Marilyn Mendez with the Peter Locke Trio (16 October 2014)

An enthusiastic audience of some 50 members and visitors was thoroughly entertained by master jazz pianist Peter Locke, bassist Steve Clark, drummer Ken Vatcher and vocalist Marilyn Mendez.

Peter Locke, who last delighted us in August 2013 when he appeared with Tricia Evy, Dan Barnett and the Anthony Howe Trio, again demonstrated his remarkable musicality and capacity for innovative improvisation. He led the group with professional assurance and sensitivity through a varied program of some 22 songs, ballads and jazz standards which included such well-known and much-loved titles as: Buddy Johnson’s Save Your Love for Me, George and Ira Gershwin’s Our Love is Here to Stay, Night and Day by Cole Porter, Carol Gibbon’s A Garden in the Rain, Irving Berlin’s Cheek to Cheek (written in 1935 for the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie ‘Top Hat’), Here’s That Rainy Day (music by Jimmy Van Heusen), Day by Day (music by Alex Stordahl & Paul Weston), Don’t Go to Strangers (J.J. Cale), Jimmy Van Heusen’s But Beautiful Music (introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1947 film ‘Road to Rio’), Time After Time (lyrics by Sammy Cahn, music by Jule Styne), and Hoagey Carmichael’s The Nearness of You to mention but a few numbers from each set.

New to Merimbula and the Down South Jazz Club, jazz singer Marilyn Mendez treated us to an arresting, somewhat deep and almost smoky voice that was faintly reminiscent of a night club piano lounge. Marilyn projected energy, vitality and depth of emotion to imbue the music with her own particular style. She was warmly received by the audience.

Steve Clark and Ken Vatcher were both at the top of their form, but then, when aren’t they? Their seamlessness and coordination with each other and with Peter Locke and Marilyn Mendez, and the smoothness and polish of the whole performance would, if we hadn’t known better, have led us to believe that the group had been playing together for several years.

Marilyn Mendez and the Peter Locke Trio treated us to a very enjoyable evening of top quality jazz. It was definitely a performance to savour.

[Review by Aileen and John Bolton]