Frances Madden’s highly entertaining show at Foundry616 included a thoughtful and diverse mix of styles and tunes played with skill, enthusiasm and feeling. The crowd was happy to brave a rainy Sydney night to hear quality live music in a full house at the atmospheric Foundry616 in Harris Street, Ultimo. 

Frances’ selection of songs included several tracks from her album Beautiful World, which was released by ABC Music which is an indication of her and the band’s quality. The selection included originals and covers in an impressive mix of styles. The versatile Frances and band played blues, tango, soul, swing and show tunes.

Of the songs she performed at Foundry616 On The Street Where You Live allowed her to impress with her singing voice and Give Me the Simple Life, her tribute to Oscar Peterson best highlighted her piano skills. Her father’s love of sixties musicals introduced Frances to On The Street Where You Live, a Lerner and Loewe song from My Fair Lady. Frances made full use of her dynamic range and the wonderful arrangement for a delightfully memorable performance of this song. Her piano playing on Give Me the Simple Life, a signature piece of Oscar Peterson, was seriously jazzy and her work on the keyboards was of the highest order. 

I am consistently impressed by the quality of jazz musicians that perform at Foundry616 and Frances Madden’s band was no exception. Carl Dewhurst’s guitar performance on the bluesy Change in Your Eyes was sensational. Ray Cassar’s piercing trumpet on The Tango Never Lies was another highlight. Karl Laskowski was impressive on sax and was featured on the Gershwin standard S’Wonderful. Brett Hirst on double bass was a driving force all evening and deserves mention for his work on the Irving Berlin classic Cheek to Cheek. I liked drummer Tim Gelden’s work on the Frances Madden original song Sunday. Borbala Bodonyi and Jo Fabro on backing vocals rounded out the sound and added to the big band feel of the ensemble.

Frances Madden + Band performed at Foundry616, 616 Harris Street, Ultimo. Frances Madden will return with her popular style of jazz to Foundry616 on 25th March before heading overseas. Recommended.