JAZZ royalty will be performing at the Lichfield Festival next month when Jacqui Dankworth appears.
The singer’s career has followed in the footsteps of her parents, vocalist Dame Cleo Laine and band leader Sir John Dankworth, who played at the city event in 1991.
For her own date at Lichfield Cathedral on 14th July, Jacqui will be joined by her world class trio and the Carducci Quartet.
She said the audience could expect “a stunning collaboration between different musical worlds”.
Jacqui added:
“There will be exquisite sounds and really beautiful songs arranged and performed by masterful musicians.
“It’s an eclectic mixture of material to take you on a wonderful and emotional musical journey.”
They will be showcasing work from their recently released album, Windmills, which includes arrangements of classics by the likes Sondheim, Legrand and Bernstein.
Jacqui said:
“All of the songs are from repertoire that I have known and performed over the years.
“Usually one finds new songs for a recording – songs that aren’t necessarily in one’s repertoire. We did it the other way round and mostly recorded songs I had been performing in concert for a while.
“The arrangements were already there but there had been no record of it, so we decided to change that.”
Featuring numbers such as Send in the Clowns and The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, if she had to pick just one from the album, Jacqui says it would be The Windmills of Your Mind – the iconic song from the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair – with music by Michel Legrand and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.
She said:
“Charlie Wood’s Spanish influenced arrangement of this song is particularly stunning – it’s dramatic and emotional.
“But all the songs on this album have struck a chord in my life. London By Night, I have known since being a young adult and it is a gem of a song and a joy to sing.
“Some Other Time is a masterpiece composition and has a fresh approach here.”
It would be easy to be daunted by the prospect of singing much-loved songs, especially those performed so memorably by her mother.
But Cleo had some words of advice early in Jacqui’s career:
“Mum wrote to me to say I shouldn’t back off singing the Great American Songbook.
“All the great singers have approached this material and it is a singer’s right to do so. They are timeless songs and a good performer can put their own stamp on them.
“She told me not to deny myself this experience just because she had sung most of them.”
Tickets for Jacqui Dankworth’s performance at Lichfield Cathedral on 14th July can be booked by visiting www.lichfieldfestival.org or calling 01543 306271.
