The music of the band, Chicago, is alive again this Saturday, March 14, 2026 evening at Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts in a concert by the New York-based Chicago tribute band, Beginnings.
Inside the Grunin Center auditorium, trumpeter Chandler Judkins, saxophonist Lenny La Pinta, trombonist Dan Hendrix, guitarist Ryan Ball, keyboardist Scott Chasolen, bassist Jay Levine, and drummer Chris Milillo take their places on stage.
Opening with the 1970 Top Ten Chicago hit, “Make Me Smile,” audience members clap along as bassist Jay Levine sings with conviction, “Tell me you will stay/Make me smile,” while deftly supported by the band.
Segueing into “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is,” Scott Chasolen croons the well-known “As I was walking down the street one day” lyric as he accompanies himself on keyboards on this 1970 Top Ten pop tune.
“Good evening, Toms River!” announces Chasolen, adding, “What do you say we dial it back to the old days?” The audience cheers as the band rewinds into “Old Days” where Levine cries, “Old days, good times I remember,” and he and guitarist Ryan Ball duel with their instruments on stage.
Launching into “Alive Again,” Levine sings lead before Dan Hendrix on trombone, Chandler Judkins on trumpet, and Lenny La Pinta on saxophone play downstage on this rhythmic rocker.
Chasolen and Levine share the lead vocal on 1972’s “Dialogue Parts 1 and 2” where concertgoers clap along on the song’s uplifting “We can make it happen/We can change the world now” coda. Then, on “You’re the Inspiration,” audience members sing along on the 1984 tune’s iconic “You’re the meaning in my life/You’re my inspiration” chorus before Ryan Ball renders a guitar solo.
The group launches into the 1974 Top 5 Billboard hit, “Just You ’n’ Me,” where Lenny Le Pinta renders a funky sax solo to cheers and applause.
Moving on to the group’s Latin-influenced selection, “Call On Me,” harmony vocals by Chasolen, Ball, and Milillo accompany Levine’s lead on the catchy “I love you/You know I do/You love me, too” refrain before the arrangement shifts into a cool instrumental break and the song’s infectious “You can count on me, oh/You can count on me” samba coda.
The audience sighs as Chasolen introduces “If You Leave Me Now” where Levine croons the song’s “If you leave me now/You’ll take away the biggest part of me” lyric. Then, Chasolen sings the 1971 Chicago smash, “Beginnings,” where heads nod in the audience as Dan Hendrix renders a showy trombone solo.
Following up with the bouncy “Wake Up Sunshine,” Chasolen’s breezy vocal puts smiles on the faces of the crowd before Levine lays down a bass riff which is joined by Milillo on drums, Ball on guitar, and Chasolen who executes a jazzy keyboard solo while Judkins and the other horn players add rhythmic percussion.
The band segues into a smokin’ rendition of The Spencer Davis Group’s “I’m a Man” where Ball and Levine vocalize the lead and the ensemble moves to the rhythm while singing the dynamic “I’m a man/Yes I am/And I can’t help but love you so” refrain. As the arrangement continues, the musicians leave the stage to Milillo who is featured on a precision drum solo which elicits hoots and hollers from the crowd.
Four-part harmony vocals ring out on Chicago’s 1971 Top 20 hit, “Free,” where band members cry out, “I just wanna be free!” and the horn players are featured individually on their instruments before swaying together side by side on this stirring rock and roll anthem.
Chasolen asks the crowd, “How are you feeling?” before he and the band pump iron on Chicago’s 1973 Top Ten smash, “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day,” where concertgoers double clap to the rhythm as the horn section moves downstage to perform.
The crowd cheers and Chasolen introduces a medley of “the greatest breakup songs of all time.” Ball’s guitar opens “Love Me Tomorrow” on an arrangement which has Chandler Judkins adding color on flugelhorn. After stepping into the 1984 ballad, “Hard Habit to Break,” Milillo echoes the lead vocals of Levine and Chasolen on “Will You Still Love Me.”
Ball sings, “If you see me walkin’ by/And the tears are in my eyes/Look away, baby, look away,” on “Look Away,” before Levine cries, “After all that we’ve been through/I will make it up to you, I promise to,” on the 1982 chart-topping Chicago hit, “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.”
The medley concludes with the rocking “Get Away” where the horns line up downstage and play to avid cheers and applause.
“We’re gonna keep this party going!” exclaims Chasolen as the group strolls into the 1972 Chicago million-seller, “Saturday in the Park.” Music lovers sing along with Chasolen on the famous “Saturday in the park/I think it was the Fourth of July” lyric before the house lights come up and Judkins, La Pinta, and Hendrix make their way through the audience with their instruments and continue playing them after they’ve returned to the stage.
Hendrix and Judkins sway phone flashlights back and forth as Chasolen sings lead on the popular Chicago ballad, “Colour My World,” which features a Lenny La Pinta flute solo on the coda.
The ensemble presents a raucous version of the instrumental, “To Be Free,” before Chasolen declares, “We had a great time playing for you tonight!” and the band renders a reprise of “Make Me Smile.”
The evening culminates with Chicago’s 1970 hit, “25 or 6 to 4” where Ryan Ball shreds a guitar solo.
The arrangement ends in a climax of sound, after which band members turn around and snap a selfie on stage in front of Chicago fans who are on their feet behind them.
As concertgoers make their way out of the auditorium and into the Grunin Center lobby, several comment on tonight’s performance. Remarks Alyce from Toms River, “I thought it was a fantastic show! It was high energy, they had a lot of stage presence, and it really sounded like the real band, Chicago. I loved it!”
Kim from Toms River asserts, “I thought it was awesome! It was very lively and very upbeat. I enjoyed myself immensely.” Kim’s husband, Eric, agrees, adding, “I was born in ’64 so I lived through the days of Chicago and the group really brought me back tonight.”
Don from Barnegat contends, “It was a phenomenal concert! The musicianship was out of sight. I’m a horn player myself so I especially loved the horn section — they were fantastic.”
Lastly, Beginnings keyboardist Scott Chasolen shares his thoughts on the evening, revealing, “I’m a Jersey guy — I’m from Wayne and my dad lived in Toms River for many years — and I loved this crowd tonight! They had a lot of energy, and I really appreciated that,” prior to concluding, “For me, it was just like coming home.”
To learn more about Beginnings, please go to beginningslive.com. For information on upcoming performances at the Grunin Center — including Nella on April 7, The Brit Pack on April 18, and The Duprees with Who’s Johnny on April 19 — please click on grunincenter.org.
Spotlight Central NJ entertainment news,
concert recaps, and interviews
Love Imagery Fine art stage photography
@allyouneedisloveimagery
