Delmar sings Gershwin

Press, 7 October 1987, Page 23

Delmar sings Gershwin

Elaine Delmar, Malcolm McNeill, Brian Dee, Mario Castronari, Frank Gibson Jun., and George Gershwin are the stars of the next Jazz South concert on Saturday evening. The Christchurch jazz organisation has arranged a tour by singers Delmar and McNeill to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Gershwin’s death. They will be singing the works of Gershwin.

Saturday’s concert follows two in Auckland ,and precedes concerts in Wellington, Invercargill, Dunedin and Whangarei.

Elaine Delmar is an American singer who has toured widely. Concert performances have included the Festival Hall, London, with Stephane Grappelli and George Melly, the Free Trade Hall, Manchester, with Andy Williams and the Royal Albert Hall with Michel Legrand and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Since starting her career at 16 as a singer in her father’s band her talents have developed in many different directions. She appeared in “Finian’s Rainbow” at the Royal

Shakespeare Theatre, Liverpool, in “No Strings” at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, and “Cowardy Custard” at the Mermaid Theatre.

She has worked in numerous television and radio shows and played the Bohemian Princess in Ken Russell’s film “Mahler.”

In 1983 she appeared successfully as a straight actress in David Hare’s play “A Map of the World” at the National Theatre in London.

Malcolm McNeill is a New Zealander well known to jazz audiences. His repertoire is much wider than that, however. He was a lead tenor with the Mike Sammes singers in the 1970 s in Britain and toured with Cleo Laine and John Dankworth.

Since returning home he has sung at concerts, clubs, on radio and television, and toured here and in Australia.

The band supporting the pair is made up of three freelance musicians. Frank Gibson Jun. is a New Zealander, Brian Dee, an Englishman-, and Mario Castronari was born in Berlin.

Frank Gibson is a regular at Jazz South concerts, Brian Dee is Elaine Delmar’s regular accompanist on piano and Mario Castronari is her regular bass player and husband. The programme is called “By George, it’s Gershwin,” a tribute Elaine Delmar sang at the Festival Hall in London.

Saturday’s concert will begin at 8 p.m. in the James Hay Theatre.