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To St Mary’s Church! …on Saturday evening for a very special show by a leading international jazz artist.

Blimey.

It’s not every rural North Essex estuary town that can boast the pulling power of staging Jacqui Dankworth stage left of the altar – but then it’s not every rural North Essex estuary town that can boast the guitar talents of Chris Allard of this parish.

Having moved back to his hometown after finding recognition on the stages of The Barbican, the South Bank and Montreux, high up on Chris’ wish list was to stage a show in his local church.

It is believed that this is the first inclusive concert of its type for St Mary’s. Worship of course will always come first, but it says plenty about the openness of all associated with the wonderful old building in wanting to make the space something that can be shared for all within Wivenhoe.

Packing the punters in along the aisles isn’t your typical Sunday Service scene. It was almost standing room only by the time @AnnaJCowen and I arrived. We found the last few spaces on the back pew and pondered the perfect concoction of contemporary music in an Anglo-Saxon setting.

A hush descended upon St Mary’s, just as the final few chords of Nina Simone’s The Times They Are A-Changin’ came over the PA. A perfect moment – many more of which were to come throughout the evening.

Local lad Chris entered the performance space first, walking on from the makeshift curtain wings of somewhere behind the pulpit. A church is essentially a stage in itself – it was striking as to how the setting suited the occasion.

“In case of emergency then there is a Bible underneath your seats,” explained Chris. But there were few non-believers, especially so when the band followed on from behind the pulpit, with Jacqui Dankworth looking the every part of the esteemed international jazz superstar that she has become.

Um – you must be Wivenhoe…

This could have been a tricky set to put together for Chris and his band. Technically the musicians can hold their own on any prestigious worldwide jazz stage. But playing a village church may have led others to follow the populist approach.

The evening was pitched perfectly with a set that featured many songs that non-jazz noodlers would recognise, as well as allowing the immense talents of each performer to explore their skills.

The high notes were hit almost effortlessly by Jacqui. The acoustics of an Anglo-Saxon building probably weren’t designed for modern jazz standards. Credit to both the artist, and the considerable workload put in by the local sound crew during the day to stage the event.

Chris himself has come a mighty long way since those “character forming” gigs around the clubs of Colchester and Clacton. It takes something quite special to hold your own as the equal headline act on the stage with a name such as Jacqui Dankworth. Charlie Wood’s spiritual Hammond organ just added to the uplifting feel of the evening.

“I can’t believe you have a bar in a church!” exclaimed Jacqui. “You lot are cool!”

High praise indeed, but *shhh* – keep the bar under wraps as it was more of a light refreshments serving than anything to compete with The Station down the road.

The second half of the show allowed the musicians to relax and demonstrate the close bond that clearly exists within the band. New and original numbers were performed. Bepo – one of the many collaborations between Chris and Jacqui – was a highlight.

The two standing ovations come the close were as genuine as they were moving. Chris has shown tremendous character in pulling off this show.

There was no bar lock in carrying forward to the Sunday Service some twelve hours later. Instead the High Street came alive, with concertgoers still buzzing, still boozing as they wandered off into the Wivenhoe night.

There is something truly quite special about your local village church staging an international jazz artist. Many thanks to Chris and the band, and also to all involved at St Mary’s for showing such vision.

I may just make a return visit…

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