Sunday, January 20, another form of Texas music is coming to town: one of the few piano trios in the Southwest, The Sylvan Chamber Ensemble. Kerrville Performing Arts Society has been providing outstanding, professional music and dance performances to the community since I first arrived in 1984. Last year KPAS received recognition as the Outstanding Non-Profit Organization for its contributions to the local cultural scene.
The concert Sunday is co-sponsored by Schreiner University and begins at 4 p.m. in Dietert Auditorium on the campus. The program will include masterworks of baroque and classical composers. Taking its name from the beautiful piney woods of East Texas, this ensemble is committed to presenting the grandeur of the chamber music repertoire to audiences. Texas music comes in many forms. Some mistakenly hear Texas as synonymous with country. Not so. And Kerrville is just the place to find the eclectic mix of musical styles.

From an evening with Johnny "Gringo" Greenburg at the Java Pump to a house concert with Ruthie Foster at the home of Jack and Barbara Fields (Jan. 26 is the date for this!), to a dance at the Farm Country Club near Medina, to an educational living history day with the tunes of Jimmie Rodgers, to an evening celebrating "honky tonk" music at the weekly dance at the Inn of the Hills, to an evening with good Texas music and songwriters at the Watering Hole to the concert series offered by KPAS, Kerrville brings us a smorgesboard of music, a taste fit for each palette. Yep, that was an exceedingly long sentence!

Casey Monahan, director of the Texas Music Office, has done an extraordinary job of compiling information about Texas music across the state and in the world. His latest list of information contains the names of 37 Texas born-or-based artists who received Grammy nominations on January 4, 2002. The awards will be held February 27, 2002, in Los Angeles. Some of these names are familiar to our scene in Kerrville. The list includes the following: T Bone Burnett, Eric Johnson, Kirk Whalum (jazz), Betty Buckley (I took jazz lessons with her in Ft. Worth years ago.), Destiny's Child (pop group from Houston), Erykah Badu, Lyle Lovett (Kerrville Folk Festival), Willie Nelson (singing "Marie," a song by Townes Van Zandt), Asleep at the Wheel (coming to The Cabaret in Bandera on Feb. 23), Lonestar, George Jones, Drefus Jazz, The Lightcrust Doughboys (best Gospel), Yolanda Adams (soul), Freddy Fender (Latin pop), Los Super Seven, Ramon Ayala y Sus Bravos Del Norte, La Mafia, David Lee Garza y Los Musicales, Los Palominos, Emilio Navairro, Jimmie Vaughan (blues), Kim Wilson, Delbert McClinton (Charlie Grey is on the blues cruise with him now!), and more. A wonderful tribute album to Townes called "Poet: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt," was nominated for best contemporary folk album.

If you want your own copy of the Texas Music Industry Guide, a complete guide to Texas music, call Casey's office at 512-463-6666 and order one for $20.

Music scholar Charles Wolfe sent out an e-mail to those interested in traditional country music describing the sudden and unexpected demolition of the original Country Music Hall of Fame Building located on 16 Avenue, at the head of Music Row. "With its barn-like façade, it had become at one time the single image most associated with Nashville."
It opened in 1967 amidst much hoopla. Calling the manner of demolition a "Nazi blitzkreig," Wolfe reminds the reader that now no one knows what has happened to the walkway of stars, or the beautiful custom-built record cabinets as a parking lot goes in. Sign of the times? Let us heed that warning here in Kerrville as we plan our city.

I'll be talking to Wolfe on a conference call as we discuss a radio series on the history of country music from 1920-1950 (NEH grant). As a research scholar on the grant, I'm really learning a lot about country music. Remember, the world knows Kerrville as the place Jimmie Rodgers built his dream home, as a place he brought Will Rogers once. We do have our place in the history of country music. Last week Tony Navarra joined Larry Gatlin in the filming of a pilot film on the Rodgers/Rogers tour..

The next Texas Music Coffeehouse at Schreiner features a Ghandaia, a world-beat band from Austin that uses music a tool to create harmony and community. Come try out yet another version of Texas music with the world in mind! Wednesday, January 23, 7:00-9:30 p.m. Pablo Larios, on acoustic guitar, attended Schreiner from 1993-1995 and has an associates degree from Austin Community College in anthropology.

Free Leonard and down the road.

Kathleen
kat@maverickbbs.com
www.texasheritagemusic.org

Click here to return to the previous page