Musical Maestros

Following a show-stopping performance at their launch earlier this term, the Foyer Jazz Club returned to the Leighton Park stage, this time with special guest and stunning vocalist, Joanna Eden.

The Michael Malnick Foyer come Jazz Café proved to be the ideal venue for such a concert, with its fantastic acoustics and first-rate facilities, as friends from the local community entered in their dozens to share the School’s adoration of music.

During her time at Leighton Park, Joanna, who has performed all over the world, released five albums and supported big names in the industry, remarked, “There must be something in the water here which produces great vocalists.”

Joanna has been a singing teacher for 12 years since the parents of her first student begged her to start. That student was Sam Smith, now an international star and highest selling debut artist in the US since records began. Sam Smith has stated “[Joanna] taught me how to sing… everything I ever learnt was from her… [she] inspired me to start writing… she is literally the reason for my career.”

In a once in a lifetime opportunity, a group of Year 9 musicians took the place of Joanna’s former student come international star, for an unmissable afternoon workshop. Joanna concentrated on phrasing and shaping a melody however, not without noting the importance of really making a song your own and considering the emotion behind it. She advised our singers to learn songs inside out and to even attempt singing with their eyes closed!

Martha in Year 9 exclaimed, “It was an amazing opportunity to meet such an outstanding singer and receive genuine feedback to constantly improve on our singing.”

The Upper Sixth Jazz band later dazzled the audience with their performance of ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by Alicia Keys, before Joanna was joined by the School’s House Band. Led by Head of Jazz, Stuart Henderson on the trumpet, the band featured Tom Berge, a rising star in the jazz piano world, Simon Price, one of the South’s finest jazz drummers and Paul Jefferies, Double and Electric Bass Teacher at the school.

Student Henderson summed up the evening as “Superb!”

The next Foyer Jazz concert will take place on Thursday 11^th June and will feature remarkable Jazz Violinist, Ben Holder. Tickets are available to purchase, for £12.00 per person, at http://bit.ly/FoyerJazzConcert.