A party full of fantastic ’40s-style hits: Hastings International Piano Festival reviews

If managing director Ian Roberts needed any vindication of the undeniable risks involved in launching any new venture, Saturday night’s final party was it.

A full house, at the end of a series of wide ranging events, which had encouraged a large number of generous donations enabling HIPF to support educational work with young musicians in the area and provide more than 1,000 free tickets for under 18s. This alone makes the festival worthwhile, and when the quality of performances is added into the mix we are doubly blessed.

On Saturday night, the Pasadena Roof Orchestra (PRO) opened with a breezy reading of High Society, which included a number of solo breaks that were to become a feature of the evening. The Puppini Sisters, dressed alarmingly like Carmen Miranda, then joined the orchestra for their first set, opening with ‘Sing, Sing Sing’. If ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’ was to be expected, their use of more modern favourites, in highly effective 1940s arrangements was not, and proved to be all the more captivating. Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’ sounded as if it had been written for the Land Army! They ended this set with ‘Jealousy’, announcing it was a tango and bringing dancers onto the floor again. Throughout the evening we were increasingly entertained with fine examples of Lindy Hop, Balboa, Swing Jive and Shag.

PRO’s lead singer Duncan Galloway then introduced ‘Jubilee Stomp’ before he crooned ‘What More Can I Ask’. His range of styles enabled him to move smoothly on to ‘I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead You Rascal You’, but his finest moment came with Bing Crosby’s classic ‘Don’t Fence Me In’ with the Puppini’s standing in admirably for the Andrews Sisters. To move on immediately to ‘I Will Survive’ – again in 1940s style – was unexpected and impressive.

After the interval the dancers were able to enjoy ‘Anything Goes’ before we heard an Italian number from the Puppinis and a foxtrot, which was a mashup of Lady Gaga and Billie Holiday. ‘I Put a Spell on You’ and ‘Putting on the Ritz’ brought us once again to Duncan Galloway with ‘Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart’ and a very up-tempo version of ‘Old man River’. The Sisters final set opened with ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ and then exploded with a salsa version of ‘Dancing Queen’!

The last number was supposed to be ‘Mack the Knife’, when the dance floor heaved with excitement, but encores were, of course, wildly encouraged and we ended the evening where we had begun, back in the 1940s with an improvised rendition of ‘In the Mood’. We were – and could have gone on for much longer. Let’s hope the festival becomes a fixity for many years to come.

Claire Martin, March 5

Two nights earlier brought a jazz evening to St Mary’s, led by acclaimed international jazz vocalist Claire Martin.

She was joined by regular partners Martin Sjöstedt (piano), Niklas Fernqvist (double bass) and Daniel Fredriksson (percussion) and special guests Alex Garnett and Liane Carroll.

If the piano was not quite at the heart of the evening then it played a respectable part with some fine breaks from Martin Sjöstedt in the first half and the more familiar presence of Liane Carroll in the second.

Claire has an eclectic style, drawing on numbers by Tony Bennett, Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald as well as more recent songs. She also ranges vocally from clearly articulated items like the laid-back approach to ‘Rainy Night in Tokyo’ or the scat vocals of ‘Believe In It’. It was a pity that she seemed to assume her audience would be familiar with much of her music as her introductions did not carry well within the acoustic at St Mary’s so we missed much of what passed between items.

Saxophonist Alex Garnett is a recent visitor to Hastings, bringing an evening of Ronnie Scott’s Jazz to the White Rock, but here he played duets with Claire as well as adding a number of scintillating breaks alongside the trio.

In the second half Claire was joined by Lianne Carroll, who is well known for her years of enthusiastic music-making in Hastings. She has collaborated with Claire in the past and this shone through as the evening progressed.

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