June 5, 2008 issue
Fred Germann’s Jazz Y’all Stars Play Blowing Rock’s Hayes Center June 15
Story by David Brewer
Blowing Rock’s Hayes Performing Arts Center will swing to life on Sunday, June 15, as Fred Germann & The Jazz Y’all Stars take the stage for a cool night of hot jazz. The show will start at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $10.
In addition to Germann on drums, the Y’all Stars consist of pianist and vocalist Noel Freidline, acoustic and electric bassist Tom Hildreth and singer Toni Tupponce. This is Germann’s second Y’all Stars concert at the Hayes Center.
“This is an opportunity for me to play with my friends that I used to play with years ago,” said Germann.
Freidline is the leader of the Noel Friedline Quintet and a composer/arranger whose most recent works have been featured on Monday Night Football and the NBA All-Star Game. He has also served as the leader of the award-winning Bellagio Casino house band in Las Vegas, where he recorded the live album Four Nights at the Slammer with comedians Penn and Teller. Freidline most recently performed in the High Country for the Blowing Rock Jazz Society last August.
A featured performer in Charlotte, Hildreth has performed with pit orchestras for national touring productions of Broadway musicals and has also appeared with such luminaries as Linda Rondstadt, Bernadette Peters, Maureen McGovern and Harry Connick Jr. Hildreth is also a music educator.
“He’s a master musician with just an incredible grasp of the upright and electric bass,” said Germann.
Tupponce is the lead vocalist of the Charlotte-based music production company A Sign of the Times of the Carolinas and was named Charlotte Magazine’s Sexiest Voice in Charlotte in 2006. Her most recent CD release is All About Love.
“She’s really a very exciting performer,” said Germann. “A lot of people are anxious to hear Toni.”
Germann began playing gigs as early as seventh grade and parlayed his prodigious talents on the skins into a lucrative career as both performer and radio and TV personality. A resident of the High Country since 1998, Germann founded the Blowing Rock Jazz Society in 2000.
Also a founding member of the Hilton Head Jazz Society, Germann has performed with or interviewed such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman, Stan Getz, Stan Kenton, Joe Williams, The Four Freshmen, Mel Torme and Steve Allen. He also served as master of ceremonies for the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
“This is just a great opportunity for friends to get together and play a lot of great tunes that everyone loves,” said Germann. “I might even do a couple of vocals.”
Purchase tickets by calling the Hayes Center box office at 828-295-9627 or by clicking to www.hayescenter.org. Special group rates are also available. Season and Flex Passes can be purchased and used throughout the entire 2008 season.
Want To Go?
Date: Sunday, June 15
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center
Cost: $10
Blowing Rock Jazz Society Hosts Dick Goodwin Dixieland Jazz Review this Sunday
On Sunday, June 8, the sounds of New Orleans will fill the air as the Blowing Rock Jazz Society hosts the Dick Goodwin Dixieland Jazz Review. The show will start at 7:00 p.m.
A group of talented music educators will join Goodwin to work the vibrant second line rhythms of The Big Easy.
“These guys are all really top talents,” said BRJS founder Fred German.
According Germann, the June 8 concert will be an anniversary of sorts, marking the society’s 8th anniversary of hosting concerts in the High Country. With funds out of Germann’s own pocket, the BRJS began hosting world-class jazz acts at Meadowbrook, with the first show taking place on June 18, 2000.
“Our mission is to keep the torch burning and to assist the Jazz Studies Program at ASU,” said German.
The BRJS offers jazz concerts the second Sunday of each month at the Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock. Call 828-295-4300 for reservations or plan to arrive early for good seats.
For more info on the BRJS, click to www.brjazzsociety.com.
Want To Go?
Date: Sunday, June 8
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Meadowbrook Inn
Cost: $15 for non-members/$5 for students/Free for members
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