WESTFIELD – The WOW! … It’s Cabaret series of performances of New England and New York artists will feature Jukebox U. starring internationally known vocalist Samirah Evans and the Jazz Professors on Saturday, June 23 in the Banquet Hall of the Short Stop Pub and Grille on Springfield Road (Route 20).
Produced by Westfield on Weekends, Inc.(WOW) in association with the Music Department of Westfield State University, and the Short Stop Pub and Grille, Jukebox U. is a unique revue of song hits from the last hundred years, as reimagined by six professional musical artists, all of whom teach in the Music Departments of area colleges and universities.
Tickets for the show, which is a fundraiser for WOW’s community arts programming, are $30. Tickets may be purchased at Blue Umbrella Books at 2 Main Street in Westfield. Reservations may be made online at westfieldonweekends.com or by calling WOW at 413-579-5967. Tickets will also be available at the door. Doors will open at 7:00 pm. for a cocktail hour featuring hors d’oeuvres, created especially for the series by Shorts Stop Executive Chef, Monica Hannoush. Showtime is 8:00 pm.
“A nearly sold-out audience for Canoe (Saturday May 19th) really enjoyed the performance and our new venue at the Short Stop, noting both the quality of the show and the cabaret atmosphere that WOW created in the space,” Tosi explained. “I urge interested folks to order their tickets ahead of time to avoid disappointment.”
“WOW is extremely fortunate to have procured Ms. Evans and the Jazz Professors,” Amy Tosi, Co-chair of the WOW series explained. “They represent the very best in both musicianship and showmanship, having distinguished themselves on stages all over the world, as well as in their classrooms, to which their fortunate students can attest.”
Samirah Evans’ New Orleans roots
Known as one of New Orleans’ most popular, jazz and blues vocalists, Samirah Evans relocated to Brattleboro following Hurricane Katrina and has since toured the Northeast, as well as Asia, Europe and North and South America, both individually and with her band, Samirah Evans and Her Handsome Devils. With a singing style that has been compared to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday and Etta James, Evans is known for performance of jazz standards and has shared stages with many legendary artists including B. B. King, James Brown, Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Sheila Jordan and Charles Neville. She is also a member of the visiting artist faculty at Williams College.
While living in New Orleans, Evans appeared regularly at Snug Harbor, the House of Blues, Sweet Lorraine’s, and the Bombay Club among other prestigious Crescent City venues. It was there that she honed what critics have called her “swampy, sultry, soulful and electrifying” approach to jazz and the American Songbook.
Ed Orgill is the leader of the Jazz Professors and is a saxophonist. (photo courtesy of WOW)
The Jazz Professors- Impressive Credits
For her appearance at the Short Stop, Evans will be appearing with The Jazz Professors, a quintet of professional musicians with pedigree. Co-ordinator of Jazz Studies at Westfield State University, Ed Orgill is a music educator, composer and an award-winning saxophonist whose credits include the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Amherst Jazz Orchestra, The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra of Denver, and the Spokane Jazz Orchestra. In addition to performances at the North Sea and Montreux Jazz Festivals and on many cruise liners, he has appeared with Dick Hyman, Karrin Allyson, Charo, Marion McPartland and Jim Nabors, among many others.
Also a professor at Westfield State, pianist James Argiro has an impressive resume that includes work at Hollywood television and recording studios and as a staff member on many television variety shows, including the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and the Tony Orlando & Dawn Show. As music director/arranger, he has been associated with many celebrities such as: Bernadette Peters, Leslie Uggams, Frank Sinatra Jr., Mickey Rooney, Joan Rivers and Juliet Prowse. As a jazz pianist and arranger, he has performed with Mel Torme, Marlena Shaw and Lionel Hampton among others and he was the former host of Monday Night Jazz, America’s longest running radio jazz series.
Pianist Jim Argiro is part of the Jazz Professors. (Photo courtesy of WOW)
Percussionist Peter Coutsirides also teaches at Westfield State. Currently principal timpanist Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, Coutsirides holds degrees from the Hartt School of Music and Central Washington University with a PHD in Musical Arts degree from the prestigious Eastman School of Music. A Music Professor at UMass/Amherst and Holyoke Community College, where he is Coordinator of Jazz Studies, guitarist Bob Ferrier is a freelance guitarist and teacher, who has performed with Randy Brecker, Yusef Lateef, Jon Faddis and Peter Erskine among others. Skilled in audio and studio recording, music theory and composition, he is graduate of Berklee School of Music with a Masters in Jazz Composition/Arranging from UMass/Amherst.
After 30 years in NYC, bassist Wayne Roberts now resides in Western Massachusetts. In 2015, Wayne was a member of the faculty for “Jazz in July” at UMass Amherst. With a Bachelor’s from the New England Conservatory of Music and a Master’s from the Juilliard School, Roberts has worked with several notables, including Billy Childs, Atilla Zoller, Chuck Wayne and Jaki Byard. After touring Europe for several years as sideman/bassist for Hungarian guitarist, Fenenc Snetberger, he formed the Onyx Club Sextet which featured the music of the John Kirby Sextet (1937-43) that gained him international acclaim. Roberts is also on the music faculty of Westfield State.
Funding and producer of “WOW… It’s Cabaret.”
WOW! … It’s Cabaret is produced by Westfield on Weekends in association with the ShortStop Bar and Grill and the Music Department of Westfield State University.
Funding for the WOW!… It’s Cabaret series has been provided in part with a grant from the Westfield Cultural Council, a program of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Westfield on Weekends is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that supports the revitalization of Downtown Westfield, sustain arts and cultural activities and provides resources for groups with like-minded missions in branding Westfield as a dynamic community.
For more information on the series and WOW’s other community programming, including MusicFest summer concerts on the green, visit www.westfieldonweekends.com.
