Pop crooner and former Chicago frontman Peter Cetera (above) takes it to the Count Basie stage on Thursday night…while Jay Siegel (below) brings The Tokens of “Lion Sleeps Tonight” fame to town in a Friday package of Old Time Doo Wop.
As a charter member of the pop institution that is the band Chicago, his was one of several different voices that took the lead on their 1970s radio hits — most notably “25 or 6 to 4” and “Feeling Stronger Every Day.” As the group survived and thrived into the 1980s, however, it was the buttermilk-soul voice of Peter Cetera that best defined the Chicago sound, during a next-wave run of signature recordings that included “If You Leave Me Now,” “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” “Baby What a Big Surprise,” and “You’re the Inspiration.”
The singing bassman brought that crooning capital to a solo career that kicked off in earnest 20 years ago, and that has netted him multiple nominations for Grammy Awards — and even an Oscar nod, thanks to a slew of soundtrack standouts from such films as Karate Kid 2, Pretty Woman, Three Men and a Baby and Chances Are. It’s all part of a considerable catalog that forms the foundation of Cetera’s set, when he visits the Count Basie Theatre tomorrow night, October 6, for a concert that keynotes an October musical interlude on the famous stage.
For the show scheduled at 8 p.m., the 72 year old Cetera is expected to perform with his “classic 7 Piece Electric Band,” a lineup that has alternated on tours with a full-tilt Symphony Orchestra configuration and a more intimate String Quartet setting. Take it here to reserve tickets ($35 – $129).
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Continuing a series that’s captured the fancy of area transplants from places like north Jersey, the Bronx and Brooklyn, An Evening of Old Time Doo Wop Vol. 5 transforms the Basie boards into a streetcorner from the old neighborhood on Friday night, October 7. It’s a package headlined by Jay Siegel’s Tokens (the group whose falsetto vocals and exotic rhythms popularized the African folk song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)”), and highlighted as well by The Charlie Thomas version of The Drifters (“Under the Boardwalk” and countless other classics) and The Capris (“There’s a Moon Out Tonight”), with further scheduled acts (subject to change, as per the publicity) including Cleveland Still and the Dubs, Lenny Dell and the Demesnsions, Tony Middleton, Linda Jansen, and Willie Winfield’s Harptones. Take it here to reserve ($15 – $25) — and here for more info on other upcoming pop concerts at the Basie, including The Doobie Brothers (10/10), Jason Isbell with Josh Ritter (10/14), and Peter Frampton “Raw” (10/18).
