Ross Smith, of “Brumbies and Basses” fame (see July Echo) enjoys dancing with his delightful new foal “Mr Music”. “This one is very special”, he told me and I can see why. Mr Music has a charming personality and rhythm in his hooves to boot.

Speaking of rhythm I must say that over the last couple of weeks Jindbyne has had its fair share. Café SuSu presented a couple of great nights featuring two of Australia’s finest exponents of guitar to packed houses. Lloyd Spiegel graced the stage with an awesome display of virtuosity much to the delight of the assembled local audience. I was so impressed with his style that I was prompted to call fellow music lover Frank Hawkes and tell him not to miss Lloyd. He arrived ten minutes later with a few more keen listeners and they all agreed it was worth dragging themselves out at short notice on a cold night. Two weeks later it was it was on again with the equally impressive Geoff Achison. Both guitarists worked solo without the aid of karaoke devises to keep them in time and I have to say that rhythmically too they were faultless.

Last Sunday Antoinette Braeder (bless her) organised an afternoon concert at Horizons featuring the popular duo “Wizard and Oz”. I counted 150 people and twice as many feet tapping away the afternoon. Which all goes to show that the people of Jindabyne want a musical life outside the ski season and without having to travel to far away places.

At this point I must though confess to making the trip to far away Canberra for a concert of a lifetime featuring the pianist David Helfgott and flautist Jane Rutter. “Shine”, the movie was the story of David’s rise to pianistic fame against all odds. His destructive father tore up the many

scholarships he won and point blank refused to let him study overseas. Eventually David just took off to the Royal College of music in London and became an international success. However, the pressures caused him to have a nervous breakdown until he was rescued by his now wife. It’s a complicated set of circumstances surrounding David’s life and for those interested I highly recommend hiring the movie “Shine” for a rainy night of which we seem to getting quite a few lately.

Jane Rutter is, and was on the night, a consummate performer with a delightful flute tone and personality to match. She joked with the audience while David danced around giving everything the thumbs up, shaking hands and kissing unsuspecting ladies in the front row between pieces. Despite the antics I have to say that some seriously difficult music was being tossed around effortlessly. But that’s what professionals do. They make it all look just so easy. All together a totally successful evening.

Ross Smith Dancing with Mr Music
(A young horse)

Paul Dion