Former St. Louisan Don Cunningham and his wife Alicia will bring their musical extravaganza to The Sheldon again 7 p.m. Sunday, July 12.
For nearly four decades, the duo has thrilled followers in Los Angeles, Las Vegs, Toronto, Calgary, Singapore and many other venues.
But, as the Vashon High graduate says, “I’m always happy to come home. I’m more excited about coming home to friends and family than going to New York.”
The pair offers a unique melange of music from the places they’ve visited: West Indian, Afro-Cuban, Japanese, Brazilian and be-bop. One of the highlights of a Cunninghams’ performance is their ebullient scatting exchange.
They are both exceptional instrumentalists as well. Don is an accomplished saxophonist, vibraphonist, drummer and percussionist. Alicia is a classically trained pianist and vocalist who, years ago, made a remarkable transition to jazz and world music.
Their onstage chemistry is amazing – enthralling crowds with exotic melodies, spontaneous humor, boundless energy and their sheer joy in performing.
A telephone conversation with Cunningham from his Las Vegas home is like a marathon entertainment history lesson.
From his pre-Alicia triumphs: 1965 at the St. Louis Playboy Club, when Tabu was the big hit on the record, “Something for Everyone” (pianist Marion Miller owned the rights), to his Gaslight Square days.
First, he played the Dark Side with the great saxophonist/composer Oliver Nelson. He was on leave from his stint with singer Johnny Mathis, so he had to break up the group to honor his contract. He recommended The Quartet Tre Bien to replace him and their careers jumped off.
He also worked The Islander on the Square (now the site of upscale residences on Olive) and the Crystal Palace, with people like Woody Allen (then a standup comedian) and Barbra Streissand. In 1968, a new club called the Bahama Key opened downtown and he spent two exciting months there before splitting to L.A.
In Hollywood, he became friendly with drummer Sonny Payne, who had just left Count Basie’s band. This “opened a lot of doors” for him.
He stayed for a month with drummer Ed Thigpen, who hooked him up with several valuable contacts – the most important being future wife Alicia. Alicia was teaching voice at Loyola University at the time. She quickly picked up the challenging scat technique and has since mastered it on her husband’s composition, “Scat Tones My Bones.”
Alicia had a solid classical background, but Ella Fitzgerald was her model. She worked with the Roger Wagner Chorale and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (with Zubin Mehta). She also sang alongside Black Brazilian saxophonist Moncir Santos.
Don says she is “the only Mexican American singer doing hard jazz.”
Cunningham’s first L.A. audition featured Thigpen on drums and the revered Tommy Flanagan on piano. He collaborated on a couple of movies with Oliver Nelson and appeared with Mary Kay – Honolulu-born, St. Louis-raised singer/guitarist. This led to TV spots on the “Jerry Lewis Show” and a short-lived show called “90 Tonight,” hosted by Cleavon Little and featuring stars like Eartha Kitt.
In the mid-70s, Don brought Alicia and the L.A. group for the first time to the St. Louis Playbpy Club (appearing in the elite Penthouse). He later played Sam Hamer’s Silver Dollar on Natural Bridge near Goodfellow, and Booker Ford’s club on Sarah and Lindell.
As the Cunninghams gained greater exposure, they ventured beyond the U.S. shores, moving from Buffalo, N.Y. to Canada. The late pianist Rick Bolden, another fine St. Louis musician, joined Don for engagements in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. Then the couple headlined major hotels in Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea and traveled back and forth to Japan and adoring audiences for 20 years.
They’ll arrive in St. Louis fresh from a gig at the Catalina Bar & Grill in L.A. The hometown crowd can expect to hear favorites like “Music Is Forever,” “Chittlins’ in the White House” and “I Remember Bird.”
Joining the electrifying duo will be Carolbeth True, piano; Manny Quintero, percussion; Vince Martin, guitar; Darrell Mixon, bass; Kevin Ward, trombone; Gary Sykes, drums; and a special appearance by vocalist Mae “Lady Jazz” Wheeler.
It gets better every year.
For tickets call The Sheldon (314) 533-9900, Crusaders for Jazz (Richard Henderson) (314) 385-5281 or Mae Wheeler (314) 781-0467.