VINCE PLAYS VAN’S MUSIC @ CITY RECITAL HALL

Vince Jones
One of Australia’s premiere jazz vocalists and trumpet players Vince Jones

My ‘home on high’ on Saturday night was the City Recital Hall. It was in this hallowed Concert Hall that  I saw the great Vince Jones backed by a crack band, aptly named the Astral Orchestra, perform all the tracks from two classic early Van Morrison albums- Astral Weeks and Moondance.

For the first set- many consider Astral Weeks to be his greatest work- Jones sang solo and delivered memorable interpretations of songs of the soaring nature of Beside You and Ballerina to flowing, rhythmic pieces such as Sweet Thing  and The Way Young Lovers Are. 

Jones gave a brief intro to each song, providing the audience with a bit of a back story/insight.

My favourite anecdote was when Jones described how the band that Morrison employed for his album couldn’t quite understand what he was trying to achieve. They sought some clarification from him. Not the most articulate or musically knowledgeable of artists but certainly one of the most intuitive, Morrison told them, ‘just follow me’! And that was how one of the great rock albums was made.

After the darkness of the album’s final song, Slim Slow Slider, Jones and his Astrals took a well deserved break, and the enjoyed went out to enjoy some light refreshments and partake in some foyer banter.

The second set began with the wonderful And It Stoned Me. Then Jones was joined on stage by the lovely Justine Clarke.  Clarke spoke about her love of Morrison’s work and how she could chart her life via different Morrison albums. Together the duo delivered a great version of Moondance. Other second set highlights were a rousing version of Brand New Day- I had forgotten what a great song this was, Clarke’s lyrical rendering of Crazy Love,  and the high spirited delivery of Come Running.

All in all, a great night at the City Recital Hall.

Yes of-course it would be wonderful if the great Irish troubadour would come out and play Australia again.  Perhaps this is an unlikely prospect. Anyhow, hey,  this concert was a great next best thing.