On April 25 the Chamber Musicians of Kamloops hosted solo pianist Karel Roessingh in a show called Jazz Sweets. He is from the Victoria area. The concert at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church was well attended. The first half of the program consisted of jazz and popular music songs with certain words in the titles. Suite: Love included “Comes Love,” “The Look of Love” and other tracks. Suite: Sunshine included “Your Are My Sunshine,” “Here Comes the Sun” and others.

There were four more suites as the evening continued with some of his originals that included songs based on bird sounds. Roessingh is both an excellent soloist and a fine educator. Between sets he explained the elements of music: melody, harmony and rhythm and how they are, or are not, used in different musical genres. He had stories about a cross-Canada camping trip where he recorded bird sounds. Later he re-recorded these sounds in a parkade in Victoria and an album resulted from this endeavour.

Also, the Jazz Sweets title had a number of connotations. The program was divided into different suites. At intermission he gave out candy (sweets) and asked the audience to save the wrappers. At the beginning of the next set he had the audience use the candy wrappers to make noises and be part of the concert. The night ended with the classic tune “Smile” which was composed by the great film star Charlie Chaplin. The elderly audience enjoyed the concert very much.

The next concert will be on Saturday, May 23 and is called Journey to Japan. Check www.chambermusiciansofkamloops.org for more information.