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| Jared Newall - Ian McLean- and the Blamey Street Big Band. |
Music Director and Conductor – Ian Mclean AM CSC
Vocalists: Jared Newall – Leisa Keen – Ashleigh Harris.
Saxophones: Joshua Hackwill – Amanda Macfarlane - Sophia Hadjimichael
– Tanya Kiermaier - Andrew Hackwill.
Trumpets: Mark Du Rieu – Peter Levan – Catherine Pollard - Matthew
Johnston - Mike Hauptmann.
Trombones: Bronwen Mackenzie – Caitlyn Bool - Paul Trezise –
Peter Redpath
Piano: Perrin Lionis
– Guitar: Col Bernau - Bass: Peter McDonald – Drums: Derrick Brassington.
The B. Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre – October 11th,
2025.
Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.
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| Leisa Keen - Ian McLean and the Blamey Street Big Band. |
Since it was established in 2002, The Blamey Street Big Band
has been wowing audiences across Canberra with its innovative arrangements of
Big Band classics. A community band, The Blamey Street Big Band consists of some
of the region’s finest jazz musicians united by their love of the big band
genre.
Until last year, the band’s public appearances were mainly
confined to occasional concerts at the Harmonie German Club, where it has built
up a loyal, appreciative audience, at Floriade, the Royal Botanic Gardens and
jazz festivals around the country.
In 2024 the band gave its first concert in the Queanbeyan
Performing Arts Centre. It performed a concert based around the music of the
Beatles in the B, which it discovered was an ideal venue for its music.
That concert proved so popular, that earlier this year the
band returned with an even more ambitious program, and possibly a world first
achievement, focussing on the music of ABBA. For that concert all twenty-one ABBA
compositions in the program were re-arranged by resident band arranger, Andrew
Hackwill, in the style of the great swing bands of the forties and fifties. Here
is a link to my review of that concert.
https://ccc-canberracriticscircle.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-music-of-abba-blamey-street-big-band.html
“Shaken Not Stirred” focused on the music featured in the
James Bond movies, and although Hackwill did not attempt to outdo himself this
time - there are some iconic James Bond sounds you just don’t mess with - he
still contributed no fewer than nine stunning new arrangements of the twenty
compositions that formed the program.
The scene was set by guitarist, Col Berneu with that familiar guitar riff from the first James Bond movie “Dr No”, before vocalist Leisa Keen got the ball rolling with a stirring rendition of “Goldfinger” written by composer John Barry, who was responsible for most of the music associated with the James Bond movies, in an arrangement by his favoured arranger, Jesper Riis, for which on this occasion, that extraordinary baritone saxophone solo was given a masterful rendition by Andrew Hackwill.
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| Perris Lioni (Piano) - Leisa Keen (vocalist) - Peter McDonald (Bass) - Derrick Brassington (Drums) |
Leisa Keen is the Blamey Street Big Band’s resident vocalist, and she demonstrated why with her beautiful rendition of Carol Bayer- Sayer’s “Nobody Does It Better” which the band accompanied with the original arrangement by Marvin Hamlish, who, Leisa noted, was also the composer of the musical “A Chorus Line” which was currently playing in the adjacent theatre, The Q, at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, and in which she is also performing.
During the concert Leisa contributed several other solos,
including a spritely, up-tempo version of “Moonraker” written by John Barry and
Hal David, and “Licensed to Kill” both arranged especially for her by Hackwill,
and “Diamonds are for Ever” in the original arrangement created by Jesper Riis
for Shirley Bassey.
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| Ashleigh Harris with the Blamey Street Big Band |
Ashleigh Harris made her debut with the Blamey Street Big Band as a backing singer in the previous concert, “The Music of ABBA”. But for “Shaken Not Stirred” in addition to teaming with the inimitable Andrew Hackwill to provide backing vocals for several of his arrangements, she stepped into the limelight to reveal herself as a polished soloist in her own right, with her rendition of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic “The Look of Love”.
Harris also shone in
the Jesper Riis arrangement of “All Time High” and in Hackwill’s arrangement of
“Golden Eye”, but it was her drop-dead gorgeous rendition of the Napier/Smith
song “The Writing’s on the Wall” that really revealed her exciting potential as
a singer to watch.
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| Jared Newall - Derrick Brassington (drums). |
A special feature of this concert was the performance of guest soloist Jared Newall. Newall is familiar to local audiences from his appearances in leading roles in the musicals Jersey Boys and The Boy from Oz. And when not appearing in musical, he spends his time touring the world as a member of “The Ten Tenors”. So far, visiting 20 countries, appearing in 1200 concerts and still counting.
Clearly revelling in the opportunity to fulfil an ambition
to be a big band soloist, he soon had the audience eating out of his hand with
his cheerful, confident professionalism and excellent vocalism.
Newall commenced his first set with a specially written
Hackwill arrangement of “No Time to Die”, which he followed with a Jesper Riis
arrangement of “You Know My Name”.
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| Jarad Newall with the Blamey Street Big Band. |
Newall opened the second half with two Hackwill arrangements,
the first, an up-tempo version “The Living Daylights”, introduced on drums by Derrick
Brassington, followed by John Barry’s “Thunder Ball”. Later, two more Hackwill arrangements, a
stunning solo version of “For Your Eyes Only” for which Hackwill and Ashliegh
Harris provided superb backing vocals, before being joined by Leisa Keen for
polished duet renditions of John Barry’s “For Your Eyes Only” arranged by
Hackwill, and the Jesper Riis arrangement of Paul & Linda McCartney’s “Live
and Let Die”.
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| Leisa Keen and Jared Newall performing "For Your Eyes Only" |
Although this report has focussed primarily on the three excellent vocalists, it would be remiss not to mention the thrilling sounds achieved by the brass section, the lush tenor sax solos of Josh Hackwill , the understated elegance of Perris Lionis’ piano accompaniments, especially for “The Writings on the Wall” , the brilliance of Col Bernau guitar embellishments, the understated security of Peter McDonald’s bass, grounded by Derek Brassington’s ever-secure percussion, or the professional polish achieved by Musical Director and conductor Ian McLean.
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| Ian McLean Conductor and Musical Director of the Blamey Street Big Band. |
At the end of the concert Ian McLean announced that the Blamey
Street Big Band had accepted an invitation to become the Band in Residence at the
Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, and that it’s next concert in the B would
take place on 16th May 2026, and would feature the band’s special
arrangements of songs associated with Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel and The Bee
Gees.
Judging by the audience reaction to this concert, you might
be wise to book early.
All images by Stephen McGrory
