Dani and James - from Rossini to the Easy Rollers

Dani Sicari and James Girling, both classically trained at the Royal Northern College of Music,  divide their lives between the classical and jazz worlds. 

Dani, a much sought after soprano, performs extensively in opera (classic and contemporary) and chamber music.  James hops lightly between classical projects, his Meraki Duo with flautist Meera Maharaj, the 11-piece afrobeat band Agbeko and The Easy Rollers, the jazz Septet he formed with Dani.

The Easy Rollers 'embody the famed spirit and consummate virtuosity of today's booming British jazz scene and bring it straight back to the source: 1920s and '30s Harlem, Kansas City and New Orleans'.
For Salon Music tonight Dani and James are offering  an intimate take on the band’s signature sound in this stripped-back duo: Easy Rollers originals, jazz-age classics – and, maybe, a glimpse into their classical practice.


PROGRAMME:

The Easy Rollers
The Ballad of Billy a Kid
Maybe Tell Me
Jus' One O' Those Days
That's How I Feel Today

George Gershwin
Lady Be Good
S'Wonderful

Fred E. Ahlert
Mean To Me

Jerome Kern
Can't Help Lovin' That Man

Joseph Myrow
Blue Drag 

Rogers & Hart
Ten Cents A Dance 

Isham Jones
I'll See You In My Dreams

Charlie Chaplin
Smile 

Plus – a taste of the classical world

SUPPER:

The concert will be followed, as usual, by a buffet supper and wine - and might we be thinking jambalaya?...

TICKET 'PRICE':

Because we are not a public venue we cannot 'sell' tickets. Instead we ask you to make a donation (suggested amount £30 per ticket) which will enable us to pay our musicians a reasonable fee and contribute a small amount towards the cost of supper and wine.

THE ARTISTS:

Daniella Sicari

Dani, an Australian/British soprano, has been steadily building a reputation in the UK performing Poulenc's Gloria with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Donizetti with Gothic Opera, Norina at Longhope Opera and Don Pasquale with the Haffner Orchestra. Dani has also been involved with a number of new works including the UK premiere of Little Women by Mark Adamo,  A Most Wanted Man by Stephen Davismoon, Love Bytes for Soprano and Chamber orchestra by Stephen Pratt and, most recently Sheng-Sheng-Man by Jerry Zhuo.
Meanwhile she fronts The Easy Rollers jazz septet 'delivering performances that channel the in-the-moment dynamism of the Jazz Age at the height of its cultural grandeur'.

James Girling

Highly versatile guitarist, recording artist, improviser, arranger and composer, James is a twenty-nine-year-old British musician now living in Oslo. In 2017, James gave his Wigmore Hall debut solo recital on classical guitar and made his Concierto de Aranjuez debut in 2019.
Strongly influenced by music traditions rooted in improvisation, James is active in both Norway's and UK's jazz scenes. His duo with trumpeter Aaron performed Manchester Jazz Festival 2023, he is a co-founder of the Afrobeat/Ethiojazz-inspired 12-piece Agbeko and he also tours with Prohibition-era jazz septet The Easy Rollers.