The Journal

Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: LifeStyle

Media Credit: Brent Holzapfel Vocalist Michele Isam sings "Feelin' Good," the song from "Roar of the Greasepaint" Oct. 23 in the Winifred Moore Auditorium. The "Smell of the Crowd" was one of many songs performed at the Best Of Broadway show.

If you closed your eyes, you could imagine yourself sitting at a small corner table sipping a martini in a small, smoke-filled jazz club. The tinkling of a piano mixed in with the soft brush of a drum and the low pulse of a stand-up bass made up the jazz ensemble at the TKT Memorial Scholarship Concert Oct. 23 in the Winifred Moore Auditorium.

The jazz scholarship was established in memoriam by the friends and family of three Webster graduates: Terry Jackson, Kirk Cappello and Tony Saputo, all of whom died in a plane crash in 1991 while touring with country singer Reba McEntire.

The theme for the annual concert was "The Best of Broadway." Approximately 200 people attended the concert to hear jazz renditions of songs from various Broadway productions, composed by such notables as George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim.

Michael Parkinson, chairman for the music department, said the concert, which began in the mid-90s, is a community celebration.

"This concert is in memory of three wonderful young musicians who excelled when they were students and were on their way to fantastic careers," Parkinson said.

Parkinson said nearly $1,600 was raised from the concert for the scholarship endowment fund. The TKT scholarship is given to junior or senior jazz studies students who have a B-average or better. The music department currently has five TKT scholarship endowments. Parkinson said a group selects the recipients and the families are given a chance to voice their opinions.

"It benefits musicians who are the future of the business," Parkinson said.

This year's recipients are senior music major Randy Boyce, senior jazz studies performance major Abbie Hainz, junior jazz studies performance major Nick Savage, junior music major Paul Shanker and junior music Mike Smith.

The performers for the evening were pianists Kim Portnoy, Carole Schmidt and Jerry Liebman; bassist Willem von Hombracht; drummer Kevin Gianino; and vocalists Michele Isam and Charles Glen, along with Ralph Butler of the Ralph Butler Band.

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