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Evenings of Intimate Jazz

The Steve Cunningham Trio

By Fred Shaw

Steve Cunningham

There are not many musical venues north of Atlanta that present artists of a comparable quality as the artists in the city. An exception to this is the series of jazz performances sponsored by The Arts Council of Gainesville. Once a month from October through May, except December, top notch members of the jazz community perform.

You might ask, "Why would I go there instead of Atlanta? The commute to Gainesville is nearly as long." I'll answer the question by telling you why Nancy and I have been season ticket holders for more then a half dozen years: The price of a ticket is 25 dollars not 50. The trip may take the same amount of time but the traffic is light on Friday or Saturday nights. The parking is free and close. The venue accommodates about a hundred people not several thousand like the Fox Theatre or about a thousand like Symphony Hall. It's BYOB. They provide set-ups, glasses, soft drinks, snacks etc. Gainesville has several good restaurants-Rudolph's and Scotts on the Square, to pick two-or stop at the Blue Bicycle on the way. Most of all, the audience is friendly and quiet.

Jacques Junger and I went to the October performance. The Steve Cunningham Trio played. Steve on guitar, Mike Haid on drums and Mike Little, keyboards and vocals. They played a mixture of the blues, smooth jazz, rock, rhythm and blues, gospel and pop. The opening song was "Breezin", a piece made popular by George Benson back in the seventies. Steve started out with, what sounded to me, a few Wes Montgomery riffs on his electric guitar then quickly moved into the great smooth flowing melody with a rhythmic touch that showed why he is a first-call sessions player, playing on hundreds of national CD releases.

Steve has played with Grammy nominee, Susan Tedeschi, James Brown band members, Grammy winner, William Bell and the London Symphony. He has headlined at Caesar's Palace in Vegas. He is an amazing artist on the electric, acoustic and lap guitars, playing in many styles. His was influenced by such diverse artists as Led Zeppelin, Pat Metheny and the Brecker Brothers.

When the excitement of Steve's guitar was coupled with the singing and keyboard playing of Mike Little, the room really rocked. Mike Little is a blues voice personified-a Ray Charles laid over a Jimmy Rushing. Of course he sang "Georgia on my Mind" and "Chicago Blues" with a little Otis Redding tossed in too. The drummer, Mike Haid, tied his two partners together like a rope. You can tell these guys have played an awful lot of music together.

Jacque and I agreed for that night Steve Cunningham was the best. The man's playing is phenomenal!

This month, on Saturday November 15th the featured artist will be Shawn Megorden. A singer who has performed at Big Canoe with Robert Ray; you should remember her voice but she has changed her style. She has been a featured vocalist at the Fox Theatre and the Ford Theatre. Her pianist will be Robert Strickland, who I think is the best accompanist in the Atlanta area. He has played at Big Canoe also-twice with Libby Whittemore and twice with Bernadine Mitchell. I still remember the knockout version of Brubeck's "Blue Rondo Ala Turk" he did to start the second set of Bernadine Mitchell's second show here. I'll be there; wouldn't miss it for all the tea in China.

The remaining performances are:

Saturday January 17, Christian Tamburr plays piano, percussion and vibraphone. He has played with Dave Brubeck and Michael Feinstien and opened for Harry Connick Jr. He just finished a world tour with Julio Eglesias.

Saturday February 21, Kevin Bales, piano and his trio. Kevin has played with Wynton Marsalis, Grammy winner Eddie Daniels and at The Kennedy and Lincoln Center jazz series.

Saturday March 14, John McAndrews, piano, vocals, sax, flute, guitar, harmonica, songwriter and lyricist.

Friday April 17, Joe Gransden, trumpet and vocals. Joe needs no introduction to Big Canoe audiences. He's my favorite performer in the Atlanta area. He's played at Clint Eastwood parties and at Chastain with Kenny G. He has also played at Spivey Hall and The Ritz Carlton at Reynolds Plantation. A CD with Kenny G is in production.

Friday May 22, Havana Son Trio, Rene and Lillian Herrera. If you're not into Cuban music here's your chance. Rene is an award winning composer and arranger and a former Mercury Records recording artist.

For information and tickets call The Arts Council at 770-534-2787 or visit their website at www.theartscouncil.net

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