Esquin Rijnaard and John Jackaman
Esquin Rijnaard
August 2nd 2008
Esquins
Concert Pictures
Eastgate Pictures
Click picture for larger version
Well, what a day! It started with the team as well as Esquin and Daniel Watt setting up at Eastgate for a promotion of both the club and our evening concert.
Esquin and Daniel took it in turns to play half hour stints between 10am and 4pm - arousing much interest in both players with an appreciate audience round the stand and up at the Gallery! Well done both Esquin and Daniel.
Following the breakdown of all the gear at Eastgate, it was time to set up again at the hall - only to find that Esquin's Yamaha EL900 had given up the ghost. Thankfully Daniel and Pieter, Esquin's husband, managed to fix the problem. Phew!!!!!!
Esquin wore a lovely dark blue dress for the first half, which she opened with Ayura by the Japanese composer Yoshirio Andoh showing off the panflute, rich strings and multipads. The next number is the (cheeky) opening piece on her CD entitled "Pirates" - Anything Goes by Ghershwin - you could be forgiven for tap dancing along to the different synthesized sounds to which Keith added some swirling shapes against the red background. I'm Down For Lack O'Johnnie, a Vanessa Mae arrangement, was next before we heard If We Hold On Together by James Horner from the 1988 Stephen Spielberg film "Land Before Time" which also featured If We Hold On Together with some nice Glockenspiel sounds before Esquin played Elan from the Secret Garden with whistles & castanets galore.
Another range of sounds: a soft oboe to open before the strings, churchbells & pipe organ sounds came in for Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. Billy Joel's Honesty followed, which does not feature on many concert programs. Did I mention ghosts earlier on? Well, a creeky door and some very creepy ghostly footsteps could be heard for Michael Jackson's Thriller along with lots of synth voices, rhythm activated shapes by Keith and lots of pedalwork on the EL900 for Esquin. Music from another film score, I've Never Been To Me before Esquin continued with the well known You Raise Me Up and heading for a much deserved break with Music.
Esquin and Pieter kindly brought some Dutch cookies for us to enjoy - thank you. Having changed into a mauve coloured dress, Esquin opened the 2nd half with a modern arrangement of Also Sprach Zarathusthra from 2001, A Space Odyssey with lots of strings and drums. A very gentle My Heart Will Go On from Titanic set to a blue/greenish background by Keith. A lively samba by Anthony Jobim followed: Mas Que Nada before introducing some disco sounds for Fantasy.
The unmistakable sounds of The Carpenters followed for Yesterday Once More and equally unmistakable ones from Enya's Orinoco Flow. A gentle version of Beyond The Sea (La Mer) followed before Esquin played us another piece by Andoh, this time Where We Are. Sting also made an appearance with My Funny Friend And Me, before the Beatles got a look in with Let It Be. Esquin then took us up North with Scarborough Fair before concluding her program with Time To Say Goodbye.
Esquin had done really well - overcoming her pre concert nerves and tiredness - given her first experience at playing at Eastgate. She was rewarded with a large audience for her first concert with us. As is tradition at Basildon, the audience wanted one more piece. Those of us who know Esquin well, know her love of pirates, so with the appropriate headgear and threatening to "behead" the chairman, we had a cacophony of sounds ranging from the sounds of the deep sea, stormy weather and gruesome noises, a stupendous rendition of the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Many thanks Esquin for a wonderful evening. Also thanks to Keith on the lights.
Why not come along to a Basildon Keyboard Club Concert, you will be made very welcome, have a great evenings entertainment, a complimentary cup of tea or coffee with biscuits and of course experience the delights of live music played on top of the range electronic organs & keyboards by the best players.