Media coverage obtained included Channel 9, NBN television, Gold FM, 4CRB, 107.3 Life FM, Courier Mail, Sunday Mail, Gold Coast Bulletin, Sun Newspapers, Life Weekly magazine, Daily News, ABC Radio, Radio Hope Island, Tamborine Times, Bayside Star, RAVE and Time Off.
Pianist Mike Wade said he was extremely pleased with the media exposure gained for the event.
"The publicity was great," he said.
"Without that, we certainly wouldn't have had that many people."
He has plans to take the show to Melbourne and hopes to work with Aldwyn Altuney and AA Xposé Media & Photography again.
"Thanks to everyone who came along," he said.
"I really appreciate it."
BELOW IS THE ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE THAT ROUSED MEDIA INTEREST ...
World-first show brings famous jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald back to life
IN what marks a world-first, soul-stirring singer Venetta Fields will join forces with the Mike Wade Jazz Quartet to celebrate the story and songs of famous jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald at the Gold Coast Arts Centre on June 24.
An Element of Ella is a two-hour show featuring about 25 of Ella’s songs, intertwined with snippets of the professional, personal, political and racial events which shaped her colourful career.
Dubbed ‘the first lady of song’, Ella was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than 50 years. She won 13 Grammy awards and sold more than 40 million albums, with classics including The Lady is a Tramp, Baby It’s Cold Outside, I Get a Kick Out of You and Mack the Knife.
Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with jazz greats including Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.
She passed away from the side effects of diabetes in her Beverly Hills home on June 15, 1996, at the age of 76.
An Element of Ella will bring her story and music back to life just over 10 years since her death.
Mike Wade and his writer friend John Parr originally came up with the idea of the show about three years ago and have spent the past year fine-tuning its format. They plan to take it nationwide and overseas in the next two years.
“A lot of people think Ella was the greatest female singer who ever lived,” Mike said.
“I can’t think of anyone who did what she did with sheer musicality and no training.”
The rags to riches tale of Ella’s life, tracing how she came from being a street kid in Harlem to a superstar, will be depicted through an upbeat, lightly humorous performance.
“The theme of the show is that all things are achievable, regardless of obstacles, and that miracles do happen, as they did in Ella’s life,” Mike said.
Gold Coast-based Venetta is a star in her own right. Born in New York, she is one of the most recorded backing singers of all time. With a voice starting ‘three feet in front of her’, she has worked with the likes of Diana Ross, Pink Floyd, Bette Midler, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin.
She will be backed by Mike Wade on grand piano, Jack Thorncraft on double bass, Dave Sanders on drums and James Sherlock on guitar.
An Element of Ella is on at the Gold Coast Arts Centre on June 24 from 8pm. Tickets cost $42.50 or $37.50 concession. To book, call 5588 4000 or visit www.gcac.com.au
MEDIA NOTETo interview Venetta Fields and/ or Mike Wade or for complimentary media tickets to the show, please contact Aldwyn Altuney, AA Xposé Media & Photography director,
Ph: 0409 895 055; Email: aldwyn@aaxpose.com; Visit: www.aaxpose.com.
Thanks for your help in promoting this special debut event
