When you wish upon a star like Anea Duratovic, you get some of the magic held within Disney Jazz which might be the most amount of comfortable fun you could have as a Disney or jazz fan. Or perhaps both.
Held within the trendy yet deceptive Ronnie Nights bar in Fremantle is Duratovic and her fantastic band composed of Tristan Willis on keyboards, Kane Shaw on double bass, and Peter Evans on drums, who are there only to delight your inner child and thrill your adult sensibilities of understanding how bloody complex jazz really is.
I’m not a massive jazz fan and am usually more comfortable to sit back and enjoy objective complexities rather than dive straight into understanding every element, so in this aspect I think the Disney Jazz show works best.
If you have a passing respect for the musical form, then by taking well-known and utterly beloved Disney classics like “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” “Bare Necessities” or the aforementioned “When You Wish Upon a Star” you feel welcomed into another art form that otherwise might be seen as obtuse by regular audiences.
What was most memorable was how Anea lets you play the game of guessing the Disney movie to the song then calling it out at the end if you think you know it. There’s no prize involved beyond bragging rights, so it’s another level of audience engagement that makes you excited for the next song just so you can have that “oh that’s right” moment with the people next to you.
Just don’t expect any real deep cuts from the Disney catalogue beyond ones from Alice in Wonderland or The Little Mermaid which admittedly stumped me.
The band is undeniably talented, Tristan moving across the keys like he’s not even touching them, Kane mastering his strings like someone trying to find something new in each song, and Peter quietly yet effectively nailing every fill and tone.
Anea’s voice is delicate yet commanding all the same, with her fun sensibilities holding most of your attention between songs.
Focus as much as possible on the music lovingly played by these gifted musicians, and then you’ll have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious time with Disney Jazz.