Some were mystified by the fast and skillful assault on the ivory bars by Jeremy Monteiro, while others were left dumbstruck after Mohamed Noor’s percussion solo. The rest were impressed with the combined efforts of Andrew Lim (Guitar), Tama Goh (Drums), Christy Smith (Bass) and Greg Lyons (Saxophone) as the guys whipped up some smooth, solid jazz tunes from the likes of Michel Legrand, famous French tunes like Autumn Leaves and of course, their own original compositions.
All these took place last Thursday and Friday night as the Alliance Francaise de Singapour played host to the exclusive New Year Jazz Concert with Jeremy Monteiro. The event was sponsored by ZoCard, Singapore’s only award-winning, free postcard advertising company and Patron of the Arts for the 9th year running.
Guests thronged the reception hall right as the sun was setting on Thursday evening, eagerly anticipating the start of events. Several notable names included Mark Grieves, Head of Consumer Financial Services Division of OCBC and Priscylla Shaw, Member of Alliance Francaise’s Board of Directors and member of the philanthropic Shaw Foundation. The guests helped themselves to a generous spread of wine and cheese as they mingled among each other, exchanging name cards and widening their social and professional circles.
The doors opened at about 7:45 pm where a steady stream of guests queued up to enter the arena and the concert started after a brief introductory speech by the Executive Director of Alliance Francaise, Mr. Pierre-Emmanuel Jacob. The event was also graced by His Excellency, Mr. Pierre Buhler, Ambassador of France to Singapore.
The band played 2 sets each night, each set about an hour long and music aficionados were amazed at the note-perfect solos and beats which were consistent throughout the night. In short, it was a simply World class performance.