6The Daily Tar HeelFriday, January 29, 1988
Roomful of Blues
plays on big band era
Roomful of Blues presented a
powerful and impressive concert of
blues and swing music at the Cat's
Cradle Wednesday night.
The band played a muscular style
of blues-flavored jazz that was
reminiscent of some of the best big
bands of the Os and '40s, but its style
also incorporated more modern blues
and rock elements. The band's mus
ical execution was virtually flawless,
and the musicians played with a
passion that frequently seemed to
ignite the near-capacity Cradle
crowd.
Roomful of Blues has nine
members, including a four-man horn
section, and they used their size to
create a full, rich sound. The size of
the nine-member band falls some
where between that of a contempor
ary rock or blues band and that of
a traditional jazz big band, and the
size of the band therefore allowed it
the flexibility to play both types of
music. The band played traditional
jazz standards, but it also played
more recent pieces such as the Beatles
"Oh! Darling." Roomful of Blues
offered its own unique versions of
these widely disparate types of songs
and skillful interpretations made all
of the songs in their repertoire fit
together gracefully.
The band members instrumental
excellence was the hallmark of their
show, and each of the players was
allowed to display his skills in turn.
Roomful of Blues' lineup featured
Pop me!c
Music Department professors plan
By RICHARD SMITH
Stalf Writer
Do you ever happily whistle a
song's chorus but falter when it comes
to the verse? Take heart, for not only
are you by no means alone, there are
many songs that have come to us
down the years known almost solely
for their choruses. And some of them
will be featured Sunday evening when
four members of the Music Depart
ment faculty and a guest sopranist
present "Love: Lost and Found," a
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two saxophones, trumpet, trombone,
keyboards, guitar, bass and drums.
The band's brass section was some
times reinforced when lead singer
Greg Piccolo played saxophone.
Most of the band members had
lengthy solos, and some of these
performances shined. Keyboardist
Junior Bratley had a stunning solo
on "Let The Good Times Roll," for
example, and trombonist Porky
Cohen also had a particularly fine
night. Guitarist Tommy K may have
had the finest performance of the
evening, however. The young Texan's
easy Austin-style riffs were wonderful
when he was in the spotlight, and his
work was equally impressive when he
blended back into the band's ensem
ble sound.
Lead singer Piccolo also contri
buted heavily to the overall success
of the show. Piccolo has a very
powerful and meaty voice, and his
singing was strong enough to occupy
the musical center of a band that had
a number of fine instrumentalists who
might overshadow a lesser singer.
Piccolo's looks and dress make him
resemble a slim Sam Kinison, and his
distinctive appearance is matched by
his distinctive voice. He displayed
selection of American popular songs.
The concert is to raise money for the
American Musicological Society 50
Scholarship Fund that aids students
in their last year of doctoral research,
and is a somewhat rare opportunity
to see members of the faculty
perform.
uSo much of what we do is serious
scholarship and serious perfor
mance," said department chairman
Thomas Warburton, who will accom
pany on piano. "This will be very
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ONE SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW
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Preview Saturday January 30
great vocal control and finesse, and
he was able to sing very powerfully
informal, largely because of the
familiarity of the songs." Songs
featured include those of Stephen
Foster, some from the turn of the
century and those of Richard
Rodgers, Cole Porter and George
Gershwin.
Both Warburton and Jon Finson,
who will be singing, were reluctant
to elaborate any further on the
concert's program, in particular on
what songs will be featured. "(The
songs) have very well-known cho
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without merely shouting. Piccolo's
singing worked with and reinforced
benefit concert of American favorites
ruses," explained Finson, "but most
people don't know the verses. A song
will begin and people will have no
idea what it is, but the choruses are
still famous today." Finson said they
would perform the songs in full in
order to give the audience a delightful
sense of recognition and surprise.
Many of the songs tell wonderful
stories hence the program's title
and, Finson said, "We're going to
play them for all they're worth."
It is clear that the concert will be
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Good) because YOU can have a
GREAT time when you study in
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Study Abroad Office in the base
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band Roomful of Blues
the instrumental power of the band,
and it helped make Roomful of Blues'
lighthearted. Period dress will be
worn by Finson and guest sopranist
Ellen Smith-Summers to evoke the
parlor-song setting of the times.
Accompanying Finson and Smith
Summers along with Warburton are
faculty members James Haar and
Ingrid Arauco.
Warburton and Finson made
distinctions between popular music as
it was and as it is now. "Today's
popular music is disseminated
through commercial recording," said
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WINNER OF THE NEW YORK Flll CRITICS' CIRCLE AWARDS
FOR BEST PICTURE, BEST ACTRESS, BEST DIRECTOR
AND BEST SCREENPLAY.
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perforaunce Wednesday night an
exciting and enjoyable experience.
Warbuton. "Much of it relies on
electronics, and you really need a
band to get the sound right. The
parlor piano, where you were able to
sing aid play for yourself, used to
be central to the household, not a
stereo system. I would say that there
are veiy few current undergrads who
have Uken piano regularly, whereas
a generation earlier was Very
different."
Finion put it another way: "Pop
ular music today is popular for a
different reason. It is mostly declam
atory. ' Finson gave Joan Jett's "I
Love Rock V Roll" as an example. -"The
music that we're performing is .
particularly appealing to those who .
love i good melody." Finson is not ,
dismssive toward today's music: far
from it. From Stephen Foster to ,
George Gershwin through to Michael .
Jackson, Finson says, "American ;
popxjar music is what we've given to j
worli culture." s
"love: Lost and Found" will begin
at 8 p.m. in Person Hall.
RECYCLE
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MIL DAY
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Lessons $6 Extra.
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or ROOM 200
Mon-Fri, Jan 25-29
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