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Description
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Programme Notes by Anthony
ANTHONY STRONG
concert
19. june 2025. Thursday 8 pm
Rainday: 20 june 2025 Friday 8 pm
Margareth Island Open Air Theatre
With his sharply tailored suit and easy charm, singer-pianist Anthony Strong seems to happily fill the role of ‘The English Gentleman’ often thrust upon him.
Bringing together timeless repertoire and a serious jazz sensibility, British singer-pianist Anthony Strong presents his dynamic live show for the first time in Hungary which has entertained audiences around the world.
With more than a decade of gigging under his belt - from the Hollywood Bowl in the West, to festivals across Asia in the East - his music is characterised by a mix of music by iconic songwriters spanning jazz, blues, soul and even pop.
One thing is sure: underneath the crowd-winning stage show, there is a seriously talented musician. The arrangements and orchestrations were written by Strong himself. There are original compositions showing an appreciation of the jazz classics. His piano playing belies a deep knowledge of the swinging greats – Wynton Kelly, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans – and his swaggering vocals have further matured during the course of more than 250 international performances.
Expect a collection of hard-swinging classics, sumptuous ballads and blues-infused originals.
Quotes
“Real great music” - BB King
“A new, genuine, male jazz singer” BBC Radio 3
“Great singer, great pianist” Jamie Cullum
Tonight’s programme is a varied mix of some of my favourite songs from the last 100 years and it is my absolute pleasure to bring you this music with a host of hugely talented musicians.
Big band concerts are always a special treat for me, but tonight is particularly special as I'm joined by the Latvian Radio Big Band - one of Europe’s finest big bands. I’m so delighted to be making my debut in Hungary in such great company and I have no doubt that tonight will be a very special evening for us all.
As a musician, I feel it’s important to have eclectic tastes, and this is reflected in the repertoire you’ll hear tonight. We’ll be spanning many decades and many genres; jazz of course, but also everything from funk and soul (Stevie Wonder), to country (Mearle Travis). Songs from the Great American Songbook (Gershwin, Berlin, Porter) to gospel (Ray Charles) - all done with my signature big band twist. For fans of my own songs, we’ll also be playing a few originals of mine from past albums, including Gamblin’ Man Blues and That Kind of Guy.
One song I have a particular attachment to is the jazz standard I Can’t Give You Anything (But Love) by Dorothy Fields and Jerome Kern. I dedicate this song to my mother who passed as I was writing the album Me and My Radio. It was one of her favourite arrangements of mine, and yet she never got to hear the final version with orchestra.
Since its release, it has garnered over 5.5 million streams on Spotify. Well, that’s all from me.
Wishing you a fantastic evening, thank you all so much for coming.
