Speigeltent: Jazz High Tea
Disclosure: My guest and I attended courtesy of Arts Centre Melbourne
Speigeltents were originally constructed in the late 19th century as mobile dance halls. And if you spend any time around the Arts Centre, you’ll see that one shows up in Melbourne between February – April, hosting a varied program of events. This one is the Famous Speigeltent, originally built in 1920 in Belgium, and it’s transported from venue to venue and constructed on site.
The other weekend I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon in the coolness of the air conditioned tent for a Jazz High Tea.
There was a glass of sparkling on arrival, and tea and coffee topped up during the performance.
The food was simple but nice – the best thing was the little pie, which was packed with a rich savoury meat filling. The chicken and walnut sandwiches had a nice filling, but the bread had dried out a little.
There were also small goats cheese tarts topped with a slice of mandarin.
The top tier held scones and little chocolates.
As for the jazz part of the high tea – the music was a real highlight. It was so lovely! The Janet Seidel Trio played – vocalist / pianist Janet Seidel, accompanied by guitarist Chuck Morgan, her brother David Seidelon double bass.
Janet Seidel had a wonderful expressive voice, and Chuck and David were both great musicians. I could’ve listened to them for ages.
If you’re interested in a bit of jazz, there’s sessions being held each Sunday until the end of April. Check out the website for more details.
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The Famous Speigeltent
Arts Centre
100 St Kilda Road
Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9281 8581
Web: artscentremelbourne.com.au
March 15, 2013 @ 3:43 pm
What a great event 🙂 I don’t really know much about Jazz music hehe but I do like the tunes hehe oh oh oh the little pie looks like the same one as I had just before at the High Tea over at the Tea Room in the NGV maybe it’s by the same people? hehe
March 16, 2013 @ 4:20 pm
Lovely! I wne to the “naughty” version, The Trip for a hens and that was amazing!
March 18, 2013 @ 3:29 am
I have always liked Jazz at a time when i have been exposed to it but where i live there is very little opportunity to hear this kind of thing. I could listen online but I dont think its the same and you cant get as “into it”. id love to be able to attend an event like this.
March 18, 2013 @ 12:40 pm
Oh what a great experience! I love a high tea that starts with champagne and the jazz would have made it a fantastic event!
March 18, 2013 @ 4:18 pm
Oh I love this! I’m actually in Melbourne for one of these too.. and the performer is described as ‘a cross between Randy Newman and Tom Waits’… OH HECK YES! Feels a bit pricey for an afternoon gig, or for an afternoon tea, but I guess when you consider you’re getting both, it’s a pretty sweet deal! Will have to look into getting myself some tickets!
March 22, 2013 @ 12:51 am
That sounds like such a cool event. I’ve never been to a Jazz High Tea before, but it sounds amazing. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for events so I can go to one when I have the chance.