Word: vocalists
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Anticipating a torrent of corrections from local jazz buffs, I would like to apologize here and now for consistently misspelling the name of the vocalist with the Gary Berger band in my review yesterday. Her name is Liz FILLO, not "Filo." Mea cullpa...
Save for a fine arrangement of Summertime by the band's flutist and guitarist Carl Chase, and a wonderful long solo by Cooke on Blue Grass, the concert didn't really begin until the band's highly impressive vocalist, Liz Filo, swept on stage towards the end of the first set. But Mrs. Filo (who, in a black cocktail dress, improved my frame of mind before she even opened her mouth) picked up band and audience alike, and only set them down, flushed and cheering, after six stunning tunes. The band improved with her very first number, skillfully backing...
...Jones and Pomeroy, and making even the Jones much more interesting. The solos were also excellent all of a sudden, especially on Jessica's Day (which to my mind is Quince-essential Jones). In its last five numbers, the Berger band showed itself almost the equal of its splendid vocalist, and left me hoping for more of the same...
...Rhapsody over, Goodman and company piled into their more familiar repertory-such songs as Let's Dance and One O'Clock Jump-with a gusto that brought the audience to its feet and saved the evening. Vocalist Joya Sherrill, in strapless white gown, belted out a medley of show tunes, broke into a fractured Russian jazz version of the popular song Katyusha, finally set the crowd roaring by drawling out a throaty "Spasibo bolshoe" (Thank you very much). After five encores, the band signed off with its theme song, Let's Dance. The audience continued to clap...
...Father Roebuck Staples, two daughters and a son. Their muted but intensely exciting gospel style, with its country blues feeling, is a reflection of what Roebuck heard when he was growing up in rural Mississippi. Roebuck himself is a first-rate guitarist, but his daughter Mavis is the best vocalist-a contralto whose voice has both a honeyed quality and almost hypnotic intensity. The Staples, who have been appearing together for 12 years, feel "we are fulfilling our obligation as Christian people by singing the Gospel...