March marks the annual Auckland Arts Festival. Throughout the month there are events of visual art, concerts, theatre (both dance and musicals) and playgrounds all around the city. Many of them are free but when I saw that the otherworldly sensation Cécile McLorin Salvant would be in town I had to buy tickets.
Located at the Great Hall in the Auckland Town Hall, the same place I saw Alt-J and Jauz, Cécile and the Trio made their New Zealand debut on Thursday Match 15 at 7 pm. The show was an hour and a half with no intermission, but it was a jazz performance I will never forget.
Tickets were pretty pricey, so we got the $45 dollar tickets at the top of the balcony. Even though we could not see her too closely, the sound in this hall is amazing. She wore a simple black dress and white sandals, and walked slowly back and forth along the stage. Her voice is so commanding of every high and low pitch note that it rings to perfection. She is from Miami, born to a French and Haitian. After spending time studying classical and baroque music in France she started touring around the world and put out three albums.
This venue has always amazed me because of the organs, and we were lucky enough in this performance for the pianist, Aaron Diehl, to surprise us and play them! The crowd went wild when he raced up there, and the lights changed to make it all about him. I really enjoyed the cellist as I could tell he was having a great time. Paul Sikivie is from Florida but got his degree from Juilliard. On the drums was Kyle Poole, originally from Los Angeles he also now lives in New York City.
To be honest this was my first live jazz show and I was really impressed. The lyrics were fun and I enjoyed how each person had their own solo time. Cécile’s voice really is impressive and I would love to see her, and the Aaron Diehl Trio again 🙂 Next week I will go to another Auckland Art Festival show, this time to see The Lemon Bucket Orkestra for free.
Tip: Never miss a great show and be disappointed with having the worst seats! Bring along some binoculars to feel like you are front row!
Have you been to a live jazz show?