Now in its third year, this year’s edition of A One Night Stand with the Big Band Brothers was, in more ways than one, quite different and distinctly special.
The secret ingredient is the brilliant talent and evident passion the whole band puts into the performance
To start with, there were two performances on consecutive nights (though I must admit, Two Night Stand doesn’t quite have the same ring to it), and secondly, the concert was held at the Manoel Theatre in Valletta. This in itself is quite special already, but the venue’s vastly more intimate ambience actually gave the performance more character and, bar a few sporadic instances, better sound too.
As one might expect from a big band, the performance kicked off with not one, but two jazz standards. The first, Take Five, was certainly the ideal vehicle for a band fully armed with brass instruments to set the tone for the evening. With bandleader Daniel Cauchi ably handling the vocals, Duke Ellington’s Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me injected a bluesy swing, a prelude really to next number Jump, Jive an’ Wail’s upbeat energy and the first of many of Cauchi’s signature end-of-song leaps in the air.
The song was also the first of several to be visually enhanced by Pierre Portelli’s quick-draw musically-inspired sketches, an effective and fresh addition to an already engaging theatrical presentation.
One thing I have always found amazing when watching the Big Band Brothers is their tightness – no easy task given the band’s size, and also the fact that its ranks also include a traditional rock band set-up. And yet they perform seamlessly, easily adapting themselves to whatever style of music.
This offers a very comfortable environment for any artist to slip into, as guest singer Petra Zammit found out when she came on to sing Don’t Know Why. Norah Jones may have cashed in on the song first, but Zammit’s interpretation was just as exquisite, though it could have done with a little less treble and volume in the overall mix for better effect.
Later, Zammit also excelled in her duet with Cauchi on the Lucio Dalla masterpiece Caruso, the only number on the night not to feature just piano and vocals and certainly one of several highlights that would follow.
Six songs in, and out comes another surprise in the shape and diminutive size of six-year-old drummer Neil Azzopardi, who rather impressively handled a drum kit more than twice his size with the vigour of a seasoned musician, accompanied by the band through a rousing instrumental take of Sam and Dave’s classic hit Soul Man.
Incidentally, Big Band Brothers drummer Robert Spiteri was little older than Azzopardi when I first heard him play, and he has since grown to become one of the best and most versatile drummers on the island, so I make a note of Azzopardi’s name in my notebook for future reference as I’m certain we’ll hear from him again.
And talking of drums, I also appreciated guest drummer Simone Bosco’s talent. Coming on for a brief solo guest slot, he made good use of every piece of percussive equipment within reach to give a technical performance that may not have appealed to everyone in the theatre, but showed great talent nonetheless.
And to keep the percussive slant going, the band came back on empty-handed, performing an a capella number that relied heavily on body percussion.
This innovative interlude was followed by a rocking rendition of The Beatles’ Come Together and a most welcome Maltese number called Rigal f’Banju. The latter dates back to the 1930s and has been revived by the Big Band Brothers in recent concerts as well as on their recent debut album Ftakar.
After the interval, the band returned with yet another surprise, a number of dancers accompanying them as they made their way through the stalls performing Guetta’s smash hit Without You. And to remind us just how versatile they are, they follow it up with another jazz great, Mack the Knife, a sketch featuring a touch of light-hearted għana and yet another guest, this time veteran singer Tony Camilleri, who was joined by pretty much everyone present in singing his absolute evergreen hit L-Għannej.
It was actually quite touching to see such an overwhelming response to a Maltese song, one that I hope will continue to grow and spread further to sustain the longevity and influence of the Maltese songbook.
On a different note, the interpretation of Average White Band’s Pick up the Pieces was smooth and funky, featuring no fewer than three great solos that could have been more effective had their volume been boosted a notch or two – tiny details really, but they do leave their mark, which the solo sax number by Philip Attard later on certainly did.
Switching genres yet again, the band served up their rock-edged interpretation of Walter Micallef’s Sieħbi fil-Cupboard tal-Kċina, which drew the same kind of rousing applause that Cauchi received when he performed the song at this year’s Rockestra.
Rounding off the night with Route 66 and How Sweet it is to be Loved by You was never going to appease the audience, but of course the band knew that, and served up the popular Ai Se Tu Pego as an encore. They topped it off with another Maltese classic, this time an energetic rendition of Tony Gauci’s Qalb ta’ Kampanjol, before finally calling it a night.
A different venue, a different presentation and certainly more guest performers than ever before all played an essential part in making this year’s One Night Stand a superb success.
The secret ingredient, however, is the brilliant talent and evident passion the whole band puts into the performance. Add to that the mix of musical genres, showmanship, general touch of humour – hats off to comperes Luke Dalli and Elaine Saliba too here – and the all-round close interaction with the audience, which were also important elements in the event’s success.
Big Band Brothers concerts have never been an ordinary event, but this time they’ve reached a new standard as to what they can achieve; one that they will have to think long and hard to outdo next time round.
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