Jazz club's tribute to Quincy Jones
Dunedin Jazz Club will pay tribute to the life of Quincy Jones with a concert this weekend showcasing the arrangements he wrote for Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie.
The "When Ella Met Quincy" concert will be held this Saturday, May 17, from 7.30pm at Hanover Hall.
Filling the shoes of the "First Lady of Jazz" will be young jazz singer Maya Satake, a graduate of the Dunedin Jazz Foundation for secondary school students, and lead vocalist with the Dunedin Youth Jazz Orchestra.
Satake is enjoying success as a performer, including winning the Otago regional finals of Rockquest in 2023 with her band Burberry Scarves, and as lead vocalist with All Blues jazz band that won the "best big band" award at the 2024 Dunedin Youth Jazz Festival.
Satake's performance of Fitzgerald's Blue Skies at an end-of-year school concert convinced Dunedin Youth Jazz Band director Bill Martin to give her the lead vocalist role for Saturday's concert, a statement said.
The Dunedin Youth Jazz Orchestra is driven by the rhythm section of Amelia Ross (drums), Matthew Tait (piano) and Guthrie Wakelin (bass), with solos from DYJO players Louis Robertson, Ethan Burton, Benji Pickering and Callan Power. — APL
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Pianist returns, recitals set
A trip home to Dunedin during the summer break from his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London is proving a welcome respite from the heat for pianist Abhinath Berry, 24. It was also a good chance for him to reconnect with local audiences, whose support helped him to achieve his goal of studying at the prestigious school. "I have had wonderful support here in Dunedin, including from Terence Dennis, Elizabeth Wilson, Ashley and Leslie Day, and Judy Bellingham, and others, as well as from audiences. "I feel very lucky." Berry has now completed his first year of postgraduate study in piano in London and will return to the northern hemisphere in August ahead of embarking on his second year in September. "But first, I am going to Spain to take part in the Gijon International Piano Festival, which will give me opportunities to play and to participate in master classes. "I have never been to a piano festival before, I think it will be an interesting experience," he said. Berry said his first year at the Guildhall School had been "a great start", which had given him many chances to perform and receive expert guidance. "I definitely took advantage of every opportunity I could get to play." Alongside his academic studies, which included an original research project, Berry practised the piano for between four and eight hours each day, as he worked on learning new repertoire with teacher Alexander Soares. "Getting to work with him has been really good for my development, particularly around more contemporary music. "I have played a lot of Romantic music and the style of playing in contemporary music is very different, it is more about exploring the sounds you can make on a piano," he said. For his research project, Berry looked at developing technical exercises for piano players that would help to address some of the shortcomings, physical and psychological injury risks of more traditional methods. "In my project I asked, what if we could make exercises that were lower risk and more enjoyable to practise. "Eventually, my goal is to create a book of such exercises that self-taught piano players can use at home." Berry has been fortunate to receive another scholarship to help cover costs. His studies will include even more opportunities for recitals and professional skills development, as he and his fellow students work towards developing performance and academic careers. • Berry will give a recital for Dunedin music lovers this Friday, July 11, from 7pm at Hanover Hall, playing works from his new repertoire, including Ravel, Corigliano, Gerswhin-Wild and Liszt. He will also give concerts in Wellington, Wānaka and Alexandra this month.
Otago Daily Times
29-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Year 11 trio win top title at Rockquest
Deaf Raccoon band members (from left) Christopher Body, 16, Leo Hill, 15, and Jamie Bradfield, 15, after taking the top spot at the Smokefree Rock Quest on Saturday. Photo: Kelsey Frost Dunedin band Deaf Raccoon are crediting lunchtime jam sessions for their success after taking top honours at a regional battle of the bands competition at the weekend. On Saturday, the John McGlashan College three-piece were shocked to hear they had beaten 14 other bands to win the Dunedin regional Smokefreerockquest final. The programme, now in its 37th year, sees bands, soloists and duos from Whangarei to Invercargill fight it out for a spot in the national final. The band is comprised of year 11 students Christopher Body, Leo Hill and Jamie Bradfield. Christopher said the three-piece were "buzzing", but also very surprised. "We were all just really confused as to how we won — all the other bands are so talented ... I just thought we had no chance." Christopher plays bass and provides back-up vocals, Leo does the main vocals and guitar and Jamie is the drummer. Deaf Raccoon band members (from left) Leo Hill, Jamie Bradfield and Christopher Body perform their set for the competition. Photo: supplied "There's always super-high tension, because we know other bands outside of Rockquest, so it seems like friendly competition, but everyone's also super-tense. "When you get on stage of course it's nerve-racking, but afterwards it was fine," Christopher said. He described Deaf Raccoon's genre as "indie-rock ska" and the group performed an original and untitled song, which was written during lunchtime jam sessions in the school music room. This was Christopher's third year playing at Smokefreerockquest, but his first with Dead Raccoon and his first since the competition was shifted from the Mayfair Theatre to the Regent Theatre. The new venue was significantly more intimidating, Christopher said. "It was a lot more terrifying this year — it's so much bigger ... but you can't see anything when the lights are on you, so it's fine once you're up there."
Otago Daily Times
11-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Genre-spanning performance
Glyn MacDonald will lead Saturday's Dunedin Jazz Club performance with his trio, featuring vocalist Will Luhrs. PHOTO: SUPPLIED The Dunedin Jazz Club continues its autumn concert series this weekend with a showcase of contemporary jazz. Featured performers for the show, to be held this Saturday, from 7.30pm at Hanover Hall, will be the Glyn MacDonald Trio featuring Will Luhrs, who will present a combination of energetic instrumental work with Luhrs' smooth vocal stylings. Led by pianist and composer Glyn MacDonald, the Christchurch-based trio features bassist Luke Belcher and drummer Jono Blackie. Their sound blends jazz tradition with modern sensibilities, shaped by MacDonald's diverse musical experiences across Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa. The first half of the concert will highlight the trio's original compositions, before they team up with 18 year-old Luhrs for a series of genre-spanning arrangements. Saturday's performance will be a rare opportunity to see two generations of jazz talent together on stage, providing a rich and memorable musical experience. Tickets available via
