By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Laura Cheadle
On the last weekend before Christmas, Jamey’s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com) is offering some musical gifts for its audiences featuring concerts by two of the most talented blues/jazz/rock singers in the Delaware Valley – Lisa Chavous and Laura Cheadle.
Chavous will be the headliner on December 19 and Cheadle will be the featured act on December 20.
The soul/jazz/blues vibe will keep going with Ty Stephens and (The) SoulJazz on December 21 and Sunday Blues Brunch & Jam featuring the Philly Blues Kings on December 22.
On Friday night, Jamey’s will present “Laura Cheadle – A Cheadle Christmas.”
“I just got off the plane today,” said Cheadle, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from her home in Philadelphia.
“I just got back from Mexico. I was doing a couple little things there. I was playing resorts, but I got to do my own music. I was in Tulum.”
Tulum is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.
A new airport and a just-opened train station are making this former fishing village on Mexico’s east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula easier to reach.
The holiday show at Jamey’s on Friday night features Cheadle and her group. Cheadle has a band that features blues, soul, funk – and a lot of Cheadles.
Her four-piece group features her brother Jim Cheadle on guitar and her father James Cheadle on keyboards along with Dave Ferebee, the only non-Cheadle, on drums.
Whenever Cheadle plays the area, it seems that she has a special theme for that particular show.
When the powerful blues/jazz/rock singer played Jamey’s back in December 2021, it was a concert billed as “A Very Cheadle Christmas.”
On February 11 last year, Cheadle came back to The Living Room in Ardmore and presented “Laura Cheadle Sings The Sexy Valentine Blues.”
“The Valentine show was actually a release party for my new album on Sony Orchard — a preview of all the songs on the album,” said Cheadle, during a phone interview Wednesday from her home in Philadelphia.
Christmas shows and Christmas albums are nothing new for Cheadle.
“I signed a deal with Sony Music,” said Cheadle. “I released a Christmas album with Sony on their Orchard label.
“I’ll have a new album coming out on Sony Orchard early next year and then I’ll go out on a support tour. I recorded it at Papa Cheadle’s studio.
“I’ve been writing songs for four years. It’s my best album yet – with a lot of emotions.
“When the COVID shutdown arrived, I started writing and couldn’t stop. I just relaxed and enjoyed it.”
One of the results of her writing outburst was her 2021 holiday album, “Let’s Get Together for Christmas.”
“It was a family affair,” said Cheadle. “I recorded it at my dad’s studio with my brothers and him. My dad was the producer.
“I did a Christmas album before – in 2010. It was more of a jazz album. This one is definitely bluesier.
“It’s a Christmas album but it’s a real sexy, sultry album – very R&B. I really got a chance to showcase my voice.
“The music on my upcoming album is also very R&B-based. I just wrote another song the other day. Songs keep flying out.”
Next up was a non-holiday album titled, “Mannequin.”
“I released ‘Mannequin’ on January 1, 2024,” said Cheadle. “It’s gotten four million streams – which is pretty impressive. I’ve released four singles so far – and there are 14 songs that didn’t make it.
“I’m working on new music now. I plan on putting a new album out next year. I’ll be using the Cheadle Family Band.”
James “Papa Cheadle” has played and recorded with Don Cornell, DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Four Aces, Grover Washington Jr., The Soul Survivors, Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erskine.
Cheadle has played with her family ever since she was a young girl.
“My father has influenced me so much,” said Cheadle. “He’s a seasoned jazz musician who used to be a music professor at Rowan University. So, I’ve always been involved with music.
“He has his own recording studio in South Jersey called the Swedesboro Music Studio and he records a lot of different people. He and I are both devoted to music. His influence on me is blues and jazz – but I make it modern.”
Cheadle’s music career began when she was four years old. Her father created the “Appreciation Choir” for the Persian Gulf War troops in the early nineties and created a music video that was aired on VH1 and MTV. Along with her two older twin brothers and various other children, Cheadle toured around the United States singing for audiences.
When she was 11, she enlisted her father to teach her how to play drums. From her “tween” to “mid-teen” years, Cheadle was in a band with her brothers called Sibling – a pop group that played at local restaurants, churches, music venues, private parties and parades.
“I’ve been in the Philadelphia/New Jersey music scene for quite some time,” said Cheadle. “I’ve been doing acoustic stuff since I was 16 and then put my band together later. Sibling was a blend, and I morphed into my music. Songwriting comes very naturally for me. Sometimes, I wake up with a melody in my head. It’s just there.
“I’ve always been a super fan of old soul. My biggest influences are Aretha Franklin, Tower of Power, James Brown and Stevie Wonder. I love real drums and all the organic instruments. Some of my songs are rock. Some of them are blues. It’s hard to classify me – maybe pop/rock with soul influence. I just do what I feel.”
The Cheadle Family has built a strong reputation nationally.
“We were on an NBC television show called ‘The Next Great Family Band’ in 2013,” said Cheadle.
“That got us a lot of interest in being booked for tours. They actually came to our place in Swedesboro. The exposure was great.”
Fans will get plenty of Cheadle’s music – old and new, R&B and holiday – this Friday night at Jamey’s.
“I’m staying busy,” said Cheadle. “In addition to the Cheadle Family Band, I have an all-girl band – Laura Cheadle and The Girls.
“It’s a trio with me on guitar, Emily Roane on drums and my wife Michelle Cheadle on drums. Our sound is more soul, rock and pop.”
Video link for Laura Cheadle — https://youtu.be/LkCzIHeLivo.
The show at Jamey’s on December 20 will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.
Lisa Chavous
On December 19, the venue will host a return engagement by Chavous, who is one of the most respected jazz, rock and blues singers in the Philadelphia music scene.
“I’ve been playing a lot in the tri-state area,” said Chavous, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon. “My music covers a lot of genres including Motown, jazz, blues, funk, hip-hop, soul – mostly soul.
“The Christmas show has a little bit of every style. All the songs are mostly Christmas but there are a few Motown songs also in the set list.
“I have my regular rhythm section – Charles Beasley on bass and Tony Day on drums and percussion – along with Sister Blue on Guitar and Mike Frank on piano.
“There also will be several singers – Ella Gahnt, Reggie Morrow, Sister Blue and me. The band and singers are all Jersey, Philadelphia and Delco.”
Ella Gahnt is not only her (stage) name, but also a description of the music she plays and of her singing style.
Gahnt is a vocalist in the jazz/traditional pop style who has performed with some of the most talented musicians in the quad-state area of Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware and New York. She also has worked professionally as a studio vocalist/performer for many years.
“Ella Gahnt, which is my stage name, was given to me by my husband Leon Mitchell,” said Gahnt, during a phone interview.
“It comes from the persona I want when I perform – elegant. I want to be like the performers back in the day who dressed to the nines – Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Nat King Cole. They put on a show. It’s all about entertaining.”
The show on Thursday evening will also have a Delco-based special attraction.
“We will have a special guest speaker – Claude Edney,” said Chavous. “He owns the Edney Funeral Home, and he will give a talk about Christmas. He’s from Darby Township and that’s where I’m from,”
Chavous is a Delaware County girl all the way.
She grew up in Sharon Hill and graduated from Darby Township High School. She studied for a career in nursing at a hospital in Delaware County. Now, Chavous is a resident of Lansdown and could easily walk to Friday’s gig if she so desires.
Chavous is making a return visit to Jamey’s House of Music – the venue where she had a CD release party for her most recent album, “Breaking Down the Walls.”
“The CD is dedicated to my late husband Michael Hayes,” said Chavous, during a phone interview from her Delco home. “He died of cancer in 2014.
“We had a tour in Paris in 2019 and two trips to Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico shows were tributes to Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner. One of them raised $3,000 for emergency relief in San Juan. Then, the pandemic hit, and everything shut down.”
Chavous has been singing her whole life.
“I started performing and singing in church when I was really young,” said Chavous. “The, my mom and dad managed me. Eventually, I got calls from agents. So, I started putting bands together – Lisa Chavous and Friends.”
In 1989 she began performing with the group Chapter One in banquet halls such as The Twelve Caesars and the Riviera Ballroom. In 1997, Chavous won first prize while competing in the Temple University jazz station talent contest sponsored by B&V outreach. In 1999, she began forming bands that performed for a variety of audiences. These ensembles eventually became known as Lisa Chavous and Friends.
“My first band was a jazz band,” said Chavous. “We played a lot of jazz clubs including the Blue Note in New York. I was on the jazz side for a while.
“We were really blessed with being able to book shows at country clubs in Delco. One night, the sax player couldn’t make the show. So, they sent another cat – and it was Byard Lancaster.”
The late, great Byard Lancaster was an alto saxophonist/flutist from Philadelphia who was part of the wave of free jazz inspired by John Coltrane. His music had many cultures in its DNA such as blues, reggae and Afrobeat and he lived in a variety of places including Chicago, France and Nigeria. But he always returned to jazz and his hometown.
After watching Chavous perform many years ago, Lancaster said, “I have recorded with Jonny Copeland, and have known Shemekia Copeland since she was a little girl, when I was on the road with her father. I’ve got to tell you the best female blues vocalist to come along since Shemekia is without a doubt, Lisa Chavous.”
This quote came from the musician who discovered Kevin Eubanks, the Roots, and Stanley Clarke.
“A couple years later, I ran into Byard at a blues festival in Media,” said Chavous. “He told me there was a blues band — the Philadelphia Blues Messengers –that needed a vocalist and asked if I wanted to go to Paris. That was in the early 2000s. He opened so many doors for me.
“For me, getting into the blues was a fluke. I was supposed to be going Motown and playing country clubs. Then, blues came in with Byard. I just became an icon in Philly as a blues singer. People wanted the blues, and it never stopped. I realized – this music is me.”
Chavous is frequently compared to Tina Turner, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Ruth Brown, and Irma Thomas, who along with Billie Holiday and Mahalia Jackson are among her primary musical influences. She a been singing in church and performing in shows since she was five in a career that encompasses jazz, blues, soul, gospel and rock.
Chavous has performed with jazz greats Byard Lancaster, Odean Pope, Trudy Pitts, Pat Martino, Jimmy McGriff and Bootsie Barnes, and is regularly backed by former members of Patti LaBelle’s band, as well as by Don Evans, former guitarist for Billy Joel.
Chavous, who is a nurse, has also donated her talents at a variety of functions that benefit children’s organizations supporting research for multiple sclerosis and the anti-AIDS foundation.
Chavous’ forte is her great versatility in singing jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues, all with tons of soul that projects her sincere love and devotion to her music and that creates powerful audience attraction and response.
Chavous is close to releasing a new album.
“I’ve been back in the studio finishing my fifth CD,” said Chavous.
“I have some great music we’ve written over the last few years. We’ve been recording it at Morningstar Studio (Glenn Barratt’s highly acclaimed studio in East Norriton.
“I have a lot of shows coming up including Ashley in Glen Mills on New Years Eve. I’ll also be playing at Jamey’s every third Thursday next year. It will be mini-concerts with a different theme each time.”
Video link for Lisa Chavous – https://youtu.be/3N0iG_x7u44.
The show at Jamey’s on Thursday will start at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
The Ty Stephens show will start at 8 p.m. on Saturday and will also be available via live Pay Per View.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ty Stephens is an award-winning singer/songwriter, entertainer and recording artist (Grand Prize Winner Jazzmobile/Anheuser-Busch Solo Jazz Vocalist Competition, NYC, 2006, and First Place Winner RandB/Blues Category of the International Songwriting Competition 2002 for “Somethin’ Strange”), co-writer and original cast of “From My Hometown,” co-writer/production, choreographer and star of the long-running “Shades Of Harlem” revue show, and co-writer/production, choreographer and currently starring in the new off-Broadway hit “On Kentucky Avenue” (Songbirds Unlimited Productions/StepForward Entertainment).
He has appeared on Broadway in the original productions of “Sophisticated Ladies” and “Marilyn, An American Fable.” He has recorded with industry legends Harry Belafonte, Peggi Lee, dance music icon Dan Hartmann, disco pioneer Nile Rogers (“Beavis and Butthead”), master drummer Baba Olatunji, renowned trumpeter Chuck Mangione, singer Gwen McCrae, Def Jam premier artist Alyson Williams, among others.
With his band (The) SoulJaazz, Stephens has spent six seasons at the world famous Sporting Club in Monte Carlo as the Sporting Orchestra and enjoyed four tours of eastern Russia through the U.S. State Department and The Vladivostok Philharmonic, and most recently, a second tour of Busan, Korea, also with the U.S. State Department.
Stephens’ original recordings include “Aquarian Mind” and “Deeper In Fantasy” and “Musichameleon,” plus the brand-new “Good Medicine.” The band is currently completing two new releases: a spiritual LP and a standard jazz CD
The Souljazz lineup features Richard Cummings, Jr. on piano, Ron “Rondew” Monroe on bass, Tony Lewis on drums and Robert “R.T.” Taylor on guitar.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Pay Per View tickets are $15.
The Sunday Blues Brunch & Jam with the Philly Blues Kings is one of the longest running blues jams in the region, as well as the #1 original Sunday Blues Brunch and Jam.
This event features many of the top regional and national players every week and welcomes amateurs and weekend warriors to join on stage to celebrate the beautiful heritage of the blues.
Blues lovers and players know that this is the best place to come for some really good and inexpensive eats, beer on tap from Conshohocken Brewing Company, fresh ground coffee and espresso, great music, and friendly people.
The vibe is home-like and cool, and the sound is out of this world. Jamey’s provides a full professional grade backline, so players only need to bring their instrument or personal microphone to jump up on stage and jam.
The open mic jam runs from 1-3 p.m. with the host band laying down a set from noon-1 p.m. to get things rolling and then supporting guest jammers as needed.
The host band Philly Blues Kings features Bluesman Dave Reiter on guitar, keys and vocals, Bill Marconi on drums and vocals, Rob Hamilton on harp and vocals, Frank McKitty on sax and Jamey Reilly on bass.
The Candlelight Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware, 302- 475-2313, candlelighttheatredelaware.org) is presenting Irving Berlin’s “Holiday Inn” now through December 22.
A Connecticut farmhouse is transformed into an inn featuring shows to celebrate each holiday from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July. Inspired by the Academy Award winning film of the same name, “Holiday Inn” is a story of romance with a mix of small-town living, bright lights, and the lure of stardom.
This joyous musical features thrilling dance numbers, laugh out loud comedy, and nearly two dozen Irving Berlin classics with a book by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge.
Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings (8 p.m.), Sunday afternoons (3 p.m.) and Wednesdays (11 a.m.)
Tickets, which include dinner and show, are $70.50 for adults and $35 for children (ages 4-12).
On December 21, Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) is presenting the Lenape Brass Ensemble Holiday Show featuring Christmas favorites.
The all-ages show will start at 7 p.m. with a $15 suggested donation.
World Café Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, www.worldcafelive.com) will have The Voices of Motown Christmas on December 19, “Come Together – A Trip Down Abbey Road” on December 20, Brown Sugar — A Stones Tribute on December 21
The Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) presents “Anthony Nunziata – My Italian Christmas” on December 19, TUSK on December 20, Strangelove on December 21, and Quinn Sullivan on December 22.
