Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 21, 1994 TAG: 9401200025
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Go to it, O jazzmen.
- Carl Sandburg, "Jazz Fantasia," 1920
Lucky us. The jazz is back at Maxwell's next week.
The Dan Sandidge Quartet with jazz pianist Dan Sandidge and guest artist Chip McNeill on tenor sax will perform Monday through Thursday at the Blacksburg restaurant, 1204 North Main St. The music starts at 9 each night.
McNeill is the music director and saxophonist for Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau Band. He recorded two albums with Ferguson and appeared with him at Carnegie Hall in 1992. He also has performed with fine jazzmen such as Wynton Marsalis, Nat Adderly, David Liebman, Dizzy Gillespie - the list goes on.
Before he joined the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra, McNeill played sax for Woody Herman's orchestra, the Young Thundering Herd. He toured the United States and the Caribbean with the orchestra from 1988 to 1990.
Recently, McNeill returned from a tour of Japan with Ferguson's band. Before that, he toured Europe, appearing with Ferguson on television and radio programs in Austria, Holland, Poland and Ireland.
His performance with the Dan Sandidge Quartet at Maxwell's highlights the four-day jazz festival there.
The cover charge is $3 Monday through Thursday. For more information, call 552-3300.
\ R.U. IN THE MOOD FOR MUSIC? Radford University's College of Visual and Performing Arts is sponsoring three concerts next week.
The first is a solo percussion recital by Al Wojtera, director of percussion and jazz studies in the university's music department. Wojtera will perform Monday in Porterfield Hall. The concert includes works for marimba, vibraphone, multiple percussion and timpani. It features the first performance in the state of Tom Willis' Colloquy for woodwind quintet and percussion.
On Wednesday, David Jacobsen of Virginia Tech will join pianist Caryl Conger of Radford's music department for an evening of saxophone and piano music in Preston Auditorium. The duo will play works by Paul Hindemith, Pierre Max Dubois and Gordon Jacob. Soprano Nancy McDuffie will join them for one number.
The beat goes digital Thursday when the Radford University Electronic Ensemble takes the stage in Preston Auditorium.
Bruce Mahin, director of the Center for Music Technology, will lead the student musicians as they play original compositions on several modern digital instruments. In digital music, the musicians use instruments to control a computer, which in turn generates sounds.
All of the concerts start at 8 p.m. Admission Monday and Wednesday is $3 for adults, $1 for children and free for Radford University students and staff. Admission to Thursday's digital concert is free for everyone.
\ TRIPLE TALENT: Three local bands will entertain you Sunday from 6:30 to 11 p.m. at the Best Western Radford Inn, 1501 Tyler Ave.
The show features The Works, a new group made up of musicians formerly with Hotline, January Rose and The Rhinoz. Also performing are the New River Valley's bluegrass boys, Fescue 911, and The Dixie Dirt Band.
The concert is a benefit for the Albert Miller family. Miller's wife recently had a heart attack and is awaiting a transplant.
A $5 donation at the door is requested.
\ SHAKE A LEG: The next jamboree sponsored by New River Community College's Fiddle, Banjo and Dance Club should be one of the best.
The Bluegrass Cardinals, a Virginia-based band that has been pleasing crowds for the past 20 years, is the attraction. The group is known for its three- and four-part harmony, including a cappella vocals. In addition to traditional bluegrass tunes, the Cardinals also play lots of gospel favorites.
The Grayson Highlands Band is featured at the jamboree, too.
It's happening Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. at the New River Valley Fairgrounds in Dublin. Jam sessions run from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Live performances follow.
Put on your dancing shoes. You could win cash prizes at the jamboree dance contest.
Admission is free but donations are appreciated to help pay traveling expenses for the bands.
An additional note: Tickets for the Feb. 5 Alison Krauss concert at Pulaski Middle School will be available during intermissions. Those tickets are $12.
by CNB