Gay Mens Chorus
carols Portland
Linda Tillery is
on her way
b y Renee LaC hance
Linda Tillery is the kind of artist who arrives
com plete with status and reputation the first
tim e you hear her. She will be arriving in
Portland, accompanied by pianist Ray
Obiedo. Friday. February 8th. to help
A W om an's Place Bookstore celebrate their
12-year anniversary.
Tillery began her singing career at the
height of the San Fancisco rock music explo­
sion. She has shared the bill with talents such
as John Mayall, Arlo Guthrie. Chuck Berry.
Buddy Miles. Jeff Beck and Janis Joplin. She
has sung on albums with Boz Scaggs. Lenny
White, and Coke Escovedo. And. to top it off.
she has been voted Best Female Jazz Vocalist
in the Bay Area for the past two years in a row.
After working on a number of albums and
gaining recognition as a solo artist. Linda
Tillery was introduced to Olivia Records, an
independent recording company, whose un­
derlying philosophy is to produce, promote,
and record music using women artists, en­
gineers and producers. Linda's involvement
with Olivia opened up a new phase in her
career, producing albums by Be Be K'Roche.
Teresa Trull and her own album simply called
L in d a Tillery.
Tillery is no stranger to Portland. She ap­
peared at the Old Church last November
where she raised the roof with a sound
sm ooth as hot fudge, weaving in and out of a
sensitive ballad and in the next m om ent
pouring on the steam in a gutsy down-home
blues fashion. She encourages audiences to
clap and sing along in ways that recall an old
revival meeting.
Tillery worked the audience with style. She
showed remarkable ability with her scat ac­
cents. and her voice ran a gauntlet of range
fro m the soft tones for the Temptations
Tracks o f M y Tears to the strength of Carol
Linda Tillery, perform ing in Portland February 8th, in celebration of the 12 years
o f existence o f A W om an's P lace Bookstore.
K in g ’s You M ake Me Feel L ike a N atural
W oman.
It will be a pleasure to hear Linda Tillery
again, and if you missed her last year, you will
want to be sure to be at the NW Service
Center, Friday. February 8th at 8 p.m. to see
her his year.
Tickets are $6.50 in advance and $7.50 at
the door. Tickets are available at A Woman's
Place Bookstore and alternative outlets will
be anounced. The concert will be ASL in­
terpreted. and the NW Service Center is
wheelchair accessible. Childcare will be pro­
vided on site at the Parents Coop. Reserva­
tions for childcare must be made by January
31. Call 236-3609 for childcare reservations
and more information.
The weekend of Dec. 15 and 16 was an
active one for the Portland Gay Men's Chorus:
they perform ed twice in Portland and pro­
vided the entertainment at the inauguration
o f Barbara Roberts. O regon’s new Secretary
of State. Roberts, the first Dem ocrat elected
to the office since 1874, invited the Chorus to
share her trium ph at the ceremony in the
capitol rotunda.
The Chorus was in fine harm onic form on
Saturday night, but what few rough spots
there were in production only served to add
an endearing, defenses-down informality to
the performance.
The program began with a rendition of “O
Come. O Come, E m m anuel" which included
strolling singers accompanying the main
chorus from the rear of the auditorium and as
they approached the stage. The effect was to
encourage in the audience a feeling of co m ­
m unity with the performers in this com -
m em m oration and celebration of the ancient
holiday we know as Christmas.
The Chorus was also unassum ing enough
to allow themselves to be upstaged a bit by
the superb harm onic interweavings of the
Portland State University Madrigal Singers.
The madrigal, an unaccom panied song of
com plex contrapuntal vocal blendings, was
particularly popular in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance, and is an adm irably suited form
for the rendering of the traditional, joyous
m usic of Christmas. Portland State’s Madri­
gal Singers delivered a finely tuned, reson­
antly congruous performance for the most
part, although the harmonies in the final
number, “ Have Yourself a Merry Litle Christ­
mas," seemed several tim es to bend uncom ­
fortably to too m inor a note.
The PSCI Madrigal Singers and PGMC are
both very capably conducted by David York,
who graduated m a gna cu m laude from O k­
lahom a City University in voice performance
and vocal education and has studied under
Eric Ericson, the Swedish choral conductor.
Gloria Jackson, who joined the Chorus for
this year’s celebration, is also one of York’s
mi:
CMIMPD
tfftr
Formerly 10th St. Bakery
ix o v ìio u :
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whole grain
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also
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$ 1 .2 5
This Coupon is good for
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on any one book
•not go'/J tor
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OPEN
9:30a.m .-9:30p.m .M -Th.
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10:00a.m.-11:00p.m. Sat.
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H e lp W anted
12
Page 19
Ju*t Out, January, 1985