Night of musical magic with Jacqui and Craig at St George’s Guildhall
One of English music’s most enduring voices is teaming up with an Australian classical guitarist at the King’s Lynn Festival tonight, writes Winston Brown.
Jacqui Dankworth, daughter of jazz royalty pair Dame Cleo Laine and the late Sir John Dankworth, will be accompanied by Craig Ogden at St George’s Guildhall at 8pm.
The pair will be performing songs by some of the greatest lyricists of the last 60 years, including Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini, Willie Nelson and Paul Simon.
While Dankworth is no stranger to the King’s Lynn Festival, Ogden is a relatively newer name to the region, despite living in the UK for nearly 30 years.
Dankworth said: “After my dad died in 2010, I listened to a lot of classical music, particularly strings pieces.
“Then this beautiful piece for guitar came on the radio, played by Craig Ogden, and I found it so intensely moving.
“So I sent an email to Craig and eventually we decided to record an album together.”
Dankworth’s musical CV is well-known, starting out as an actress with the Royal Shakespeare Company before a role in Stephen Sondheim’s fairy tales musical “Into the Woods” proved a career-changing move.
![Object name: DANKWORTH WO PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY Caption: Jacqui Dankworth is performng at Dartford's Mick Jagger Centre Supplemental Category: Music City : Dartford Copyright: Della Edwards Conditions of Use: KM Group Use Only Submitted by: Della Edwards 07838 995736 From: centrestagepr [mailto:mail@centrestagepr.com] KM GROUP USE ONLY Supplied by : Della Edwards 07838 995736 Copyright: (3142262)](/_media/img/U22EQT548YOKDPB9YSRE.jpg)
She said: “I don’t think of myself as a jazz singer and the material I’m doing with Craig isn’t really jazz.
“ To be honest, I don’t see music that way because it either moves you or it doesn’t.
“This isn’t a jazz concert but just some great, classic songs where I’m accompanied by a world class guitarist which, together, I hope the audience can enjoy.”
Ogden’s credentials are equally impressive, having studied from the age of seven, he is now Principal Lecturer in Guitar at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.
He made his debut at the Royal Albert Hall with the Philharmonia Orchestra in 2009 and his guitar expertise features on the soundtrack to the film “Notting Hill”.
Dankworth said: “Craig is just an extraordinary musician and he feels the same way about music as I do.
“There’s a special piece of musical magic that happens between Craig and I so it’ll be nice to see him tonight because we’ve not done a concert together for some time.”
