Trumpeter Brian Burke blows hot and sings cool.
Burke and his band, Brass Inc., will bring its energetic funk-rock to the Carnegie Café at the Maplewood Inn, 400 Seventh North St., starting at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12.
While the nine-piece combo prides itself on its feeling for funk — that African-American version of rock and roll characterized by the deep groove of bass line and drums — Brass Inc. also embraces related styles such as southern rock and R&B. The versatile nonet covers everyone from Wilson Pickett to the Allman Brothers to Alicia Keys.
Fronted by petite vocalist Sheela Tucker, the Syracuse-based band also features saxophonist/lead singer Walt Tanner, saxophonist Walt Hollis, trombonist Jerry Burns, keyboardist Vic Tumbiolo, guitarist Tom Chekan, bassist Bill Kribbs and drummer Rich Parente.
The band will return to Carnegie Café at the Maplewood, near the corner of Buckley Road on Oct. 24 and again on Nov. 29. Admission is free; 413-0170.
Unplugging on the patio
Meanwhile, over at The Retreat, they’re finishing up their summer of song on the outdoor patio. The final performance there in 2014 will be turned in by the devil-may-care duo called Wicked Awesome from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11. The wicked ones are J Ro from 3 Inch Fury and Bill Ali from Scars N Stripes, who come together to take acoustic to a whole new level.
Admission is always free at The Retreat, at the corner of Vine and First streets; 457-6358.
Cavallo rocks on!
Syracuse’s undisputed Godfather of Rock and Roll, 87-year-old Jimmy Cavallo, will perform from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at the Goodtime Banquet Hall, 526 Teall Ave., in Syracuse. A superb singer and saxophonist, Cavallo will be accompanied by The Houserockers, Chuck Sgroi, Tom Rozzano, Mike Diliddo and Rich Malfitano.
The Sept. 12 rock and roll dance party is open to the public. Admission costs $20 in advance or $25 at the door, and includes a dinner buffet, cake and coffee.
Cavallo was born in Syracuse in 1927 and now lives in Florida. For tickets, call Goodtime Banquet Hall owner Mickey Vendetti at 345-1002.
‘Bonjour Bonjour’
Syracuse keyboardist Phil Klein and his composing partner, singer Maria DeAngelis, have a song in this summer’s most popular movie, “The Fault in Our Stars.”
Directed by Josh Boone, the film, which opened in early June, focuses on two teenagers battling cancer. When the bittersweet romance takes the couple to Amsterdam, DeAngelis can be heard singing “Bonjour Bonjour” during a café scene. The segment enhanced by the Klein-DeAngelis tune lasts for a generous 51 seconds.
“To get into a movie of this caliber is really a great thing,” Klein said. “This movie is all over the place, everybody’s talking about it, and it’s doing very well at the box office.”
Klein and DeAngelis have been collaborating for more than a decade, writing songs in both French and English. DeAngelis lived in Syracuse 10 years ago before she relocated to France for several years and now makes her home in Manhattan.
Last year, Klein and DeAngelis hired Heavy Hitters Music to represent their work. The California-based Heavy Hitters operate a production music library that specializes in vocal songs with professional production and engaging lyrics. Heavy Hitters got the ball rolling with the film’s producers.
When Klein got the call from “The Fault in Our Stars,” he said, “it was like a bolt out of the blue.” But it wasn’t the first time the tunesmith tandem had contributed to a soundtrack. Another of their songs was recently used on the popular CBS-TV police procedural drama “NCIS.”
“And we’ve done music for other independent films,” Klein said, “things nobody has ever heard of.”
“The Fault in Our Stars” released its 16-song soundtrack recording in North America on May 19. It showcased songs by up-and-coming British strummers such as Birdy and Ed Sheeran, but it did not include “Bonjour Bonjour.”
In any case, you can hear the song on Tuesday, Sept. 16, when the movie is released on BlueRay and DVD.
