Ivan Neville Featured at Columbia

I got a call from my friend Bill Boris this week. Bill is a jazz guitar professor at Columbia College in Chicago. He invited me to a concert at Columbia featuring Ivan Neville, son of recording artist Aaron Neville. I knew it would be a great show.

We arrived to a packed house just minutes before show time. The Music Center Concert Hall is located in the College of Music at 1014 S. Michigan Ave. It is a beautiful venue with excellent acoustics. As we made our way to our seats, we passed several rows of students holding their instruments. While I know there are pressures, I thought how wonderful it must be for aspiring artists to attend school and hang out with other artists all day. I suspect it is an enriching experience, particularly when you have an opportunity to work with a guy like Ivan Neville.

Ivan Neville is a multi-instrumentalist from New Orleans and a legacy. He is part of a great music family growing up in a city that is rich in music heritage and it is obvious that he takes his craft very seriously. Ivan Neville definitely has the voice and the chops, but he also has the understanding and appreciation of music that inspires others. Ivan played and sang on most of the songs performed.

Each of the directors spoke of Mr. Neville’s ability to teach and to participate with students on a variety of levels. He spent a week with the various ensembles helping them to write songs and to play a variety of styles on various instruments. It was also clear that Mr. Neville was able to help the students understand some of the finer elements enabling good students to become great performers.

All of this was quickly demonstrated as the Pop Rock Ensemble started to play their first song, Ugly Truth. Wow! I was immediately swept into the power and group coordination of this funk arrangement. Everyone knew their parts and stayed in the pocket to produce a beautiful sum of total parts that creates a funk groove. These students under the able direction of Ivan Neville and Bill Boris were able to capture the essence of the New Orleans sound. I could feel this music in my body and my heart. I could feel this music in my soul.

The second song by the Pop Rock Ensemble was Fortunate Son. I am a big fan of CCR and the beautiful simplicity of their songs. However, this is the best version of Fortunate Son I have ever heard. It was a funk version with all of the instruments playing in the right spaces at the right time. Tyler Berg on drums, Michael Byrnes on bass, Ben Joseph on Keys, Nate Graham on guitars with singers Jonathan McReynolds, LaShera Moore and Nicole Neff.

The Recording and Performance Ensemble A performed an original that was written in 1 hour and 20 minutes. I was amazed at the overall quality of this well crafted song. It had great melodies in the verse and chorus and the lead singer’s voice was perfectly suited for the style. Gary Yerkins is the Director of this Ensemble with Tyler Berg on drums, Mike Philpot on percussion, Ben Beutel on bass, Ryan Booker on Keyboard, Nathan Hanak and Derek Bahr on guitar, and singers Sam Cerniglia, Adam Dittman, David Paige, Tim Smisek, and Claire Stahlecker.

The Blues Performance Ensemble under the direction of Fernando Jones began with a tribute to the Queen of Blues, Koko Taylor. They pitched a Wang Dang Doodle all night long on this great blues standard. The group had a quick change allowing a few other students to participate on the next song, These Things. One of the guitar players looked a lot like Derek Trucks. Like Trucks, he was also using his fingers and playing a red Gibson SG. Cleve Minter and Vince Camerano on drums and percussion, Nicholas Fane on bass, Kelsey Hopper on keys, Tyler Anselmo, Eric Billitier, Jullian Bell, and Luc DeArmey on guitars, and singers Sara Garrett, Shea O’Brie, and Terrence Thomas.

The Pop Orchestra began with Same Thing which was another great funk song. This song was memorable with the repeated hook line “same thing” punctuated at the end. The next song, Shake It Off, is a Dumpstaphunk original. Mr. Neville played fills on the Hammond organ like a horn section and gave a solid vocal performance along with the group. The Ensemble is directed by Carey Deadman with Zach Himelhoch on drums, Nicholas Cole-Klaes on bass, Brian Pettis playing some jazzy lines on keys, Nate Hanak and David Paige on guitars and singers Alexis Fadl, Norris Jackson, Jessica Miller, and Sy Bar-Sheshet.

The Pop Rock Styles Ensemble began their performance with the great blues standard, Sweet Home Chicago. The vocals really shined on this song and they ended with great harmony. The piano fills were fantastic! The next song, Ivan’s Groove had a really nice bass, drum, and Hammond organ intro. I love the one string guitar interplay, chord comping and Ivan’s scat singing. Although there were no horns and there was nothing average about it, I got an Average White Band vibe on this song. This group was directed by Curtis Robinson with Tom Graham and Dan Green on drums, John Sundquist on bass, Aaron Garcia, Andrew Napier, and Adam Stahlberg on guitars, and singers Randy Bonds, Kiana LeCounte, and Eli Noll.

The R&B Ensemble opened with Stay What You Are. This song had a complex time signature which was performed very well with soulful lyrics. The next song was the great Sly Stone funk standard with perhaps the longest title in popular music, “I Want To Thank You For Lettin’ Me Be Mice Elf Again”. This song resonated with the crowd as everyone sang the hook line together. The Ensemble was directed by Chuck Webb with Dionte Johnson on drums, Tim Ipsen on bass, Dionte Cartwright on keys, Cesar Romero (the Joker) on guitar, and singers Ryan Booker, Sam Cerniglia, and Jonathan McReynolds.

The Recording and Performance Ensemble B performed All I Need (Real Thing). This song started with an a cappella rhythm. Every instrument and voice deserves recognition on this great arrangement directed by Gary Yerkins with Tyler Berg and Mike Philpot on drums, Ben Beutel on bass, Ryan Booker on keys, Nathan Hanak and Derek Bahr on guitars, and singers Sam Cerniglia, Adam Dittman, David Paige, Tim Smisek, and Claire Stahlecker.

The Pop Rock Ensemble opened big with Knock On Wood. I loved the funky guitar intro on Just Kissed My Baby. This group is directed by Nick Tremulis with Ian Cory, Michael Reddick, and Martin Rodriguez on drums, Matt Petron on bass, John Taylor Strieff on keys, Tyler Anselmo, Drew Smitthers, John Streich and Michael Lambert on guitars, and singers Samantha Foti, Morgan Hare, Norris Jackson, and Elissa Todd.

The Pop Jazz Fusion Ensemble opened with the great jazz standard, Cissy Strut. I really loved the combination of voices with Ivan and La Shera Moore. The second song was Got Soul, an Ivan Neville original. All of the musicians deserve recognition. Bill Boris is the Director with Tyler Berg on drums, Ben Beutel on bass, Charlie Coffeen on keys, Derek Bahr on guitar, Eric Mateo on alto sax, Daniel Andrade on tenor sax.

It was a fantastic performance with a great group of talented students. I believe I can pay the highest compliment to Ivan Neville in the funk vernacular. That is, he got “the stank”.