Vocalist Kelly Eisenhour has been one of Keith Lockhart's favorite guest soloists over the years. She's joined him previously with the Utah Symphony and was also featured on the Boston Pops for its 2000 New Year's Eve concert, as well as its spring tour the following year.
Next weekend, she joins Lockhart and the Utah Symphony once again, this time in a tribute to the big band era. "Keith invited me, and I'm very excited to be doing this concert with him," Eisenhour said. The program will feature the music of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey.
For the show, Eisenhour will sing several songs, including "Tangerine," "Ain't Misbehavin' " and "This Joint Is Jumpin'." "I love this music. These are classics." Eisenhour also hinted that there will be a couple of surprises for the audience. "For 'This Joint Is Jumpin'," there will be some other things going on while I sing it. And I'm going to do another song that everyone in Salt Lake will enjoy, but I don't want to say anything more about it — I don't want to give it away."
Making their debut, as it were, at the concert will be the Utah Symphony's principal clarinet Tad Calcara and his band New Deal Swing, which includes several members from the orchestra. "I'm going to be singing with Tad on some of the songs," Eisenhour said. "Before, I just sang with the symphony, so this will be great."
Eisenhour has performed locally at various venues over the years. She's opened for Ramsey Lewis at the International Park City Jazz Festival and has been a featured vocalist at the Jazz at the Sheraton series. Before coming to Utah, Eisenhour performed in Las Vegas for many years. But she realized at one point that she had had enough of the Vegas scene and moved to Utah in 1997.
When the opportunity came up to be a featured backup singer for Gladys Knight, the temptation was too great to resist, and Eisenhour returned to Las Vegas. "When I went back to Vegas, I thought to myself, 'What am I doing here?' " Eisenhour said. "I love Utah and I wanted to be back. I did the Vegas thing for a long time." After 18 months, Eisenhour decided to leave the show and return to Utah. "It was my choice to leave Gladys," she said. "Some people said to me, 'But that's Gladys Knight.'
"But I was ready to come back. Vegas is a conglomeration of a lot of things, and I love living in Utah."
Eisenhour moved to Provo last summer and joined the Brigham Young University music faculty. She directs the school's jazz choir, Jazz Voices and also maintains a private jazz studio. "It's fun to do jazz everyday, all day long. I have a great choir here, and there is a lot of interest in the jazz choir." Last February, Eisenhour took Jazz Voices to the University of Idaho's Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. "They did really well there. Everybody talked about them."
Besides teaching and performing, Eisenhour has also recorded several CDs. Her first album, "Now You Know," is a collection of standards, along with some original songs. She's followed that up with recordings with BYU's Q'd Up on Tantara Records, and an album with the Jeff Hamilton Trio. "I'm going to do another recording with Q'd Up, and collaborate with some of the members on some new songs."
As a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Eisenhour would love to do an LDS album. "It wouldn't be jazz, but I've also written LDS-themed music." Eisenhour feels that with her unique musical background she could offer LDS listeners something new. "I have a jazz, R&B and gospel background, and I think I could do something that would be interesting."
And as much as she loves performing, Eisenhour also enjoys teaching. "I'm looking forward to my future here in Utah with vocal jazz. I want to continue pursuing the educational side at BYU and also build up a private voice studio." (For more information on the studio, contact Eisenhour at jazzbykelly@comcast)
Eisenhour said there is a lot of potential for jazz in Utah. "I love bringing the message of jazz out to everyone." She said that one of her biggest thrills is seeing how jazz opens a new door of musical experience for students. "I remember when I was in high school. My dad was a jazz aficionado and I listened constantly to his jazz records. And then, finally, I really understood what was going on with it. And when I can see that happening with my students, it's a blast."
If you go . . .
What: "Big Band Night," Utah Symphony, Keith Lockhart
Where: Abravanel Hall
When: Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.
How much: $22-$45
Also . . .
Where: de Jong Concert Hall, Brigham Young University, Provo
When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $16-$20
Phone: 801-378-4322
Also . . .
Where: Val A. Browning Center, Weber State University, Ogden
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $14-$26
Phone: 801-399-9214
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com