Crooners jazzed up
LADIES and gentlemen, a warm round of applause for the Gold Coast’s answer to Michael Buble, the one and only ... (drumroll please) Jake Meywes.
An internationally renowned artist who’s toured the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, cool cat Meywes is getting used to being compared to Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr and Dean Martin. “I just love jazz,” he said. “I have the potential to make old songs relevant without compromising its original beauty, but have the opportunity to arrange it and interpret it my way.”
Meywes is one of a score of local artists who will play free shows alongside acts including Monica Trapaga, Bustamento and The Clouds for more than 25,000 people as part of this weekend’s Broadbeach Jazz Weekend.
Aligned with the council’s cultural strategy, the two-day feast of free music blends the young, the old and the new.
Meywes, who plays Oracle Boulevard with a four-piece band tomorrow, is part of the growing legion of young mu- sicians and students of music singing and playing jazz – and the sub-genres it has spawned – in all its forms.
“Jazz is the foundation for so many different genres,” he said. “It inspired, went beyond the boundaries of traditional musical.
“Many cultures have their own take on jazz that represents their culture.
“With the way the modern world is, with the blessing of multiculturalism, we are able to communicate with so many people with bits and pieces from so many cultures.
“I can sing a Sinatra song with a salsa feel and it completely brings the song into a more modern context, appealing to a broader variety of people while still maintaining the majority of its original audience.”
Festival director Mark Duckworth said Broadbeach Jazz Weekend showcased national players and profiled the talent on our doorstep.
BROADBEACH JAZZ WEEKEND PLAYS THE PRECINCT TODAY AND TOMORROW. ENTRY IS FREE. VISIT BROADBEACHJAZZ.COM