Take two highly acclaimed NJ artists coming from different music genres, and two chance meetings---conduits to something that was meant to happen, and what do you get? An extraordinary, big-deal-of-a-show called A Fantabulous Night---The Music of Van Morrison on
Saturday October 24th at Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ)
Renowned harp player/singer Rob Paparozzi (Original Blues Brothers Band, Blood Sweat ‘n Tears ) whose background is jazz and blues, tells of running into music aficionado Mark Meding a couple years ago in an airport, both men returning to NJ from a NAAM show (National Association of Music Merchants.) Over a drink and talking music, Mark asked Rob if he ever thought of creating a Van Morrison tribute show. Rob hadn’t. Seed planted.
Pat Guadagno (BobFest, The Candle Brothers), a singer, guitarist and beloved troubadour whose roots are in folk music and the Beatles, tells of a discussion he and Rob had about Van’s music---also, a couple years ago, after which neither thought of taking it any further.
The seed began to germinate when Pat met Charles Moran and Chris Nagy.
Charles and Chris are not professional promoters. They are music aficionados who have a pure love of Van’s music and know how to meld that love with advocating for causes like Autism Speaks. They would become the producers/presenters of A Fantabulous Night.
Pat had been producing the huge, annual Bob Dylan tribute, BobFest for 16 years. Rob had played in some of the Dylan shows and marveled at Pat’s ability to put together a gigantic music event. When Rob finally approached Pat with the idea of a Van Morrison show, both asked why they hadn’t thought of it before. The artists’ mutual admiration became a project partnership, and the Van Morrison tribute seed grew to fruition in the first Fantabulous Night performance in 2014.
Of the challenges that come with such an ambitious production, Rob says, “Coming up with the right songs was a big challenge. Van means something different to everyone. Some of his songs reflect his jazz and blues roots, while others are straight ahead rock ’n roll. We wanted to offer something for everyone. I never knew he had made such a huge number of records over the years until I began researching for this show. We just chipped away at a working song list.”
Pat expressed song selection this way. “I try to always first do songs I like and songs that are interesting to all levels of fans…the casual and the fanatic.” The partners agree that when you want to appeal to fanatics, you go outside of “Brown-Eyed Girl” and “Moondance.”
“Working with this high level of talent, scheduling rehearsals is a challenge,” Pat says. “The musicians are always out doing their own thing. You can’t get everybody together. The only time that happens is on the night of the performance. It just comes together. Again, that speaks to the level of musicianship going on here. Sometimes, players meet for the first time on stage. Doing this show, I’ve met musicians I’ve never played with before, and it’s great.”
In the music biz, there are always budget challenges. Thinking how to best make use of the talent and special guests in a big show is important. Musicians of this caliber play on each others’ records and may play more than one instrument. I enjoy seeing audiences’ jaw-dropping expressions as they watch musicians switching off between various instruments. How can they be that good? There will be plenty of switching going on in this show. And there may be some surprises. Last year, “the world’s most recorded drummer,” Bernard Purdie appeared and joined in.
In this year’s Fantabulous Night, you will see multi-instrumentalists Michael Ghegan (Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil) John Korba (Hall & Oates, Phoebe Snow, Roseanne Cash) Steven Delopoulos (Burlap to Cashmere) and Tommy Labella and Joe Bellia (Jon Bon Jovi’s Kings of Suburbia.) Rob is primarily known as a harmonica player and singer, but also plays guitar and piano. Pat usually sings and plays acoustic guitar, but in this show he will also play electric guitar. Featured singers are Jillian Rhys McCoy, Pam McCoy, and Irish Tenor Steve Reilly.
Just as reading the forward of a book can enhance the reading experience, so can knowing a songwriter’s background bring greater insight and enjoyment of songs.
Rob explains, “What I like about Van is that his writing reflects his jazz and blues roots. Sax was Van’s first instrument. Early in his career, he played sax in jazz clubs in Ireland, and that’s as important as his songwriting. As simple as some of his songs might be, he builds in room for an improvised solo. And that’s what drew me into his music. He wasn’t afraid to venture into jazz on his recordings like ‘Cleaning Windows’ and the album ‘Astral Weeks.’ And you can hear Van’s influence in Springsteen’s music. Bruce got the horn thing from Van.”
I asked Rob what was the career highlight of his very busy summer. He told me about one of his two trips to Europe with the Blues Brothers. “We played the coolest jazz festival in Lithuania. I never thought I’d be going to Lithuania…and to play a jazz festival there! After a three-hour bus ride along the Baltic Sea, we arrived at a small seaport town where we were welcomed by the mayor. The mayor was a trumpet player. The mayor sat in with the Blues Brothers!”
Pat added, “I want to tell about the respect and appreciation I have for the people who come out to hear my music. The great friends I’ve made in this business. They’re more than fans. They’re friends and supporters. And how I appreciate the people who buy tickets and come to my shows, and allow me to do what I love to do.”
Musicians (and that includes singers) are often among the first to arrange benefit shows for people and organizations in need in the community. A Fantabulous Night hopes to create a greater awareness of what has been called an autism epidemic in New Jersey. A portion of the money raised will go to the local chapter of Autism Speaks, a national organization funding autism research and outreach to the autism community. Pat says that with every show he does, he wants to donate some of the proceeds to a local charity.
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