On the last night of the London Jazz Festival, Sunday 21 November, internationally recognised pianist and Barnet parent Zoe Rahman played a concert at Frith Manor to christen the school's new baby grand piano, gifted to the school by Jamie Cullum in 2020. Rahman was joined by Gene Calderazzo on drums and Alec Dankworth on bass, with the trio playing a set that included instrumental compositions, some of her newer songs, and songs written both by and for her children.
Some of Rahman's original songs included Bass and Your Smiley Face and Sweet Jasmine, both written for her children, as well as a song titled Conversation with Nellie, written by Rahman for her grandmother. As a nod to her heritage and a Bengali family that attended the event, Rahman and her trio closed the performance with a piece of Bengali music.
After Cullum announced in 2020 that he wanted to donate his piano to a school, Frith Manor entered the competition. With the help of Rahman, Frith Manor pupils were able to produce an original composition that went on to win the competition. When Cullum later delivered the piano to the Barnet primary school, the children performed their winning piece for him.
The addition of the piano will further enrich music education at Frith Manor and, with many primary students in the audience on Sunday night, Rahman's Trio's performance showed the diversity of jazz music and has inspired future musicians.
Read the full review of the performance from London Jazz News here.
View photos of the performance taken by Melody McLaren here.
Comments