NEWS ARTICLE
Music foundation announces summer concert series
by Seth Rogovoy(LENOX, Mass., May 5, 1999) -- Rather than relying on the familiarity of big names at the box-office as in the past, the National Music Foundation will gamble on its audience's willingness to take chances this summer by presenting a series of nine concerts by lesser-known artists representing a diversity of musical styles.
The summer concert series at the foundation begins on June 19 with a performance by Latin jazz group Bandon 33. Subsequent shows will include groove-rock band Entrain on July 17, acoustic guitarists Alex DeGrassi and Ed Gerhard on July 24, folk-jazz fusion group Wayfaring Strangers on July 27 [ this date has been subsequently cancelled ], and Irish-folk musicians Kevin Burke and Ged Foley on July 31.
In August the foundation will present the John Hall Band on Aug. 7, a capella group The Bobs on Aug. 14, zydeco artists C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band on Aug. 21, and neo-swing outfit The Love Dogs on Aug. 27.
All of these shows will be held in the foundation's newly-renovated Center Theater at 8 p.m. Tickets will be on sale at the foundation starting June 1. Call 637-4718 for more information.
"The times that I have been surprised by hearing a great musician that I hadn't heard of before have been some of my favorite musical experiences -- much better for me than hearing a familiar set from an `old friend,'" said Thomas P. Heany, the foundation's program director, explaining the thinking behind the foundation's new approach.
"I'd like someone to come up to me at intermission and say, `You know, I never heard of these guys, but I took a chance on them and I think they're great.'"
In recent years, the foundation has presented shows by such big-name stars as Grammy winner Shawn Colvin, Talking Heads founder David Byrne and country superstar Travis Tritt. While Heany described this summer's lineup of performers as "somewhat outside the commercial mainstream," he argued that it boasts "incredible variety and depth of talent."
"Some of the performers….might arguably be described as among the very best at what they do," said Heany in an E-mail interview. "Given the variety and the quality of the performers, I think it's also a very accessible line-up. I would bet that the average concertgoer could attend any one of these shows and be entertained and surprised and stimulated, and have a great evening, without necessarily knowing anything about the performer in advance."
Heany described Bandon 33 as a Latin-jazz band led by keyboardist-vocalist Eduardo Tancredi of Berklee College of Music in Boston. The group released an album, Latin Spell, last fall. Tancredi has also recorded with world-music groups Sol Y Canto and Flor de Cana.
Having opened for Buddy Guy a few years ago on the foundation's main stage at the Berkshire Performing Arts Theater, Entrain will be making its second appearance in Lenox. The band is based in Martha's Vineyard, and as a result has enjoyed the unique distinction of having jammed with that island resort's First Vacationer, President Clinton. The quintet plays a highly-percussive brand of horn-laced contemporary rock music blending funk, New Orleans, ska and African-polyrhythms.
Since the late '70s, Alex DeGrassi's name has been virtualy synonymous with the Windham Hill-style of new-age, instrumental music - indeed, he is the cousin of Windham Hill's founder, Will Ackerman. In the mid-'80s, DeGrassi spent time in Bolivia, and since then his music has shown indigenous influences from that territory.
In the rarefied world of traditional Irish folk music, Kevin Burke and Ged Foley are considered virtuosos. A native of London and a master of the Sligo style of Irish fiddling, Burke has played with the Bothy Band, and leads his own group, Open House. Foley has been a member of the Battlefield Band and the House Band. Both Burke and Foley are members of the Irish-folk supergroup Patrick Street.
Wayfaring Strangers is an American-folk supergroup of sorts, led by fiddler Matt Glaser, also of Berklee. The group has a somewhat fluid list of personnel drawn from the contemporary folk and bluegrass worlds, typically including at least one female vocalist. Other than Glaser, the band's personnel for the Lenox date has yet to be confirmed. Glaser himself has performed and recorded with a who's who of progressive bluegrass, including Tony Trischka, David Grisman, Andy Statman, Vassar Clements and Darol Anger.
John Hall is probably best-known as the founder and leader of the '70s soft-rock group Orleans, whose hits included "Dance With Me" and "Still the One." Hall was also a popular session musician back then, one whose resume reads like a list of the top folk-rock acts of that decade. His credits include recording sessions for Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Seals and Crofts, Loudon Wainwright III, Little Feat, the Roches, Carly Simon and Livingston Taylor. Hall also played a large role in MUSE, which united rock artists against nuclear power in a series of "No Nukes" benefit concerts and recordings. He left the group Orleans in 1977 and reunited with them earlier this decade.
The Bobs will be returning to the Lenox campus, having performed there in its first full concert season back in 1989 when the venue was run by previous owner Jonas Dovydenas. The quartet, formed in San Francisco in 1981, is known for its witty renditions of popular songs by groups including the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Talking Heads, as well as for its own zany original compositions.
Accordionist C.J. Chenier, a native of Port Arthur, Texas, is the son of zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier. As a saxophonist, he originally pursued a career in R&B music in the 1970s, but joined his father's band in 1978. He assumed the mantle of the king of zydeco when his father died in 1987.
The Love Dogs were formed in Boston in 1994 by singer Ed Duato Scheer. The horn-heavy group blends classic-style swing with other influences, including jump-blues, R&B and New Orleans music.
The shows by Bandon 33, Entrain and C.J. Chenier will be billed as part of a "Dance Night" series occurring on the third Saturday of each month. Seating will be minimal at these shows, in order to encourage spectators to dance. The show by The Love Dogs, which occurs on a Friday night, will also be presented as a dance concert.
In another new venture, the foundation will convert the concession area of the Berkshire Performing Arts Theater into "The Backstage Café," where stalwart Berkshire peformer David Grover will hold forth on Thursday evenings throughout the summer. Heany said that one or two shows might be added to the summer schedule.
[This article originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on May 6, 1999. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1999. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
Next Article || Previous Article || Back
