WILLIAMSBURG — Rob BonGiovanni’s group, The Sound Investment, has played three “Music to Remember” concerts in the Kimball Theatre.
During these performances, BonGiovanni caught glimpses of audience members singing along.
That’s because the The Sound Investment performs a repertoire of classics, recognized and enjoyed by all.
Sing along this Saturday, as the group takes to the Kimball stage once more in “An Evening with Cole Porter,” one of America’s beloved songwriters.
BonGiovanni’s musical career – on keyboard, Hammond B3 and synthesizer – spans 50 years and several zip codes. His career began, as a young teenager from New Jersey, playing on Ted Mack’s “The Original Amateur Hour.” And it has continued from jazz clubs to recording sessions and even to a season in New York’s Radio City Music Hall Orchestra.
He started The Sound Investment, a jazz-oriented group, in New Jersey, where the group existed for almost 35 years. He revived the group in Williamsburg four years ago, where BonGiovanni moved in 2009.
He initiated the “Music to Remember” concert series at the Kimball, seeing an opportunity to “play to the demographic in Williamsburg.”
The first concert featured classic love songs. The second presented Christmas classics and the third rhythm and blues.
Now, “I’m starting to do the American composers,” BonGiovanni said. “Of course, Cole Porter was one of the best.”
In The Sound Investment’s fourth “Music to Remember” concert, the group will play 90 minutes of Porter’s famed songs.
“Quite frankly, it was very, very difficult to do an hour and a half,” BonGiovanni said. “This man wrote over 1,200 songs.”
BonGiovanni is joined by vocalist Lywanda Carroll, percussionist Billy Williams and saxophonist David Kreiselman.
A favorite among Williamsburg audiences, Carroll’s voice blends tinges of great jazz vocalists: Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Etta James and, Carroll’s idol, Ella Fitzgerald.
Williams, a talented young jazz drummer from Richmond, has performed around the world, from touring with the Marsalis brothers to performing in Carnegie Hall.
Kreiselman currently plays with the Slapnation Band, and he formerly played and taught for 20 years in the U.S. Army Band.
The night will present “a real night of enjoyment,” BonGiovanni said.
“You can’t hear this music anywhere in the region.”
Bridges can be reached at 757-275-4934.
Want to go?
When: 7:30 p.m., Oct. 24
Where: Kimball Theatre, 424 W. Duke of Gloucester St.
Tickets: $20, call 1-800-447-8679 for reservations
