Paisley comes alive with the sound of jazz
American band hits the high notes
The saints came marching into Paisley as a jazz orchestra made up of Christians from all over the USA wowed crowds.
The Metro Big Band was in town at the invitation of Wallneuk North Church, which organised the event as a fundraiser for the Church of Scotland’s Adams House care home in Elderslie.
The band delighted a crowd at the war memorial with not just When The Saints Go Marching In but a number of jazz classics and spirituals, as well as the very apt Blue Skies.
Reverand Peter Gill, minister of Wallneuk North Church, said: “The Metro Big Band is a Christian band from different churches in America.
“They have come at their own expense and they didn’t charge us anything.
“And on top of that they said we could raise funds for any charity, so we’ve decided to do it for Adams House.”
Volunteers from Adams House were on hand at the event to gather in donations from the toe-tapping public.
“I’m really grateful that all of the band – 21 of them – came.
“And they’ve come from all over the US – Virginia, California, from New York, from Atlanta, from many different places.
“They never knew each other before they met through this band.
“This is their mission. They do it at their own expenditure and they sacrifice their time, and they’re very professional.”
The band’s Camp Kirkland, 72, is no stranger to Paisley, having visited five times before.
He said: “The band is from probably 10 different states in the United States.
“The band was set up on Friday.It has been organised for a number of months on paper and this is a mission effort band and they all raise their own support. They pay their own way to come and to be here.
“And then we meet. When we get here we have one three-hour rehearsal and go for it.”
Mr Kirkland added that the mission aspect of the band is very important.
“We come because we are all followers of Jesus Christ,” he said.
“We come to play our music and music is the greatest magnet in the world to draw people and we have an opportunity to just meet people and to share.
“And we do that but we do it carefully and non-offensively.”