AC-CENT-TCHU-ATES The Positive. Emma Pask celebrates the music of Harold Arlen. ADELAIDE CABARET FESTIVAL

 

 

Emma Pask.  Photo by Claudio Rascella

 

 Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ates The Positive Celebrating the music of Harold Arlen. 

Performed by Emma Pask. Jazz trio Dr. Kevin Hunt on piano. Phil Stack on Double Bass and Tim Firth on Drums. The Banquet Room. Adelaide Cabaret Festival . Adelaide Festival Centre. June 20 2024

Reviewed  by Peter Wilkins 

Emma Pask and Phil Stack

Celebrated award winning jazz singer Emma Pask had her audience in the Festival Centre’s Banquet room mesmerized at her only performance of the songs of the late, great Harold Arlen. Many may not recognize the name, but by the end of her entrancing 70 minute performance everyone could recall the Arlen songs in Pask’s repertoire. Gershwin called him “the best of us all” . His output was prolific, composing about 500 songs over six decades for the leading artists of his time from Ethel Waters to Ella Fitzgerald, from Aretha Franklin to Frank Sinatra and from Bing Crosby to Judy Garland..

Pask’s adoration of Arlen is palpable in the emotional rendition of such classics as Stormy Weather,beautifully accompanied by  Phil Stack on the moody Double Bass. Let’s Fall in Love and One For the Road, made famous in the soulful rendition by Frank Sinatra. Backed by her trio of Dr. Kevin Hunt on piano, Phil Stack on Double Bass and Tim Firth on Drums, Pask sings from the heart. Her vocal rhythms tap into the deep spiritual soul of the Blues and her audience submits to her magic. Pask intersperses her performance with anecdotes including the time that Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen barged in on a dinner party to perform  Blues in the Night ( My Mama Done Told Me) for the guests. They included Mel Torme, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney!  “I must sing that song” Garland exclaimed. Pask’s rendition is fired with passion. She is the mistress of scat, the wizard of improvisation, backed by three musical magicians of jazz.  Their ensemble improvisation is bewitching.

Emma Pask and Dr Kevin Hunt.  Photo by Claudio Rascella

Few may realize that Arlen composed the music for The Wizard of Oz and that he and lyricist Edgar Harburg won the Academy Award for Over The Rainbow, which the studio at one stage wanted to remove from the film! Hope and dreams soar through Pask’s rendition of this timeless Number One classic as a lasting tribute to the genius of her beloved composer.

Pask offers a fitting closure to her entrancing performance with Arlen and Mercer’s song of optimism in the face of trouble and adversity. Ac-Cent-Tchu-ate the Positive is Pask’s mantra in honour of Arlen and Mercer.  The catchy tune and uplifting lyrics, sung with Pask’s heartfelt jazz style remind us to remain positive and eliminate negativity.  In this evening of jazz and joyfulness  Pask and her trio remind us of the healing power of her song and the immeasurable gift of Harold Arlen’s compositions.