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Jazzin’ with the Stars, Saturday, April 12, 2014 at Winthrop Middle School,
Deep River CT, Benefit for Autism Services & Resources in Connecticut
By Sue Finn
Videos by Cinedevine
Pictures by Ray Ross
| Heartbeat Dixieland Jazz Band with special guests: Dave Somerville – lead singer of The Diamonds Jimmy Jay – DJ to the Stars Jason Senn |
Fred Vigorito – Trumpet John Clark – Clarinet, saxophone Noel Kaletsky – Clarinet, saxophone Skip Hughes- Trombone, vocals Shari Lucas – Piano Steve Keeler – Guitar David Uhl – Bass Bill Logozzo – Drums |
This was the 3rd annual ‘Jazzin’ with the Stars’ concert, the first at this venue, and was just as much fun as the first two. The first half of the show was Heartbeat at its best with a new twist.
Fred Vigorito, Shari Lewis
Fred Vigorito gave a history of jazz from its birth in the 19th century to the present; blues, ragtime, spirituals, swing and everything in between, all the way up to rock & roll. He also gave us information on the origin of each of the instruments in the band. And of course, there were examples of most of the genres he discussed:
Tin Roof Blues – Skip, vocal Just a Closer Walk with Thee – Skip, vocal
Tiger Rag
The Entertainer
Original Dixieland One Step
Heartbeat ended with a very energetic medley that summed up the entire history of jazz, starting with ‘Royal Garden Blues’ and ending with Skip singing choruses of ‘Jump, Jive & Wail’, ‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’ and ‘Flip, Flop & Fly’.
After the break, Sara Reed of Autism Services in Connecticut, gave us a brief description of the programs her organization provides and thanked everyone for their support. Then Jimmy Jay gave out the prizes to the raffle winners.
 Dave Somerville & Jimmy Jay |
 Dave Somerville |
Then it was time for Jimmy Jay to introduce Dave Somerville. Dave took us all down memory lane with stories about the rock stars he traveled with and their chart-topping songs and, of course, all the big hits of his own group, the Diamonds. He sang many of the songs, some as medleys. Too many to list them all but here are some highlights:
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Goody Goody
The Stroll
Love Love Love, Little Darlin’, The Stroll, Silhouettes on the Shade, Sweet Little Sixteen, Johnny Be Good, Maybelline, One Summer Night, I’m Walking, Blueberry Hill.
Oh Boy
Through this part, Heartbeat accompanied Dave, all seated and reading his music. Then they went back to their usual band formation and Dave sang ‘Route 66’ and ‘Goody Goody’ with them. He stayed on the stage until the end of the show.
 Noel and John did “Running Wild” |
 Skip sang “Hello, Mary Lou” |
 Jason sang “What a Wonderful World |
 Freddy and the Band help Jason with his song |
And the finale was ‘The Saints’ of course. We all had a great afternoon’s entertainment and there was lots of audience-participation throughout the show.
photo by Sue Finn
After the show there was a ‘meet & greet’ for fans to get autographs, buy CD’s and T-shirts and obtain information on the Autism Programs.
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