Jan 20 2014.
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Last Sunday night the Bishops College auditorium came alive with eclectic and energetic Jazz beats, all courtesy of Mr. Rukshan Perera.
The concert was organized in aid of the Unity Mission Trust, an organization dedicated to unite, heal and integrate youth of all races; by providing outstanding youth from across Sri Lanka with a leadership and personal capacity building program.
Featuring a myriad of guest artists such as Umaria, De Lanerolle Brothers, Rajitha Rupasinghe, Choro Calibre, Sarith and Surith, Colombo Brass Ensemble, Harsha Makalande & Khrome their was never a dull moment at the event.
The concert started off with an original by Rukshan titled ‘Bullet Holes’, a heart tugging song about a father who lost his son in the 30 year civil war.
This was followed by ‘Bless our land Sri Lanka’ with backup vocals by Choro Calibre.
Umaria as usual stunned the audience with a rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ and a jazz version of the prayer ‘Our Father’.
The Little Sopranos joined Umaria on stage to perform ‘A Tribute to Malala’ and this was followed by the popular Sri Lankan lullaby ‘Doi doi doi’ by Rukshan Perera which was of course infused with jazz.
The song featured a heart pounding drum and bass solo by Lelum Ratnayake and Ray Gomez which certainly got the crowd going and which displayed their astounding talent as musicians.
More originals from Rukshan followed and then a comical performance of Rukshan’s own twist on the popular Beatles song ‘Yesterday’ titled ‘Scrambled Eggs’.
The De Lanerolle Brothers were joined by Choro Calibre to perform a tribute song to Nelson Mandel titled ‘Freedom’
Mariazelle Goonetilleke, Mahen Peiris and Prashalini Peiris joined them for an acapella.
A highlight of the show was when the winners of ‘Poddanta Puluwan’, twelve year old twins Surith and Sarith took the spotlight with a jaw dropping lead-guitar and drum solo.
Musically the show was a hit, with some astounding instrumental performances with some of the best musicians in Sri Lanka taking stage. Vocals were powerful and on par with the music.
Although Choro Calibre provided back up vocals, they were barely heard over the music and their voices were not quite in harmony.
Rukshan certainly must be applauded for his original compositions and musical arrangements placing him as a top notch musician in Sri Lanka.
Comments from the audience:
Sujeewa
“The concert was excellent. Rukshan has done something different with the jazz performances. It was great!”
Jan Verhulst
“A lot of potential in the performers but Sri Lanka needs to find a way to mold it into one product. There was a very nice climax. The three guest performances by Umaria, De Lanerolle Brothers and the twins (Sarith & Surith) were very nice”
Samudhi
“The show was something very different, unique and special. All the artists made a big difference in how the show was put together.
Dawn
“The show was amazing. Very different and original”
Manu
“Such a great amount of talent in Sri Lanka. We really enjoyed this show”
By Ashanthi Navaratne
Pics by Nisal Baduge
0 Comments
Deepal says:
Jan 22, 2014 at 12:00 amRukshan is a very talented composer. He must also be congratulated on getting together an assortment of musicians to perform free for a really worthwhile cause Unity Mission Trust. However I was disappointed with the lack of audience participation and support for the artistes. It feels like the Sri Lankan s somehow feel it's wrong to openly enjoy music. Well done to Rukshan and all those involved in putting together an enjoyable evening