The jazz vocalists of Mad River Transit sing upbeat and romantic jazz tunes, backed by a rhythm section of piano (Darius Brotman), bass (Robert Amirkhan) and drums (Jonathan Kipps). Singing solo and in various combinations, MRT performs songs by Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Lionel Hampton, Bobby McFerrin, Hoagy Carmichael, T-Bone Walker and others.
For example, singers Sarah Benzinger and Samuel Kaplan-Good perform The Nearness of You by Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington, first made popular in 1938 by the Glenn Miller Band, and recorded by singers from Frank Sinatra and Sarah Vaughan to Rod Stewart, Diana Krall and Norah Jones. Six of the singers will contribute on Stormy Monday Blues, T-Bone Walker’s signature tune, recorded by Eric Clapton, Jethro Tull and the Allman Brothers, among many others.
Soloists on the MRT program include Darius Brotman, Bobby Amirkhan, Jessica Malone, Berol Steinberg, Claire Bent, Kaeden Williams, Sarah Benzinger, Samuel Kaplan-Good, Calista LaBolle, Michael Scott, and Nick Tringale.
The first part of the program is performed by the HSU Madrigal Singers and a chamber vocal ensemble led by senior music education major Jamie Banister.
Their selections include three compositions by Thomas Morely, the most prominent composer of secular music in Elizabethan England, as well as madrigals by Shakespeare-era composers William Holborne and Thomas Bateson. Ah, Pity Me, Beloved is by Italian late Renaissance composer Luca Marenzio, who provides a transitional link to Baroque music.
Director of the Madrigal Singers and MRT is HSU Music Department professor Harley Muilenburg. Their spring concert begins at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 3 in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata.
Tickets are $7 general, $3 students/seniors, from the HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door.
Free to HSU students with ID. http://HSUMusic.blogspot.com.