Jazz thrilled the Second City
Published:Friday | December 7, 2018 | 12:00 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
Jazz great Mica Paris was as enthralled by her audience as they were with her. They were also equally impressed by the competence of pianist Lloyd Shirley, assigned to play alongside the jazz sensation on Tuesday night at Hanover Grange at the fabulous Tryall Club in Hanover.
Philanthropist Theresa Roberts and husband Andrew opened up their Jamaican villa to an intimate group of music lovers all in the name of charity. This year's recipients were the advocacy group Sarah's Children and the Women's Health Network.
When Paris entered the miniature stage and opened her mouth in tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, the audience was totally blown away, and many were pleasantly surprised.
When the singer thought she had completed her set, two separate encores brought her back to the stage.
"It is a good show to do (one-man jazz show) because you don't always need a big band. Sometimes we go as a quartet or strip down with just a piano. It can work - that's what's great about jazz. With jazz you don't need lots of instruments, so I can come over here, find a Jamaican guy, give him the songs to learn and we do it," she gushed.
"He's very good. He's brilliant," she said of Shirley. "It was wonderful. The audience was amazing. I had a great time," Paris added.
But, it was doing a performance for charity which would benefit many of the less fortunate, that the 49-year-old mother of two was most happy about.
"It is always fantastic because you know it's not just another show. There is a reason for it that's powerful in itself." she said.
A well-known television and radio presenter, Paris has appeared in several television shows including Miss Naked Beauty, CelebAir and The Sounds of Musical. Mica Paris is one of the UK's most respected and finest female singers, with a career full of hits such as; I Never Felt Like This Before, Baby Come Back Now and My One Temptation.
"I have been doing Ella show now for the last year, celebrating her life. Because as you know, I have got my old hits and everything, but I decided to do a jazz record for Ella Fitzgerald, and just to celebrate her life because she was such an amazing icon, and everyone is asking for her all the time," Paris said in explaining the theme of the show. For event host Theresa Roberts, it was her utmost pleasure to once again stage the annual fundraiser. "I knew we were gonna love it because her voice is so special, and I know about her Jamaican heritage and her grandparents, so I knew it was gonna be good, so I was glad when she said yes."