Award-winning pianist and vocalist Gary Negbaur, along with his band, will bring “Passion, Prejudice & Patriotism: Songs That Shaped Our Nation” to The Lewis & Shirley White Theatre stage on Sunday, April 2, at 4 p.m.
The one-day performance features a quartet led by Negbaur, playing a wide array of American songs. The band includes Kansas City musicians: guitarist Danny Embrey, bassist Joey Panella and drummer Brad Evilsizer.
Tickets are available at thewhitetheatre.org and at The White Theatre Box Office, located at The J, 5801 W. 115th Street, Overland Park, KS 66211.
The performance features original arrangements of popular songs, some of which deviate more from the original arrangements than others.
“We live in incredibly divisive times in the United States right now, and I started to think about the things that unite us as a people,” Negbaur said. “I was reminded of going to a concert by the great jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins a number of years ago. During his solo, he quoted a wide array of songs: ‘Pop goes the Weasel,’ the National Anthem, and ‘Take the A Train’ among them. The audience went wild. I was struck by the fact that the audience knew all these songs. I realized that we all walk around with these melodies and lyrics in our heads.
“… As a musician, I think about how these songs change our hearts and our outlook. They give us a vocabulary and a frame of reference for interpreting the world around us. So, I started collecting songs that would cover 100 years of American song. The hardest part was whittling down a list of great tunes so that they could fit in one program.”
Thematically, the show explores the journey of American song, and guests can expect to hear a little bit of everything, “from Jelly Roll Morton to Jimi Hendrix, from Ellington to Elvis, from Leadbelly to ‘Hamilton.’”
“You’ll truly hear ‘songs that shaped our nation’ – jazz, blues, Broadway, country, folk, and rock – all genres that were created in this country,” Negbaur said. “The title ‘Passion, Prejudice & Patriotism’ suggests the rich complexity of American history and therefore the context for the evolution of American song. But don’t worry — it’s not a history lecture … it’s simply a concert where you get to hear some of the greatest songs ever written.”
“Passion, Prejudice & Patriotism: Songs That Shaped Our Nation” is part of the 2022-2023 Season at The White Theatre. For more information about this event and more, visit thewhitetheatre.org.
