[Shotimes] OT great concert tonight, Bobby Shew

[Donald Mallinson]

I know there are some jazz fans on the lists, and tonight I 
went to a very good concert.

Illinois Central College Jazz band opened up with a 40 
minute set of very good music for a small junior college.

Feature was trumpet great Bobby Shew with the Illinois State 
University Jazz band.  They did 90 minutes of very good, 
very complicated big band jazz.

Bobby Shew played with most of the major big bands, also, 
like most great musicians that never hit the really big 
time, spent a lot of time playing screaming trumpet for 
music tracks, including for the Muppet Show.

He told a story about being in a house band in Vegas some 
years ago where all the band was so bored with the 
"headliner" and they were just wishing that nobody would ask 
for an encore.  But sure enough, the star left the stage and 
as the band was playing out the last bit of music and 
looking forward to getting to dinner (first show of two each 
night) eight people right in the front stood up and with the 
typical herd instinct, the rest of the audience, already 
filing out, stopped and applauded.  The headliner bounced 
back on stage and the band played one or two more songs.

Second show that night, the same exact thing 
happened........with the same EXACT 8 people in the front! 
Turns out that this headliner paid these people 20 bucks a 
night plus a couple beers (and of course free tickets) to 
sit there and insure that there was an encore and standing 
ovation!

Bobby let it slip that the "headliner" was Wayne Newton. 
Bobby also said that if that was the best job (encore shill) 
  someone could get, having to listen to Wayne 20 times a 
week or more....he would just jump off a cliff!  :)

Shew played with delightful precision and joy, with soaring 
highs accenting a light touch with the trumpet and 
fluegelhorn that most players never have.  At one point he 
was noodling around with some low notes and just hit a rapid 
fire blast up to kissing off on some incredibly high note, 
all at a volume that made you lean forward to catch every 
neuance.  IT almost lifted me involuntarily out of my seat! 
and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

This was their THIRD concert thursday, and they will do more 
on Friday, then there will be an all day jazz festival on 
the campus of ISU in Normal, IL. capped off by the ISU Jazz 
band with Bobby Shew in a longer and more involved double set.

IF you are near central Illinois and love Jazz, try to make 
emergency plans to see them this weekend, I may try to go 
and see them again.  Big band jazz is so rare these days, 
that you must take advantage when you get the chance.

Now back to our regular car talk.

Don Mallinson