Tickets going fast for The Westmoreland’s jazz series concerts
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Tickets went fast for the first date in the Winter and Spring Jazz Concert Series at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
Events manager Darrah Resnick expects the remaining three shows to sell out just as quickly.
“It’s probably good to get tickets now,” she said.
Sam Brooks, a Pittsburgh-based singer with what Resnick called “that Sinatra vibe,” played to a sold-out room on Feb. 8.
Next up, Kevin M. McManus and The Bone Forum — a long-time series favorite — will perform on March 8. Rounding out the series will be The Colbys on April 12 and pianist Max Leake and friends on May 10.
Concerts begin at 7 p.m. in the museum at 221 N. Main St., Greensburg.
The series presents “a nice mix of fan favorites and new talent,” Resnick said. “We’re always looking for established performers locally, regionally and even nationally, who we think would add to the series.
“We like to keep it broad, because jazz is ever-changing, and we like each concert to be a little different,” she said.
McManus said he and his trombone-based ensemble first played the jazz series at least 15 years ago.
“We’ve been playing every year or every other year since then,” said McManus, a music educator and also founder of The Collective Jazz Octet and The Pittsburgh Trombone Project.
At The Westmoreland, McManus and four fellow trombonists will be accompanied by piano and drums.
“We play a wide variety, everything from the Big Band era to music written in the ‘70s,” said McManus, who has performed with artists such as Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, Frankie Vallie and The Four Seasons, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Lou Rawls, The Temptations and The Four Tops.
The program will include at least one number in memory of the late Harold Betters, a Connellsville native known as “Mr. Trombone” for his decades as a staple of the Western Pennsylvania jazz scene.
“He was hugely instrumental to The Westmoreland’s jazz society. He was a superstar,” McManus said.
‘They won her over’
The Colbys came to the attention of Pat Erdelsky, the jazz series’ former organizer and current volunteer, at one of Greensburg’s SummerSounds concerts.
“They’re new to The Westmoreland,” Resnick said of the Pittsburgh-based group. “Pat saw them filling in at SummerSounds when a performer canceled due to illness. They were very entertaining and interactive and really won her over.
“Her telling me about them won me over, as well. We’re looking forward to seeing what they do with our crowd,” Resnick said.
Playing New Orleans-influenced jazz and R&B, The Colbys are led by Grammy and Emmy Award-winner John Colby and feature vocalist Bev Rohlehr.
Leake is “a beautiful pianist, probably one of the best I’ve seen. He’s so professional and talented,” Resnick said.
“I’ve always liked playing at The Westmoreland,” Leake said. “The people who come out there come out for the music. They’re very attentive and very appreciative of what you do.
“When we’re playing in nightclubs, people aren’t necessarily there to hear jazz, they’re there to drink or eat or and the jazz just happens to be there. Sometimes the din from the crowd gets awfully loud,” he said.
Leake often plays with fellow Pittsburgh jazz stalwarts, drummer Roger Humphries and bassist Dwayne Dolphin, but he also enjoys playing with younger musicians.
“I like to give them a chance to be out in the trenches, so to speak,” he said. “I’m 65, so sometimes having younger people around lights a fire under me.”
Leake’s repertoire includes selections from the Great American Songbook and tunes that he calls “the soundtrack of my youth.”
“I grew up in the 1960s, so I have a tendency to throw in stuff from that era,” he said. “I might be in the mood to play The Beatles. I like to make decisions about what I’m going to play at the last second, whatever hits me at the moment.”
Tickets for jazz series concerts are $18, or $15 for museum members. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a cocktail hour with cash bar and snacks.
To register, call 888-718-4253 or visit thewestmoreland.org.