e Cuban Spectacular is a multi-media show combining narration, dance, live music, and video.
From Mambo and Motown
In recent Cuban Spectacular shows, I have explained the musical lineage between Cuba and the United States. Tonight, this blending will be displayed through the musical examples but won’t be explained. ere is a more important theme to this show: I call it the act of being colorblind.
e Palladium Dance Hall in New York City opened its doors in 1946. And through the 1950s and early 1960s, it was known as “the home of the mambo.” Tito Puente, Machito, and Tito Rodriguez played to a nightly packed house. Many jazz clubs on nearby 52nd Street provided jazz players for the Latin bands at the Palladium. In a segregated America, everyone, despite their social status, was dressed in their fnest, and all ethnic groups were represented and danced with each other. e only thing that mattered was dancing and the quality of the band; the dancers were colorblind!
In the 1960s, along with the Beatles, groups on the Motown label became the reigning king of America popular music. Founded by Berry Gordy, Jr., in 1959, the groups produced upbeat, danceable arrangements. Motown was called Tamla records at that time, soon to be renamed “Motown.” Gordy did not put faces on the early recordings. He wanted the listeners to listen with their ears, and not their eyes. To be colorblind!
Enjoy the show!
Notes by Mike Davison
Please silence cell phones before the concert. Recording, taping, photographing are strictly prohibited.
PROGRAM
Sabor de Cuba Victor Ló pez
Sway (Quié n sé ra)
Pablo Beltrá n Ruiz & Luis Demetrio
English lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Arr. by Mark Taylor
Minnie the Moocher
Pearce Burlington, vocal
Cab Calloway & Irving Mills
Ed. By Rob Duboff
Mr. 5.0
Fly Me to the Moon
Will Hoffman, vocal
Steffen Kuehn
Arr. by Aaron Lington
Bart Howard
Ryan ompson, vocal
Papa Was a Rolling Stone
Norman Whitfeld & Barrett Strong
Arr. by Mike Davison
Desiré e Roots Centeio, vocal
Luke Surrusco, vocal
Respect Otis Redding
Arr. by Roger Holmes
Desiré e Roots Centeio, vocal
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson
Arr. by Jerry Nowak
Desiré e Roots Centeio, vocal
My Girl
What’s Going On?
Williams Robertson & Ronald White
Arr. by Myles Collins
Will Hoffman, vocal
Marvin Gaye, Al Cleveland & Renaldo Benson
Arr. Les Hooper
Just Called to Say I Love You Stevie Wonder
Arr. by Michael Philip Mossman
Pearce Burlington, vocal
Video: I Want You Back
Jackson 5
e Ed Sullivan Show, 1969
I Want You Back
Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell & Deke Richards
Arr. by Tony Succar
Arr. for jazz ensemble by Mike Davison
Ryan ompson, vocal
riller Rod Temperton
Arr. by Tony Succar
Arr. for jazz ensemble by Mike Davison
Desiré e Roots Centeio, vocal
UR Jazz Ensemble
Directed by Dr. Mike Davison
Tim Wen alto saxophone 1
Nora Smith alto saxophone 2
Adam Kasti tenor saxophone 1
Jacob Glenn tenor saxophone 2
Ben Pinto baritone saxophone
John Paschold trumpet
Jack Bricklemyer trumpet
Katherine Thomey trumpet
Walter Ostrowski trumpet
Nomar Mejia trumpet
Rebecca Buffington trombone 1
Trey Madison trombone 2
Ben Shlanta trombone 3
Dennis Xu piano
Benjamin Stalder synthesizer
John D’Addario electric and upright bass
Cam Peterson drums
Toby Tate guitar
Pearce Burlington vocal
Will Hoffman vocal
Luke Surrusco vocal
Ryan Thompson vocal
Guest Artists
Desirée Roots Centeio vocal
Dr. Daniel Puccio tenor saxophone
Will Roman congas
Dominique Patrick Noel timbales
Guest Dancers
Edwin Roa
Lynda Buechel
About our guest artists ….
It’s difficult to identify the exact moment Desirée Roots Centeio achieved living legend status in Richmond. The Grammynominated singer/actress has been performing for audiences since the age of five when she sang – or almost didn’t sing – her first paid solo at Cedar Street Memorial Baptist Church of God. “We had practiced and rehearsed and that Sunday morning, the organist played the intro three times, and I did not sing,” recalls Roots, a graduate of Huguenot High School and Virginia Union University. “The choir director pulled a $1 bill out of her purse and said, ‘If you sing, I will give you this dollar,’ and I started singing!”
Over the course of her fifty-year career, Desirée has been nominated for three Grammy Awards with James Saxsmo Gates and opened for the likes of Brian McKnight, B.B. King, Dionne Warwick, and Sheila E. She has starred in more than forty regional theatrical productions and performed at countless concerts. She wrote Ella at 100, produced by Richmond Jazz Society and Virginia Repertory Theatre, as a fundraiser for both groups’ education and outreach programs, and was one of the creative forces behind Ella and Her Fella Frank, which enjoyed a run at Virginia Rep’s November Theatre in the summer of 2021. She has worked as a booking manager for Downtown Presents (now
Venture Richmond) and is now the artistic director of community at Virginia Rep.
And if that isn’t enough, she’s a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and an all-around incredible human being.
Dr. Daniel Puccio is a Phoenix based composer/arranger, multiinstrumentalist and educator. A musician comfortable in multiple genres, he has performed with such notable artists as the Temptations, the Four Tops, Chris Potter, Dave Holland, Jerry Lewis, Bernard Purdie, Jay and the Americans, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and The Doo Wop Project. He is one of the original members of the Bobby Streng Saxomble, and is a prominently featured soloist on the group's premier recording, Live At The Firefly. Most recently, Dr. Puccio was a featured performer at the 2019 Amigos de Jazz Festival in Santiago de Cuba. He is the founder of the Positivity Project a series of mixed media collaborations using music, live video and dance. Additionally, Dr. Puccio has taken part in several shows at Phoenix Theatre, most notably performing on tenor banjo for 2017’s production of The Scottsboro Boys.
His compositions and arrangements have been performed across the United States by various collegiate and high school ensembles, including the University of Michigan Jazz Ensemble, Mesa Community College Concert Band, and the Newberry College Jazz Ensemble, and The Moanin’ Frogs Saxophone Ensemble. His Jazz Mass (commissioned by the University of Michigan’s Lutheran Campus Ministry) premiered with the LOL All-Stars in 2007. Other commissions include Papa's Farm (a four-movement dance suite) for the West Texas A&M Department of Dance Centennial, and Bone Portraits for the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. His compositions and arrangements for the world premiere of Charles L. Mee's soot and spit were nominated for a 2013 AriZoni Theater Excellence Award for best original score, and his music for Liz Duffy Adam's Dog Act has received a 2014 AriZoni nomination for the same category. soot and spit had its New York debut for the Our Voices Project as part of the New Ohio Theater’s
summer festival in June 2017, and was awarded a New York Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Performance Art Work in 2018. Dr. Puccio is also currently the arranger, and one of the founding members, of the Sweet and Low Horns, a professional horn section that performs and records regularly throughout the Phoenix area.
As an educator, Dr. Puccio has served as Faculty Instructor of Saxophone at the Interlochen Arts Camp, and as a clinician for the University of Michigan Jazz Festival, the Highland Jazz Festival, and the Crystal City Jazz Festival in Corning, NY. He has also been a featured guest artist and clinician with the University of Richmond's Cuban music ensemble, and was recently invited to give a guest lecture at Arizona MusicFest’s series, “Music Alive in Suite A-5,” on the history of the banjo.
Dr. Puccio is currently a member of the music faculty at both Mesa and Chandler-Gilbert Community Colleges, and teaches privately at Desert Ridge Music Academy in Phoenix, AZ. He has previously served as the director of Sound and Recording for the Arizona State University School of Music, instructor of Woodwinds with Arizona State University's Sun Devil Marching Band, and was the Director of the widely acclaimed ASU Dixie Devils.
He holds degrees in Improvisation, Music Education, and Saxophone Performance from SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, the University of Michigan, and Arizona State University.
Dr. Puccio exclusively plays Deering Banjos, Shubb Capos, and Kazoobi kazoos.
Will Roman was born in Jersey City, NJ, with native roots from the island of Puerto Rico. He is a self-taught musician who began feeling the Latin pulse playing the congas at the age of 5. Roman’s introduction to Latin music was born while his father would play captivating music that would soon introduce him to some of his greatest musical influences, such as Giovanni Hidalgo, Jose Luis
“Changuito” Quintana, and Tito Puente. Roman has performed in varying festivals and concerts throughout the mainland U.S. and Puerto Rico, and has had his talents featured on some of the grandest stages, such as The Kennedy Center and the NPR Tiny Desk YouTube Series. He currently has a YouTube Channel, “Roman Percussion,” which has a following of over 4,200 subscribers.
Will Roman is an endorsing artist for Tycoon Percussion, Los Cabos Drumsticks, Soultone Cymbals and Code Drumheads. He is also a Voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) for the Grammy Pro Washington DC Chapter.
Dominique Patrick Noel was born in Paris, France, with native roots from the islands of Haiti and Martinique. He comes from a line of talented musicians such as his grandfathers and his father. Dominique is a self-taught musician who began playing the drums at the age of seven, and throughout his high school years. While living on the island of Martinique at twelve years old, he developed his skills playing Zouk and Kompa music. Dominique’s introduction into the genre of Latin music was born while he learned to play the bongos with the different bands in which his father performed.
In 1998, he became the co-founder and Musical Director of Pablo Antonio y La Firma (1998-2008). Dominique performed for Septime Weber, Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet, with his choreography Juanita y Alicia on a tour of many U.S. cities. Over the course of his musical career, he has performed for more than 250,000 people, varying in festivals, concerts, and private events throughout some of the U.S., as well as Puerto Rico and El Salvador. Dominique has also lent his musical skills to several TV and radio jingles.
Dominique currently and proudly endorses Gon Bops Percussion, Soultone Cymbals and Los Cabos drumsticks.
The Dancers
Edwin Roa is a native of Bogotá, Colombia. He has been teaching for over 24 years and is a founding member of the Charlottesville Salsa Club. He is also the director and creator of Zabor Dance. Lynda Buechel grew up in upstate New York and started dancing ballet, tap, and jazz at seven years old. She gravitated toward partner dancing as an adult, and began teaching in 2018.
Edwin and Lynda started dancing together in 2019. Even though their dance backgrounds are unique, they are both passionate about partner dancing and share a deep appreciation for teaching and performing. They offer various workshops throughout Maryland and Virginia, and are currently pursuing a competitive career in American Smooth.
The Director, Producer and Conductor
Distinguished trumpeter Dr. Michael Davison is a gifted performer, respected professor, published composer, and ethnomusicologist. He is in demand across the country as a classical and jazz performer and educator. As a performer, he has given jazz and classical recitals all over the United States, as well as in France, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, China, and Cuba. Davison has recorded four jazz CDs as both a leader and sideman. His classical CD, Fenster, received rave reviews from the International Trumpet Guild Journal. Widely considered an expert in Cuban music, he performs and teaches Cuban music at the University of Richmond and worldwide. As a jazz musician, Davison has performed with the late tenor saxophonist and eleventime Grammy winner Michael Brecker, popular jazz trombonist
Curtis Fuller, Latin jazz saxophonist Justo Almario, and flutist Herbie Mann. He has also performed alongside some of Motown’s most iconic singers and groups, including Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, the Temptations, and The Four Tops. As a classical musician, Davison has performed with Rhythm and Brass, a group that plays everything from Bach to Pink Floyd. He has performed with the Wisconsin and Whitewater Brass Quintets, the Rochester
Philharmonic, Wisconsin Symphony, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Richmond Symphony. Davison has performed for Pope John II and George Leonard Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury. He has published two transcription books on famed trumpeter Randy Brecker: Randy Brecker: Artist Transcriptions/Trumpet was published by Hal Leonard Publishing Company and The Music of Randy Brecker: Solo Transcriptions and Performing Artist Master Class CD was published by Warner Bros. Inc. In addition to transcribing, Davison has also published jazz and Afro-Cuban compositions with Walrus Music. In 1986 Davison accepted a job as head of the jazz and trumpet programs at the University of Richmond. His influence as an educator goes beyond the University of Richmond’s campus. Dr. Davison also served as trumpet teacher and head of the brass area at the worldrenowned Interlochen International Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan for 36 years. Dr. Davison hosted the International Trumpet Guild Conference in 1999 and is an Edwards Instrument Performing Artist. Dr. Davison, along with producer Ed Tillett, completed Cuba: Rhythm in Motion, a documentary tracing the musical genealogy between Cuban rhythms and American jazz. The film premiered on the University of Richmond campus in 2007 and has been shown around the world, including Spain, Australia, and Mexico. Dr. Davison’s second documentary, The Sound of Santiago, which explores the music of Santiago de Cuba, had its premiere at the University of Richmond in March of this year.
Modlin Center Crew
Production Manager Sean Farrell
Lighting & Video Bri Conley
Audio Kevin Willoughby
Show Credits
Script & Narration
Show Concept & Design
Mike Davison
Mike Davison
Produced & Directed by Mike Davison
Photos & Video
Brian Ross, Ed Tillett, Myra Daleng, and Mike Davison
Special Thanks . . .
Modlin Center staff; Dr. Andy McGraw, chair of the Music Dept; and our “crew” – Sean Farrell, Bri Conley, and Kevin Willoughby
University of Richmond’s Cultural Affairs Committee for a generous grant to put on the show!
Thanks to our guest artists – dancers Edwin Roa & Lynda Bueschel; percussionists Willie Roman and Domonique Patrick Noel; and to our very special guests, Dan Puccio on tenor sax and vocalist Desirée Roots Centeio. You guys rock!
And to all of you! Thanks for joining us tonight for the 20th production of The Cuban Spectacular! ‘Til next year!
Now . . . get up and dance!
Mike Davison
