This is the fifth season of 2 Stones Events’ monthly concerts in the lower level of Ciao Amici’s restaurant in downtown Brighton (217 W. Main). Previously named Kittens & Crooners, the series has expanded its focus on The Great American Songbook to now also include other styles (gypsy, Latin, New Orleans, fusion, etc.) of the jazz genre.
Scott Gwinnell’s Burt Bacharach Tribute
Scott Gwinnell is an award-winning pianist, composer/arranger, and educator born in Detroit and residing in the Metro-Detroit area. He currently freelances as a sideman and leads various groups; the most well-known being the 16-piece Scott Gwinnell Jazz Orchestra. He is also an educator at various institutions.
In his career as a pianist, Gwinnell has played with many musical people of note, jazz and otherwise, including Aretha Franklin, Vanessa Williams, Sheena Easton, Roberta Flack, Joe Lovano, Steve Turre, Richie Cole, Dave Liebman, John Clayton, Karriem Riggins, and Jon Hendricks. Scott was music director for Jon for three years. He has recorded over 30 professional recordings as a sideman and has recorded four of his own, including, Cass Corridor Story (2012) and Mulgrew-
ology (2019), released by Detroit Music Factory, a part of the world-famous Mack Ave. jazz label
As a BMI composer, Gwinnell has written over 400 compositions, from solo piano works to big band, to symphony orchestra to marching band. He has won awards and/or been recognized by Downbeat Magazine, IAJE, ASCAP, and the Detroit Music Awards. The DMAs have awarded Gwinnell 16 times, and he continues to compose, arrange, and freelance for clients, writing in every type and style. For his Ciao!Jazz shows, Gwinnell’s quintet will be paying tribute to the great songwriter, Burt Bacharach.
ABOUT BACHARACH
Burt Bacharach worked in the famous Brill Building, where numerous songwriters cranked out hits. Bacharach served as Marlene Dietrich’s accompanist from 1958 to 1964, traveling with her on tour. The legendary actress and performer came to adore the burgeoning songwriter. Although the two had markedly different personas, Bacharach also began to work regularly with Hal David in the early 1960s. Around this time Bacharach heard backup singer Dionne Warwick perform with the soul group the Drifters. He was impressed by her talent and Warwick was soon interpreting many of the pair’s songs.
Between 1962 and 1968, Warwick took a whopping 15 Bacharach/David songs into the Top 40. Their collaborations included “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” “Reach Out for Me,” “I Say a Little Prayer” (later made famous as well by Aretha Franklin), “Message to Michael,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?,” “You’ll Never Get to Heaven,” “Walk on By,” “Trains and Boats and Planes,” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again.”
Bacharach and David next branched out into film, writing the theme songs for What’s New Pussycat? (performed by Tom Jones) and Alfie (by Cilla Black and later Warwick), with both title tracks receiving Academy Award nominations. Bacharach and David received their third Oscar nod for the sultry “The Look of Love,” as sung by Dusty Springfield for the cinematic spoof Casino Royale (1967).
Then in 1968, Bacharach received a Grammy for his instrumental arrangements on Alfie. The score for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) earned Bacharach another Grammy as well as an Oscar. With David, Bacharach also won a second Oscar for the film’s easygoing theme song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” as performed by B.J. Thomas.
Helping to define what would become popularly labeled as “lite” music, Bacharach established an enduring sound known for its complex time signatures, lush textures and affable, tender charms. Melody lines seem to come alive and float in the songwriter’s world, with the flugelhorn often appearing prominently. In 1968, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass reached No. 1 on the U.S. charts with a song that arguably epitomized Bacharach’s style: “This Guy’s in Love With You.” Then in 1970, the Carpenters had a U.S. chart-topper with another trademark Bacharach/David tune, “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” the same year that the 5th Dimension reached No. 2 with the broken-heart song “One Less Bell to Answer.”
Bacharach was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. He wrote dozens upon dozens of hits that appeared in the top 40 in both the U.S. and U.K. Over time, classic Bacharach tunes (some of which wouldn’t jibe with more progressive notions around gender and romance) have been remade across a range of genres. Bacharach died at his home in Los Angeles on February 8, 2023; he was 94.
Special thanks to our media sponsor — The Marketeer. This is a 21+ event.
$27 TICKETS — Limited to just 100 seats per show
6 p.m. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1623247239189?aff=oddtdtcreator
8:30 p.m. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1623238172069?aff=oddtdtcreator
Doors open 30 minutes prior.
‘Cash-only’ (literally) bar: Please, only call the restaurant (810-227-9000) for dinner reservations upstairs before or after your show!
