Mangalore : The Legend - 'Gentleman Jim Reeves Lives On …'
by Florine Roche
Pics by Dayananda Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Aug 1: Even after 45 years of his death Jim Reeves (gentleman Reeves as he is popularly known) evokes nostalgic moments among his fans who adore the music he popularized. As a testimony to the popularity of ‘gentleman Jim’ in Mangalore, the show organized by Mangalore Ladies Circle as a tribute to Jim Reeves on July 31, 2009 at Bharath Mall Auditorium was brimming with people all hues irrespective of age or sex. It was certainly a commendable effort aimed at recreating the magic of goldies and oldies belted out by Jim in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The mood among the audience was electric and the dance floor was soon on fire as some of the best songs that were popularized by the baritone voice of Jim Reeves were sung to the accompaniment of guitars, violins and drums by a group of committed musicians from the city recreating the magic of Jim Reeves.
The concerted was aptly titled ‘memories of yesteryears’ and the dramatic moments of Jim were relived with Jim sing-alike Max Karkada and his group living up to the heat that was generated through a blitzkrieg of publicity undertaken by the organizers. The assembled crowd, most of whom who were fed on the staple diet of songs of Jim had nothing to complaint about as hits after hits of Jim and other popular singers were doled out sending fans into a rupture of ecstasy.
The show which was to begin at 7.30 pm sharp started off a little late due to the heavy showers just before the show began. But the mood and the ambience were just right for an evening where one could enjoy nothing but music, dance and good food and drinks and the heavy showers set the stage for an evening full of fun and nostalgia. The huge hall in the sixth floor of Bharat Mall proved to be the right venue for a concert of this magnitude. Apart from those songs of Jim in his typically sonorous voice immortal hits of legendary singers like Englebert Humperdinck, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Connie Francis and Patsy Cline were played to enliven the musical evening.
It started off with the that famous number of Jim “distant drum”, from the album that was released posthumously after the tragic death of Jim in a plane crash at the age of 42 and moved on with some popular tracks like “you and I fall into pieces’, “you and your Spanish Eyes, “you love me daddy” “welcome to my world, “I am losing you”, “don’t let me go sooner” and so on. Initially the dance floor had no takers. But as the concert went on the dance stage became alive with couples swaying to the tunes of music, jiving and ball dancing and there was no stopping them till the end.
It was a moment of great reckoning as the organizers lost no opportunity to pay tribute to the other great music legend - king of pops Michael Jackson who passed away recently by lighting candles in his memory. Hundreds of children and elders came to the dance stage with candles in their hands and joined the musicians in singing the famous song “Heal the world”, immortalized by M J. It was the greatest tribute one cold pay to the pop legend as the need for healing the world was felt by all those who believe in peace. One could feel goose bumps while singing this famous song, which has lot of relevance in today’s world.
The music went on till 11 pm and Max Karkada and his team had thoroughly entertained all the music lovers who had come to the concert. Jim’s sing alike Max Karkada was accompanied by a tem of 15 well-known and committed musicians. There was Oscar Weltha on the keyboard, Aun Shiri, Manoj Lazarus, Denzil Karkada, Sunil Kumar, Rajgopal, Gladson Maben, Jerome Coelho, Melwin Fernandes, Nizel Simon and Theo Alvares on instruments like trumpets, violins and guitars and crooners Vivian Rodrigues, Ammabel Moras, Angelio Moras and Shailesh Fredericks. On the whole it was a team effort in taking people back to the golden memories of yesteryears with aplomb and finesse.
The organizers say the proceedings of the concert will go for the charitable acts of the organization. It is the third time the Mangalore Ladies Circle is organizing Jim Reeves show in the city. They had conducted similar concert in 2004 and 2005 and after a gap of 3 years once again rich tributes were paid to the legend Jim Reeves whose smooth and velvety voice has captured the hearts and minds of music lovers all over the world. And the legend lives on through his music.