The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Jazz quartet to play at gala
Fund-raiser to benefit Saline Area Players theater group
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 24, 2008
For pianist Tyler Driskill, the Saline Area Players' upcoming fund-raiser Cabaret Gala presented a perfect opportunity to wed two of his favorite music genres: musical theater and jazz.
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"One of the reasons I wanted to get involved was for the chance to arrange the music to try to reconcile music theater and jazz," said Driskill, a member of the jazz quartet Fourth Wish, which is performing at the event. "The challenge for me was to simplify the songs so they could be interpreted as a jazz chart."
Driskill, who earned a degree in music theory at the University of Michigan, joined Fourth Wish three years ago at the invitation of the group's founder and saxophonist Jon Margerum-Leys.
The two met while playing with the Saline Big Band.
Driskill was intrigued by the idea.
"I was classically trained," he said, "and was attracted to being in the band because of its repertoire. The language was somewhat foreign to me."
He quickly came to love the music, which is in the style of jazz greats Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and Paul Desmond. The group has performed its West Coast "cool" sound at private gigs, weddings, Kerrytown Concert House and area clubs.
Voted as one of Washtenaw County's premiere jazz acts by Current Magazine, Fourth Wish is comprised of Driskill on piano, Margerum-Leys on saxophone, Eric Walters on bass, and Mike Morrison on drums.
"The band is absolutely fabulous," said Saline Area Players producer Mary Rumman, "and the singers and songs will be lots of fun and familiar and entertaining."
In choosing the music for the show, however, Driskell sought a balance between the familiar and the more obscure works of top names in the Great American Songbook, such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Jerome Kern.
"I wanted the performers and audience to have fun while at the same time exposing them to material they might not have known before but would grow to love," said Driskill, who has been the musical director for two of SAP's productions "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Gypsy."
Among the more familiar numbers on the playlist are Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" and Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me."
"I think it's a great mix of songs," Driskill said. "I'm hopeful people enjoy it."
The Saline Area Players will present a "Cabaret Gala" 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday at the Saline American Legion Hall on Michigan Avenue.
Tickets for table seating are $25 per person or $175 for a table of eight. Admission includes the performance and a dessert at intermission. A cash bar will be available.
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