by Audrey Anderson
Hometown Weekly Reporter
An audience of 210 filtered into newest jazz venue in Metrowest, the sanctuary of Christ Episcopal Church Needham, to lend their support to the church’s missions in Haiti and to hear some fantastic jazz played by the long-established local group, Portrait in Jazz.
The Portrait in Jazz members are Brad Ellenberg on guitar, Deirdre Pedersen on vocals, Grant Smith on drums, Chris Hildebrand on saxophone/clarinet/flute, Bob Abruzese on bass, and Gary Bohan on trumpet/flugelhorn. The group performs regularly at private and corporate events, clubs, restaurants, town concert series, and libraries. The Jazz in the Sanctuary audience was fortunate to hear and watch these accomplished musicians in the intimate setting of the Christ Episcopal Church. Playing both standards and originals with passion and panache, the musicians gave it all they had in Needham.
The band’s two sets included both American Songbook standards and original compositions by Ellenberg, Hildebrand, and Bohan. In songs such as “All of Me,” “I’m in Heaven,” “The Girl from Ipanema,” and “Orange-Colored Sky,” Pedersen’s perfectly crafted vocals brought the audience back to the era when these marvelous songs were first performed. Her pure tone, jazzy styling, and spot-on interpretations were a joy. The solos contributed by each of the instrumentalists were busy, intricate, and inventive. Two musicians expertly played multiple instruments: Hildebrand played saxophone, clarinet, and flute, and Bohn played trumpet and flugelhorn, giving individual songs unique flavors.
Ellenberg’s original, “Spanish Nights,” included Latin-inspired melodies and rhythms, rising and falling cadences, and powerful solos, particularly on the flugelhorn. Another of Ellenberg’s originals, “Friday Night Rush Hour,” was a veritable wall of sound that diminished to a slow ramble, back to a rush, and then diminished to a conclusion. Bohan’s original jazz lullaby, “Spring with Stephanie,” written for his young daughter, was sweetly comforting.
The proceeds of the Jazz in the Sanctuary concert benefitted the Haiti Music Fund, Christ Episcopal Church’s 20-year partnership with the Haitian Lazil community. The church’s work with Lazil has included ongoing financial support for St. Luc’s elementary school, ongoing financial support for a whole-community music program, launching a goat-raising program, and medical missions and support.
Christ Episcopal Church plans to present more Jazz in the Sanctuary events this year, expanding the options for quality live music available in Needham. As concert series organizer, Micheal Niden, said, “This is the way the Great Hall concerts began. Look at how successful they are 10 years later.”
