Open Mic, April 1, 2017
Jazz Students Perform at Open Mic
Host Robert Foster kicked off the show with a beautiful rendition of “I’ll Fly Away,” an old hymn written by Albert E. Brumley. Next, he played “Desparado,” an old Eagles hit. He finished with “Turn the Page,” a song about the ups and downs of a rock musician's life on the road by Bob Seger. Caroline Bonner and her brother Ian Bonner followed Foster to the stage. Caroline played several of her favorite selections from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera on the piano. Ian performed several of his favorite songs. Elliott from Petersburg was back with his usual light-hearted and humorous camp songs. He began with “The Ballad of Oh Boy,” an audience participation song where the audience is encouraged to reply “Oh Boy” with various emotional inflections based on the words of the song. Next was “The Birth of the Blues,” a song written by Ray Henderson, Buddy G. DeSylva and Lew Brown. He finished with “She’s My Curly Headed Baby.” Balladeer Thunderbyrd Newman performed three of his original tunes entitled, “Juliet Smiled,” “Blue Angel in A minor,” and “Lost Summer.” Members of the Home Schooled Jazz Band that included Caroline and Ian Bonner, and Justin Dotson performed with their instructor Ron Hackett. They were short a guitar player, so Elliott stepped in to fill the void. Their tunes included “All of Me,” written by Gerald Marks and Seymour Simon; “Autumn Leaves,” written by composer Joseph Kosma; and “Amazing Grace,” a beloved hymn by John Newton. Arts Center president and open mic co-host Ron Hackett remained on the stage to perform several jazz instrumentals on guitar that included “I Remember You,” by Victor Schertzinger; “Swingin’ Over the Rainbow,” Hackett’s samba inspired rendition of the Judy Garland classic; and “The Petite Waltz,” written by Joe Heyne. Foster returned to the stage for an encore and performed “Vincent,” by Don McLean; “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” by Darrell Scott; and “Grandpa was a Carpenter, by John Prine. Our good friend Rose Pyatt came in late to catch the show. Pyatt could not play her guitar because of pain in her hands, so Hackett agreed to play the guitar if she would sing. She chose “Silver Wings,” by Merle Haggard. There was still time left when Pyatt finished, so Hackett performed an encore of classical guitar instrumentals. He began with “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” by Johann Sebastian Bach, and then follow that with another well-known Bach tune called “Bouree in E minor.” The first section of this tune was an instrumental hit for the Jethro Tull band. He finished the evening with a traditional guitar piece he calls “Romance de Amore,” which is more commonly called “Romanza.” “The next show will be on Saturday, April 15th, in the gallery of the Arts Center at 7pm,” said Hackett. “This will be our last show of the 2016-17 season. Attendance drops dramatically during the summer months, and we don’t have air conditioning in the gallery. The performing arts and open mic shows will resume in October.” The bi-monthly (1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month) performing arts show and open mic is free to all Arts Center members. They ask non-members to make a $2 donation to help cover the cost of the facility. You are welcome to bring your own refreshments. Smoking is not allowed in the building, but there is a smoking area outside. Each act is allowed 15 minutes for their performance. Soloists who would like musical accompaniment for their performance, or anyone that would like to participate in an open jam session, please contact Ron and Taylor before the show. Questions about the show are also welcome. Their email address is openmic@flc-artscenter.com. The Art Center is located at 303 Main Ave. South in Fayetteville. Doors open and sign-ups begin at 6:30PM on Saturday, and the show begins at 7:00. A limited number of advance sign-ups are available on our website. For more information, please visit the Art Center website: http://www.flc-artscenter.com/openmic Photo courtesy of Ron Hackett (from left) Caroline Bonner, Ron Hackett, Elliott, and Justin Dotson
Photos
Photos courtesy of Ron Hackett
Elliott
Home School Jazz Band (from left) Caroline Bonner, Ron Hackett, Elliott, and Justin Dotson
Home School Jazz Band (from left) Ian Bonner, Ron Hackett, Elliott, and Justin Dotson
Ron Hackett
Thunderbyrd Newman