Performed by
Simon Tedeschi and George Washingmachine.
The B.
Queanbeyan. 3rd December 2021.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
When a venue
lures audiences with the promise of experiencing a performance by one of country’s
most celebrated pianists, it’s reasonable to expect that that artist will be
provided with a decent instrument and appropriate
presentation for their performance. Not so for the recent performance by Simon
Tedeschi and George Washingmachine .
“Summertime – a celebration of Gershwin
favourites” was presented in the B, Queanbeyan’s glamorous new entertainment
venue, previously known as the Bicentennial Hall but now repurposed and newly
renovated at the cost of some millions into a comfortable multi-purpose venue.
The B has a seating capacity almost double that of the nearby Q, making it an attractive
venue for touring shows.
Simon
Tedeschi is acknowledged as one of the country’s most accomplished classical
pianists and a celebrated interpreter of the music of George Gershwin. This was
his first ever Queanbeyan concert, for which he had teamed with George
Washingmachine, a brilliant jazz violinist who had forged much of his early
music career in Canberra. No wonder it drew a large audience to the B.
Extraordinarily
however, on entering the theatre the audience was confronted with the sight of
a stage bare except for the tiny electronic instrument which looked like a
child’s toy piano, a violin on a stand, two microphones and spaghetti of
electric wires running around the stage. Many assumed the tiny piano was some sort of
joke which would be explained when the show began.
But as
Tedeschi and Washingmachine took the stage, and it became obvious that a rather
uncomfortable looking Tedeschi was going to use this instrument for his
performance, a sense of bemusement settled over the theatre. Not only did the
instrument look ridiculous, it soon became obvious that its lack of dynamic,
tonal and mechanical qualities would seriously compromise Tedeschi’s ability to
display his undoubted pianistic brilliance for which he is justly famed. This no
doubt accounted for the luke-warm reception given the opening item, a bouncy
version of They All Laughed.
However,
sensing the disquiet, Washingmachine quickly stepped in and with some amiable
banter, corny jokes and reminiscence about early Queanbeyan and Canberra, soon
had the audience relaxed and eating out of his hands. The pair then launched
into a dazzling arrangement of I Got
Rhythm, which they followed with a little known response by Irving Berlin, entitled
He Ain’t Got Rhythm.
They
followed this with a superb arrangement of Gershwin’s Summertime with Washingmachine contributing some moody vocals proving
that in addition to being an accomplished jazz violinist he was also a consummate
jazz vocalist.
Washingmachine
then left the stage to Tedeschi, who bravely ignored the deficiencies of his instrument to somehow wrestle from it a dazzling rendition
of the famous “Rhapsody in Blue”. An heroic effort that was rewarded with
enthusiastic applause.
He and
Washingmachine combined again for a delightful swing version of But Not For Me, which they followed with
a romantic interpretation of Embraceable
You before launching into a virtuosic arrangement of S’Wonderful
during which Tedeschi demonstrated his mastery of classical styles by
interpolating passages in the styles of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms,
Rachmaninoff, Sartie and others.
A rousing
hot jazz tribute to Duke Ellington rounded out what should have been a triumphant
program, but which was regrettably marred by poor presentation which included the
inappropriate instrument and distracting rock-show lighting.
Hopefully
Queanbeyan will be the only city to endure this bizarre experience and the
management of the B will give more thought as to how it presents artists of the
calibre of Tedeschi and Washingmachine. This effort respected neither the
artists nor their audience.
