Jake Dennis (middle), keyboardist Thierryno Gangou (left) and drummer Richard Pooley (right)
The Jazz Room: A Frank Sinatra & Louis Armstrong Tribute at Freo.Social by Fever
Photo Credit: Greg Letts
On a Thursday evening, my partner and I headed down to Freo.Social to watch Fever's "The Jazz Room: A Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong Tribute" performed by the Jake Dennis Band.
As we entered the large cavernous room of Freo.Social which used to be the home of the Fly by Night Musicians Club for many decades and earlier was the Artillery Drill Hall in the 1890s, we were greeted by low dimmed lights and candles across the front of the whole stage to create a beautiful ambience. The audience enjoyed pre-show drinks and food from the bar as they chatted in small groups seated cabaret style.
Before long, it was time for the show to begin as members of the Jake Dennis band came on stage consisting of keyboardist Thierryno Gangou “Mr T”, double bassist Benjamin Anderson, saxophonist Tom Grebel and drummer Richard Pooley – then finally the lead singer Jake Dennis.
Having grown up on a steady diet of listening to Frank Sinatra tracks with his grandfather when he was a wee lad, Dennis’s commanding voice and charismatic on stage presence set the tone for a very relaxing and fun evening.
The audience were treated to the many favourite hits of Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong.
Dennis kept the audience entertained alternating his melodic renditions of songs alongside softer tones and cooing that is characteristic of the jazz genre. He also entertained the audience with some interesting anecdotes on each of the above musicians – citing for example that both Sinatra and Armstrong had had 4 wives each over the course of their life time – hence providing the inspiration for their many love songs!
The audience enjoyed hearing the famous love songs of “Satchmo” (Louis Armstrong) including La Vie En Rose inspired by Édith Piaf (the famous French singer), Hello Dolly, and What a Wonderful World and popular songs from Frank Sinatra such as Fly Me to the Moon, My Way and New York, New York.
These timeless songs and many others that were performed by the Jake Dennis and his jazz swing quintet within the lovely setting of Freo.Social created a very relaxing evening and before we knew it – the beautiful evening had come to an end.
The Jazz Room: Tribute to Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong by Fever is a beautifully chosen collection of songs performed live by Jake Dennis and his band – and as we face current difficult times – these soothing songs are a welcome distraction from a turbulent world.
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