Wellington Jazz Club: Ann Pacey page

ANN PACEY @ CHICAGO

Sunday, 21 March 2010

Ann Pacey has been singing for as long as she can remember. “I made my first appearance in England at a Butlin's Holiday Camp (aged 7), singing ‘April Showers’, and fell head over heels with the idea of Showbiz right then and there – couldn't wait to keep getting back onstage to sing again”. That early experience became a 59-year association with The Biz in many guises (and with all its foibles), both as an amateur and professional performer.

Ann’s career has ranged from stage musicals (an early and continuing passion), through radio, television (in the days when there was ‘real’ entertainment on screen), feature films, stage plays, cabaret, children’s radio and television, concerts and tours throughout New Zealand to promote her albums, and with international performers, most notably in recent years as Michael Crawford’s supporting act.

During an eight-year stint overseas, Ann entertained on cruise ships in the South Pacific and the East, spent five years working in and out of London (including the West-End stage), and performed for American forces in Vietnam, Germany, Italy, and Turkey.

She has also written for television and radio, worked as a sound producer, and has been the casting director for numerous television commercials. “But I still feel happiest when I'm in full song!”

For us Ann will sing “a mix of Beatles numbers, Bricusse/Newley, Michel Legrand, and some Cole Porter some of your members may not have heard ...”.

The group will include:
Kirsten McKenzie, keyboard
Greg Crayford, drums
Alistair Isdale, bass

Pianist, Kirsten Mackenzie is well known to Wellington jazz lovers. She has appeared with many of this town’s best jazz musicians, including Ann Pacey, Paul Dyne and Roger Sellers, opening for Michael Crawford at the Bowl of Brooklands, New Plymouth.

Kirsten has more recently made appearances in her own right with Andrew London from Hot Club Sandwich, James Cameron (The Velox Brothers) Greg Crayford and Pleasure Point, and with Dave Panichi, trombonist/arranger from Sydney.

She has released an album of originals entitled “Fragments of the Blues” and teaches at the NZ School of Music and five high schools.

Greg Crayford, drums, has been performing for more than 20 years as a jazz/show/rock musician in Wellington, Manawatu and nationally with some of the best musicians around, including Rodger Fox, Colin Hemmingsen, Johnny Lippiet, Vaughn Roberts, Anita Van Dijk, Denys Mason, Lance Su’a, Jonathan Crayford and many, many others. International acts include The Drifters, The Coasters, Mike Brignola, Bruce Paulson and national acts: Gray Bartlett, Brendan Dugan, Jodi Vaughan, Tony Williams.

Greg’s involvement in musical theatre as musical director/drummer/keyboardist/guitarist/percussionist have included Jesus Christ Superstar, Footloose, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

He was a member of long-running London-based kapahaka group, Ngati Ranana, as composer, guitarist and performer. Greg is Head of Music at Rongotai College, Events Coordinator of the NZ Jazz Foundation, and member of Wellington-based jazz group, Pleasure Point, which just had a very successful run at the 2010 Nelson Jazz Festival.

Alistair Isdale, bass, has played bass professionally since 2001 having debuted in the Downstage musical The Little Shop of Horrors, and has performed in the Wellington Musical Theatre’s production Grease, Marshall Stack’s Godspell and Smokey Joe’s Café. He has appeared live on “The Good Morning Show” many times. Alistair manages and plays in popular dance band Soul Estate, has been a member of the Central Band of the Royal New Zealand Air Force for seven years, and is currently the Operations Co-ordinator for the band.

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