It's all music

There's a saying that it's all music and I concur and I've had a few examples here recently.  First up was SoundOut with its experimental music and free jazz.  Another was the first Wesley lunchtime gig of 2024, cellist William Jack.  He's trained at the Sydney Con and in Vienna and now resident in London, but a product of Adelaide so we see him on tour on a family visit.  But he'd not always been on cello; he started with guitar, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix and the like.  Mmm.  Common enough to move from rock to recognised but this program suggested he'd maintained the rage: Oasis Wonderwall and Dylan Don't think twice it's alright and a medley of a lovely Bach Sarabande merging into Lennon Imagine.  Well I never!  Sublime, ridiculous?  You know what, it went down a treat with the audience at Wesley.  And there were some odd  techniques, too, like a prepared cello with clothes peg, but finally that pick on cello on lap like guitar was beyond the pale.  But it worked a treat.  I enjoyed the lyrics of Dylan sung with a decent, not classical but committed, voice and Wonderwall is so catchy and the Bach was glorious and deep to sink into.  Funnily, I'd looked down for some reason later in the concert and he'd been talking of guitar as a formative influence and I looked up and the cello was on his lap and he started up with picked strums and some decent soloing.  It was a surprise but a pleasant one.  William plays a range of musics, just happening to carry a cello, just happening to play a mostly classical venue, but he'd also played BBC Radio 3 and the Kerryville Folk Festival in Texas and had an offer for our own National Folk Festival but couldn't do this one.  Hope to see him in future because he would be a hit, like he was at Wesley one Wednesday lunchtime.  Fascinating and capable with some pointed Dylan lyrics.

William Jack (cello, vocals) performed solo at Wesley Music Centre.