[Chris Porter]], drummer [[Gordon Bonello]], pianist [[Samuel Hayman]] and a rotating guest list, the performance was split into two parts, avoiding the use of microphones as much as possible to preserve the warm ambiance between performer and audience. The first half, intended to have more of a ‘pop’ orientation, actually started with Hayman’s rendition of jazz standard My Funny Valentine. Next up was guitarist Keith Muscat, who was joined by Vella and Porter for a 5-song set that included acoustic renditions of Stairway to Heaven, Avril Lavigne’s Nobody’s Home and The Police classic, Roxanne, the latter two featuring an impressive [[Raquela Dalli Gonzi]] on vocals. Her best moment was however to come later, when she sang an inspired version of Christina Aguilera’s latest hit, Hurt. Another prominent guest in the first half was 17-year old [[Carlo Muscat]], an up-and-coming sax player whose performance accompanying Hayman on the 1954 jazz classic, Misty was truly wonderful!

The second half was the jazzy part, slipping in with an instrumental four-track set (Cantaloupe Island, Blue Bossa, Invitation and 500 Miles High) that highlighted the dynamism of the quartet onstage. Vocalist [[Daniela Grech]] then joined the boys for a trio of Latin-tinged lounge classics, namely The Look of Love, Mas Que Nada and Besame Mucho. Ms Grech has a soothing voice simply made for this kind of music, but she did lack the stage presence to complement the Latin groove. The boys took over once more to round off the night with four more jazz instrumentals (including Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez – brilliant!) an extended medley for an encore that characterized not only an eclectic musical taste but an incredible knack for improvisation. Now I’m still not sure if more than one drum solo per show was necessary, but the overall result was outstanding nonetheless. A special mention has to go to Samuel Hayman - a truly talented pianist with a good sense of humour - and Simon Vella, whose violin-playing – whether it is classical, contemporary, rock or pop - is simply too engaging to resist!

Last but not least, I have to congratulate the organisers, whose initiative made all the above possible, offering us all a most entertaining evening packed with genuine talent and great music!

[http://www.violinmalta.com Violin website]

[[Category:Newspaper articles]]