13/12/2024 RNCM Big Band with Madeline Bell (vocals)
Legendary soul singer Madeline Bell joins the RNCM Big Band to deliver a toe-tapping evening of standout tunes and sizzling rhythms.
Performing an eclectic mix of jazz classics, rarely heard gems, and two brand-new compositions by RNCM student composers, the programme also includes a fresh arrangement of Undine Smith Moore’s Before I’d Be Slave, originally written for piano, and features bespoke arrangements created specifically for this performance.
Madeline Bell will perform an array of jazz standards and R&B classics, including works written for her by blues icon Georgie Fame. Fans will recognize The Blues and Me and It Don’t Mean a Thing from the 1992 album City Life, marking Bell’s first recording with a young Iain Dixon.
Programme
Wayne Shorter Endangered Species
Carla Bley Real Life Hits
Student Composition 1
Kenny Wheeler ‘Opening’ and ‘Kind Folk’ from Sweet Time Suite
Georgie Fame Anthem for a Band
Frits Landesbergen, Jeroen de Rijk, Madeline Bell Soulmates
Georgie Fame The Blues and Me
Harold Arlen Over the Rainbow
Dusty Springfield I Only Wanna Laugh
Wayne Shorter Children of the Night
Undine Smith Moore Prelude to Lonely Woman
Ornette Coleman Lonely Woman
Student Composition 2
Herbie Hancock Wiggle Waggle
Duke Ellington It Don’t Mean a Thing
Etta James Stormy Weather
Stevie Wonder If It’s Magic
Ray Charles Hallelujah I Love Her So
Performers
alto saxophones
Conor Parker-Delves
Sam Nuttall
tenor saxophones
Aaron Lo
Eleanor Williams
baritone saxophone
Matthew Haworth
trumpets
Alexander Browne
Leo Parry
Thomas Brook
Jonathan Wong
trombones
Ben Moss
Toby Marshall
Freddie Hughes
Richard Stevens
piano
Luca den Hollander
guitar
Andrew Slaven
bass
Daniel Orchard
drums
Zac Hemming
percussion
Sam Milton
About
A Newark, New Jersey native, Madeline Bell first arrived in Europe in 1962 with the Alex Bradford Singers and has stayed ever since.
These gospel beginnings stood her in good stead as a much sought-after session singer for the likes of Dusty Springfield, Joe Cocker and The Rolling Stones. Her solo career was marked by albums such as Bell’s a Poppin’, Doin’ Things, and This Is One Girl.
In more recent years, her jazz/blues repertoire has seen Madeline play the world over, fronting the likes of the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw and the BBC Big Band. In 2023, she celebrated her 80th birthday at her sold-out show at London’s Cadogan Hall with the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Matthew Jones.
