Come to the Pantages Theater to welcome James Caddell who, along with the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra (TSO), will be entertaining the masses on March 21. Not a stranger to performing with TSO, Caddell is back this month for his own complete symphonic pops revue titled “Gershwin, Gospel and Motown.”
Towering over six-and-a-half feet tall with a deep, rich voice, Caddell has extensive recordings, has done Broadway and also has television credits. He completed the soundtrack to the highly acclaimed PBS series “The Civil War,” as well as a collection of Christian jazz vocal recordings. He has recorded his own gospel CD titled “All Kinds of Worship” and a Big Band CD titled “For My Friends,” as well as several jazz recordings with internationally known saxophonist Don Lanphere. Caddell has one featured song on the Clarence A. Cox Trio’s CD “Indigenous Groove” and has spent four years touring as a vocalist for Loretta Lynn. He has appeared in numerous television shows including those of Bea Arthur, Rich Little, Julie Andrews and Melba Moore. He has toured with Andy Gibb and has had the pleasure of performing for presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.
The last time Caddell performed with the orchestra was in 2008 for TSO’s “Sounds of the Season” Christmas holiday concert. TSO Executive Director Andy Buelow said Caddell’s style posed interesting challenges for the orchestra. “We actually went to considerable trouble to find arrangements that were perfect for James’ deep bass voice. For example, we succeeded in locating an orchestral arrangement of ‘You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch.’ James brought the house down with that.”
Buelow said that while most orchestras booking pops acts will go to a national artist management company and hire a ready-made show with the artists, TSO chooses to create its own original pops concerts working with Bo Ayars, an arranger based in Portland. It was Ayars’ arrangements that led the orchestra to pull off beautifully its country and western concert last spring, which confirmed in Buelow’s and Maestro Harvey Felder’s minds that putting Ayars with Caddell would be a match made in heaven.
“We decided to have (Ayars)...write custom arrangements for (Caddell),” Buelow explained. “When you do it that way, the arranger can write very specifically for the vocalist so that each tune is orchestrated optimally for his voice.”
Caddell’s regional credits include performances with the ACT Theatre in Seattle, the Coeur d’Alene Civic Light Opera, the Riverside Opera Company, the Tacoma Opera and the Group Theatre in Seattle. Caddell has had the honor of performing the national anthem at both Seattle Mariners and SuperSonics games with the well-known quartet Main Attraction, and lent his talents to national fund-raising events for Medical Relief International, The Boys & Girls Club of America and Antioch Adoptions. Locally, Caddell is also a well-known voice in commercials for Key Bank, Taco Time and Oberto! sausage.
Conducted by Felder, the first half of “Gershwin, Gospel and Motown” will include George Gershwin’s “They All Laughed,” “But Not for Me,” and “Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues,” “More than You Know” by Vincent Youmans, one of the most oft-recorded songs on the market; “She Needs Me Now” and orchestral music by Duke Ellington and Dave Brubaker.
The second half will include a gospel medley featuring “They Call the Wind Mariah,” “Deep River,” “This Little Light Of Mine,” “A Closer Walk With Thee” and “I’ll Fly Away.” It will also feature a Motown medley including “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Skylark” and “Proud Mary.”
The program will conclude with Jerome Kern’s “Old Man River.” The orchestral arrangements for this brand new, never-before-heard program are by Ayars, and were created especially for this performance.
The concert will take place at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $24 to $62, depending on seat placement. Tickets will also be available at the door. Children are welcomed to come to the performance. The venue is wheelchair accessible.
The Pantages Theater is located at 901 Broadway. For more information or to order tickets, call (253) 591-5894 or (800) 291-7593 or visit www.tacomasymphony.org. Guests can also follow TSO on Facebook.
