Band brings back the blues

With a "one, two, one, two, three, four," the keyboardist rivets the audience's attention with quick finger work, the drummer steadily rolls the cymbals and each member of the Bruce Katz Band tapped and swayed to the beat during Monday evening's performance at the recital hall in the Center of Performing Arts.

"I think that people feel as if they need to know the background of Blues to really enjoy it," said Randy Mitchell, the interim music department chair. "I just don't think that is true. I think, even if you may not know a lot about it, you can still go and enjoy it."

The group consists of Bruce Katz on the Hammond B-3 organ and piano, Chris Vitarello on guitar, Ralph Rosen on drums and Rod Carey on bass.

"The blues and jazz are true American music," Mitchell said. "I think it is important to give students that opportunity to hear things that are different and I think that the people that walked away really enjoyed what they heard."

However, blues was aboutmore than the sound on stage Monday night. Each member of the band used expression and movement to convey the feel and emotion tied in with the songs, making it a visual experience as well.

Katz rocked back and forth on the piano with his eyes closed, Rosen (generally self-contained throughout the performance) raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth wide, Vitarello moved his legs, contorted his face and dipped through his solos while Carey gently swayed back and forth to the beat.

"Everything cool?" Katz asked at the beginning of the set. "We're trying out some new material, fooling around with a few things I wrote recently."

Katz spoke to the audience periodically throughout the program, engaging and interacting with them.

"I don't know what it is about these slow ones," Katz said. "I could just listen to these slow, dark songs all day long and feel better and better because of it." Rosen, laughing and looking at the audience, said, "He's a dark person."

The songs ranged from ballads, coined "slow songs" that contradictorily were powerful and layered with buildups and releases throughout, while also integrating R&B, jazz and boogie-woogie into the mix.

"It has an earthiness and backroots feel to it that I think appeals to a lot of different people," Mitchell said. "It definitely has its world influences."

Many of the songs were instrumental, though they did sing a few lyrical ones including "High Blood Pressure," a cover from the 1957 doo-wop band The Olympics.

"Blues and jazz are different from all the other types of music," said Elena Teovska, a senior public relations major. "I like it because it is different and it does have a lot to offer. Just the sound of jazz makes me want to listen to it even more. I think it offers listeners to become familiar with this type of music and learn a new culture."

The Bruce Katz Band first began playing in 1991 but members trickled in until recently when Vitarello joined the group as an extra guitar player along with Mike Williams, according to their official Web site.

"I'm more into Gorillaz or the swing or jazz combos of Yoko Kano," said Adam Mathis, a freshman marketing major. "These are the closest to mainstream jazz has gotten these days and that's probably why it's not as popular as other musical styles."

Mitchell said students adapted to listening to the latest pop single or VH1 or MTV spotlight band and have not been exposed to the earthy rhythms of blues.

"Blues and jazz have a long history behind them," Teovska said. "Back in the day, in the 20s, blues and jazz were all people listened to, but as time changed I guess the music changed as well."