Here is the link for Racine Journal Times article advancing Harmonious Wail’s Jan 10 Jean’s Jazz Series Concert
Fresh from its recent win of four 2014 Madison Area Music Association awards Harmonious Wail will bring its unique blend of continental jazz, swing and gypsy music to the Racine Theatre Guild, 2519 Northwestern Ave., on Jan. 10.
The Madison-based ensemble — which includes Racine native Sims Delaney-Potthoff on mandolin, guitar and ukulele — will be one of two acts playing the opening concert of Jean’s Jazz Series 2015 at the theater. And Delaney-Potthoff, who graduated from St. Catherine’s High School in 1972, said he and the rest of the Wail are honored to be a part of the series, which celebrates talent from throughout the Midwest.
The Wail first performed in JJS a few years after the series began, and series founder Joe Mooney said he is very excited to have the group returning for the 14th season.
“They just keep getting better and better,” said Mooney, who created the concert series in memory of his late wife, Jean, who was a jazz devotee and active RTG volunteer.
In addition to their many musical talents, members of the Wail really understand their audience and know how to relate to them, Mooney said.
“They always put on a great, great show.”
This time around, Harmonious Wail’s show will include music from its latest CD, “Bohemian Tango,” which earned awards for Best Jazz CD and Best CD Cover from the 2014 MAMAs (the song “Bohemian Tango,” written by vocalist Maggie Delaney-Potthoff, also won Best Jazz Song).
The group — which has also earned numerous WAMIs (Wisconsin Area Music Industry awards) throughout its 20-plus-year existence — writes much of its own music and adds it own flavor to whatever songs it covers, Sims Delaney-Potthoff said.
“We’re doing what we believe in and I think that’s why we’ve been able to do it for so long,” he said.
Rather than being locked into one genre, Harmonious Wail is committed to “finding the juice within us and transferring that to the audience,” Delaney-Potthoff said. “Part of the responsibility we take is that if you come to a Wail show, you are virtually guaranteed that you will be moved.”
More hometown music
The other half of the Jan. 10 concert bill will also feature some Racine-grown talent. In addition to its Kenosha-based bassist/founder, The New Kal Bergendahl Project will include the horn playing of Racine natives Jamie Breiwick (trumpet), Benny Olson (tenor sax) and Jeremy Scott (alto sax), along with Benny Ramos IV on drums and Theo Merriweather on keyboards.
This new version of the KBP has a funkier, more powerful sound than those which have played JJS in years past, Mooney said.
“The audience will experience a much different side of Kal Bergendahl,” he said.
Jean’s Jazz Series 2015 will also include two more double-bill concerts and one single-bill show featuring the swinging jazz and blues of The Flat Cats.
Dancing, too
The Chicago-based Flat Cats — which performed with JJS in 2013 — are coming back to the RTG stage by popular demand, Mooney said.
The ensemble received the most votes in a contest held over several months and polling people during previous concerts, Downtown’s First Fridays and Party on the Pavement. In Chicago, the Cats have played venues such as Navy Pier, the Drake Hotel and the Green Dolphin Lounge. No matter where they perform, they are sure to have the audience at least tapping their toes, if not dancing in the aisles, according to Mooney.
Their show, and the rest of the JJS schedule are as follows:
Saturday, Feb. 14:
Triad
— Both soaring electric guitar solos and intricate classical guitar work are featured in this Kenosha-based jazz trio of Terry Peterson (guitar), Brian Ford (drums) and Jeremy Kriedeman (bass).
Nineteen Thirteen
— This unique, chamber rock trio is built around cellist Janet Schiff (and her prized cello, made in 1913). Together with two percussionists — Victor DeLorenzo (Racine native and former Violent Femmes drummer) and Scott Johnson — she and her electrically-amplified, acoustic cello create a subtle mix of old and new technology that “pushes the boundaries of time and tradition.”
http://victordelorenzo.weebly.com/nineteen-thirteen.html
Saturday, March 28:
An Evening with The Flat Cats
– Playing a range of retro and modern music rooted in the hottest swinging jazz and blues, the Cats have backed legendary singing groups such as The Drifters and The Crystals at major venues like The Chicago Theatre and Milwaukee’s Pabst Theatre.
www.flatcatsmusic.com
Thursday, April 16:
Swing Chevron
– Taking inspiration from jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, violinist Allen Russell founded Swing Chevron as a means for performing his own gypsy swing tunes and arrangements. The Milwaukee-based group combines lyrical French melodies, driving gypsy rhythms and “improvisational flights of the imagination” to create its own brand of swing.
www.facebook.com/SwingChevron
Cold Sweat and the Brew City Horns
– Known as “the consummate dance band with horns” this Milwaukee based band draws from a range of genres including funk, R&B, soul, rock and pop. Influences include everyone from Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power to Chicago, Beyonce and Miles Davis.
www.cold-sweat.com/csnew/index.php
Show time is 7 p.m. for all four concerts. A cash bar and concessions will be available throughout the concerts, and complimentary treats will be served during intermission. Audience members will also have the opportunity to meet the performers and have CDs autographed.
______________________________________________
If You Go
WHAT: Jean’s Jazz Series 2015
WHEN: Saturdays Jan. 10, Feb. 14 and March 28; and Thursday, April 16. All four concerts start at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Racine Theatre Guild, 2519 Northwestern Ave.
COST: Season tickets are $51 per adult, $45 per senior (62 and older) and $15 per student (21 and younger). Tickets to single concerts cost $17, $15 and $5, respectively. Racine Theatre Guild box office is open from noon to 6 p.m. weekdays (weekend hours vary).
INFO: Call 262-633-4218 or go to www.racinetheatre.org