PREVIEW
An Evening With Frank Mills
Wednesday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m.
Arden Theatre
5 St. Anne Street
Tickets: $65.50 Call 780-459-1542 or at www.ticketmaster.ca
Internationally renowned pianist Frank Mills, 76, reminds me of a favourite uncle who drops by to visit family. You know, the one with a twinkle in his eye.
As you lay out the welcome mat, he plays music that jogs long-lost memories and tells outrageously funny stories.
Through the laughter, he passes on nuggets of hard-won wisdom. But you’re so busy laughing you don’t fully grasp the depth of this guy.
Such is Mills, who this year enjoys his ninth retirement tour billed as An Evening With Frank Mills. He returns to perform at the Arden Theatre on Wednesday, Oct. 10, with a special salute to veterans of the First World War.
“As long as you go out and have fun and keep fans happy, what more do you want?,” asks Mills sipping a coffee and rolling a cigar while sitting on the veranda of his Vermont home.
In September, the ageless pianist released his latest CD, a 16-track titled The Frank Mills Story. It's a journey of his musical career dating back to 1969.
The closing song is a tune Mills wrote to accompany the text of Lt.-Col. John McCrae’s famous poem, In Flanders Fields, that pays tribute to fallen soldiers.
The military eulogy was prompted by a letter from a woman who had attended one of Mills’ concerts.
“She listened to my approach to song writing. Since her family was involved in the military, she suggested I write the song,” Mills says.
At first he dismissed the suggestion. But in late December 2017 while on vacation in Bermuda, Mills' curiosity reasserted itself and he started digging into the life of McCrae. His internet searches also turned into a sharp reminder that 2018 was the First World War centennial.
“I started scribbling on a synthesizer. It’s how I write songs. It’s a musical Sudoku. It starts as a mess and you fit the numbers to the squares. I worked on different lengths of verses and within three days I was done.”
Longtime friend and producer Hayward Parrott and his wife flew to the Caribbean for a visit and Mills played the song.
“By the end they were both in tears, and Hayward wanted to produce it.”
Lest We Forget was recorded at Revolution Recording with 37 musicians from the Toronto Symphony. Neil Donell, lead singer for Chicago, and international chanteuse Rique Franks were tapped to sing lead vocals.
“Neil has a rich, mellow voice and Rique sings like a bird. Between her and Neil, it was just lovely.”
The album also delivers some of Mills' favourites such as Wish I Weren’t Alone, a tune composed while on tour; Blues Don’t Last, his only blues composition, and his hit Love, Love, Love .
