A band that had Chennaiites spellbound

CHENNAI: You may have never heard one of their songs before, but when Swedish quartet, Jump4Joy, started playing their tunes in Chennai recently, the energy was infectious. Held as part of the ‘Sweden India Nobel Memorial Week 2011’ at the Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall, the show  was  also the first in a number of events, organised to mark the yearlong celebration of 25 years of the Lady Andal school on Harrington Road. This band, which has performed in over 4,500 concerts, certainly did not disappoint on the occasion.With songs ranging from New Orleans Rhythm ‘n’ Blues and Boogie Woogie to swamp music from Louisiana with a touch of jazz being played, most of those found it hard to stay still in their seats. Ulf Sandström, the frontman of the band (keys), proved to be quite the entertainer. His spontaneous bits of comic relief in between songs, such as his introduction of the ‘boogie woogie’, went down well with the audience.  “You know Louisiana is known for its crocodiles,” he narrated a little tale. “And those crocodiles eat everything, including musicians.” Apparently, the one thing that scares them is the boogie woogie, because they just can’t stay still! Bo Along with Ulf, Gustafsson, who was brilliant on the saxophone, Surjo Benigh on the bass and Kenneth Björnlund on the drums ensured that the concert  was one rollercoaster ride of fun.They say that to get an audience to interact, you have to make them clap to the beat. But when Ulf got up from his piano for the ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and went over to the microphone, he didn’t dance or clap. Instead, he whistled and urged people to whistle along, and they did — well they tried, anyway. Also memorable was The Fat Man, considered one of the first rock ‘n’ records of Fats Domino and the very catchy number, Barefoot.Ulf, for his part, displayed an amazing vocal range. He rendered numbers with practised ease and pounced on those keys with a vengeance. Saxophonist Bo had the audience in awe as he performed a solo piece.  Ulf described it best. He said, “Some say that when he plays, he is blowing love all over, onto the audience”. It was a special night, no doubt, and for music lovers, one to savour for a long time to come.