Entertainment

Concert tour - a success story

by Mahes PERERA

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Coming back home after a hectic and an interesting six week tour of America and Canada, Dalreen was still in the euphoria of it all, when we met her. "It was fantastic" says an exuberant Dalreen, "the weeks passed by so swiftly and I hoped we could stay longer. We had shows in Los Angeles, Washington, New Jersey, Detroit and Toronto. Chandimal and the 2nd Connection was the band at all the shows."

How did the concert schedule come about?

"The show in LA was organised by the Serendib Foundation for Music and Performing Arts and they co-ordinated the whole tour for us. Our performance at LA was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Universal City in Hollywood. The Old Boys Unions of St. Peter's College and St. Joseph's College held their dance at the Marriott Hotel, Washington Tyson's Corner. They had the traditional Josephian - Peterite match and the dance that followed was like never ending what with Sinhala songs, calypsos and the bailas. Oh it was good, they had a grand time."Dalreen

and the band Chandimal and the 2nd Connection also had a stop at New Jersey for the S. Thomas' College Dinner dance which was a packed affair at the Sheraton Hotel, while in Detroit, Michigan it was the Sri Lanka Association dance held at the Detroit University.

In Canada they wowed the audience in Toronto at the celebrations for Sri Lanka Day which was followed by a dinner dance, and that was a riot we understand. "October 3 weekend saw three shows in Toronto all performed by Sri Lankan artistes. On the Friday night Chandimal and his band and I performed. The next day Saturday Sohan & the X'periments were in full form and on Sunday Bathiya & Santhush with Randir, Ashanthi and Umara were in action.

It was hectic for our Sri Lankans out there but they enjoyed every minute of it. In fact they commented that it would have been nice if all three groups got together and performed one big show" expressed Dalreen.

A singer who over the years has been a charismatic personality on stage and still continues to be so, is looking forward to the festive season here. "I was contracted to go to LA for the Christmas and New Year's Eve dance but due to the severe wild fires there recently the dances have been cancelled so I will be in Colombo.

It's all for the best, in a way I'm happy because I have the opportunity to put up the X'mas tree after five years and to celebrate with my grandchildren, two year old Jaynah and three month old Riyana." All our good wishes to Dalreen for the season, who since her return was featured at three concerts at the BMICH and was a popular choice at corporate functions.

Spicy and entertaining

By Mahes PERERA

The rains came down fiercely, but that did not deter the Thomas Siffling, Trio from performing their concert last Thursday at the Barefoot Gallery presented by the Goethe Institut. Although it was billed as a concert "of balance between acoustic jazz and electronic groove music", unfortunately due to travel constraints the electronic part of the concert could not be featured. Yet it was an entertaining evening of acoustic jazz with Thomas Siffling blowing a cool trumpet and flugelhorn, Jens Loh on acoustic bass and Markus Huller on drums. The Trio's programme was an easy going one with no undue avant gardish treatment of the pieces which some German musicians were guilty of when they performed here in Sri Lanka.

Thomas Siffling commented that he wrote music that is comprehensive and makes people dance. This was evident in the evening's performance. There were tunes that related to the audience.

Burt Bacharch's "The Look of Love" got a funk treatment, The "Beatles Come Together" was given a delicate muted trumpet expression with the bassist and drummer giving added thrust to the melody with their delightful artistry. The absence of a keyboard was not felt at all and I guess that's how it should be. If your are a musician you should be able to make music and hold the audience' attention with the minimum of instruments.

Tracks from their current CD 'Kitchen Music' was also performed which went down well with the audience the music laced with soul and funk beats. In his introduction to the tracks from 'Kichen Music' Thomas Siffling said that 'Jazz is like ginger' and he isn't far wrong. Because it is spicy to a jazz addict, as it was for him.

It was evident that he found his own language both on his instruments and in the form of composition and sound.

The call for an encore from the audience was justifiable which sent the audience home on a happy note. From Colombo the Trio was proceeding early next morning to Mumbai and then to Chennai for concerts.

African cultural music at Terrace, Mt. Lavinia

The Peace Cultural Group formed in 2004 as a symbol of appreciation of South Africa's political past which was characterised by ample violence as a resort in cases of disagreement will perform on December 2 from 7.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m. at the Terrace, Mt. Lavinia Hotel.The group comprised 16 members with representation across gender, age and language. Seventy per cent of group hail from the country's under privileged communities and about thirty per cent unemployed. The programme for the evening will be different genre of music incorporating opera extracts re-arranged to suit our time, style and history. Organised by the Africa - Sri Lanka Friendship Association with the Embassy of South Africa.

Rock a la Chitral

Rock fans young and old had the golden opportunity to enjoy our very own singer Chitral Somapala who made a name for himself in the rock scene in Germany. Chitral was in performance with his group Civilization One at the Sri Lanka Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Festival of 'Nine Lessons and Carols'

Trinity College, Kandy will hold its annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on December 7 at the Chapel, with Lassantha Tennakoon as their Choir Master. The Choir Leader is Jonathan Yogaraj. This choral tradition dating back to 1946 will "untold on a misty hill top at the College Chapel with oil lamps that will carry a scent and light up the Chapel Grounds."This year the Trinity College Choir marks a special milestone with a launch of a CD titled 'Carols from Trinity' in return for donations towards the Choir Development Fund.