| It was magic. From
the first note. From the first word. It was a setting that may well
have inspired Van the Man himself. Blue sky, golden sunshine, beautifully
rolling hillsides, lush green after recent rain, a light breeze
rustling the leaves of gigantic gum trees towering overhead. Paulinda
began the performance with a stirring rendition of a Van Morrison
song, Moondance, obviously a song about the night, but in terms
of relaxation, beauty, warmth and romance, absolutely spot on, thoroughly
in keeping with the occasion.
“Have you heard Paulinda singing lately?” enthused one
of my friends recently.
I had to admit that I hadn’t. Not for nearly two years, since
I heard her singing with the fabulous Memphis
Trio, after which I interviewed Paulinda
at her country home just outside town.
“She was brilliant before,” my friend went on, “but
now she’s even better!”
And so she was. What a performance. She, like only a handful of
entertainment artists in the world, is the real thing, a true star.
I had bumped into Paulinda a couple of times in town since the interview
and I knew that she had been working a lot on the coast. She was
also spending a lot of time in the recording studio, putting together
a new album called simply Simple Songs, with a Jazz/Funk band made
up of Spanish, English and Scandinavian musicians.
“Helge?” I asked as Paulinda introduced me to the Scandinavian
guitarist in her group Jazzt Like This at the newly opened Bar Tropicana.
“Yes,” he smiled, shaking my hand.
“I’ve hear so much about you,” I said, “thanks
for coming out to play for us in Alora.”
“It’s a pleasure,” he said and obviously meant
it.
In fact the group was not there in its entirety, English keyboard
player Dennis and Spanish drummer Manolo making up what they decided,
just for the afternoon, to call Jazz for Fun.
And what fun too! For everyone. While the kids bounced away their
energy on a huge bouncy castle and stalwart local celebrity Bernardo
rustled up a traditional Andalucian paella, Paulinda soon got the
teeming crowd into the mood, taking on the occasional bit of backing
vocals from the audience.
Jazz Funk, Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Roll, smooth, in the groove,
perfect. Yes, Paulinda and Jazz for Fun were sensational, my friend
was right, and with their excellent performance the growing stature
of the local music scene grew even further. Rock on, Paulinda. Rock
on, Alora.
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