{"id":621,"date":"2013-02-24T18:34:15","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T00:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/byronleonard.com\/blog\/?p=621"},"modified":"2013-02-26T20:59:13","modified_gmt":"2013-02-27T02:59:13","slug":"ensemble-plays-at-chicago-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/byronleonard.com\/blog\/?p=621","title":{"rendered":"Ensemble Plays at Chicago Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Kagan & Gaines Music Co.<\/a> ensemble played a set of R&B and blues songs at the Pine Avenue United Church in Chicago Sunday afternoon in honor of Black History Month. The performance went well; we had fun and the audience seemed to enjoy us.<\/p>\n

We began with a medley of \u201cIt\u2019s All Right,\u201d \u201cMy Girl,\u201d and \u201cRainy Night in Georgia,\u201d then continued with \u201c(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,\u201d \u201cPeople Get Ready,\u201d \u201cThe Thrill is Gone,\u201d and \u201cAin\u2019t No Sunshine.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that point, we started playing something I wasn\u2019t expecting, Albert King\u2019s \u201cI\u2019ll Play the Blues for You.\u201d We hadn\u2019t rehearsed it in a while and I hadn\u2019t been practicing it, so it took a moment to realize what the song was and remember the chords.<\/p>\n

We concluded with our version of James Brown\u2019s \u201cIt\u2019s a Man\u2019s Man\u2019s Man\u2019s World.\u201d It was the perfect finale, because Mickey Johnson went all out in his rendition of Mr. Brown. The audience loved it.<\/p>\n

Our ensemble was smaller than usual, because our keyboard player, Vera Beilinson, had to cancel at the last minute, because of illness. Our teacher and leader, Jim Goelitz<\/a>, who usually plays with us, had a prior commitment.<\/p>\n

Alex Scaramuzza and I played guitar, Lawrence Brown played bass, and Justin Young played drums. Mickey Johnson, Mike Estelle, Billy Smith shared vocals in various combinations.<\/p>\n

In previous performances, we\u2019ve had music stands, so I had music to refer to if necessary (though I rarely did). This time I didn\u2019t use music and didn\u2019t miss it. There were a few times when I got off track and missed the chord I meant to play, but I hope no one noticed. Alex and I soloed on \u201cThe Thrill is Gone,\u201d and \u201cAin\u2019t No Sunshine.\u201d<\/p>\n