PEORIA, IL -- The Heartland Festival Orchestra's tribute to Aretha wowed the audience with jazz, gospel, soul and rock, and two singers with great voices suitable for opera.
The Feb. 3 event, at the St. Paul Baptist Church, brought the audience to its feet several times, and included clapping for the musicians, jazz style.The venue has wonderful acoustics, too.
The program was all pop music, no classical. But the pop songs were all classics. The orchestra's conductor/artistic director David Commanday told the audience to notice the "sound of a big band embedded in the orchestra." The trumpets, especially, provided that sound.
The singers were Capathia Jenkins and Ryan Shaw, both with much experience with symphony orchestras and on stage as performers. They are both jazz singers who can improvise as well as sell a song.
The Heritage Ensemble and the Illinois Central College Concert Choir provided nice backup for the singers.
In short, this was a fabulous show, worthy of Chicago or New York.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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