Kenny G will headline at the Paramount

By Jane Norris

Published: April 24, 2008

Saxophonist Kenny G, a trio of bass guitar virtuosos and three folk singer-songwriters are among the attractions coming to the Paramount Theater this summer.
The Paramount unveiled a new summer lineup of concerts and film screenings Thursday under the theater’s marquee on the Downtown Mall.
Tickets for the new shows will go on sale to the Paramount’s top-level contributors on May 2 and to all Paramount members on May 7. They’ll be available to the general public starting May 13.
The new shows announced Thursday include:
l Kenny G, evening of new Latin jazz, 8 p.m. June 8.
l Guy Clark, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and Jesse Winchester, folk and story songs, 8 p.m. June 20.
l “Expect the Impossible’’ with Mark Nizer, opened by “The Jason Bishop Show,’’ illusions and magic, 7 p.m. July 25.
l SMV, featuring bassists Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten, jazz and funk as part of the “Thunder Tour,’’ 8 p.m. Aug. 17.
Previously announced were summer performances by the Nels Cline Singers on June 5 and by Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet, which will feature Bela Fleck, Casey Driessen and Ben Sollee, on June 27.
The Paramount’s summer movie lineup includes the following theme weekends:
l “Family Fun,’’ with “The Wizard of Oz’’ on June 21 and “E.T.: The Extraterrestrial’’ on June 22.
l “Salute to the Coen Brothers,’’ with “The Big Lebowski’’ on July 11, “Blood Simple’’ on July 12 and “Raising Arizona’’ on July 13.
l “Political Intrigue,’’ with “All the President’s Men’’ on Aug. 9 and the 1964 version of “The Manchurian Canndidate’’ on Aug. 10.
Look3, the Festival of the Photograph, will have a kickoff event, “Whales’’ with Flip Nicklin, at 7 p.m. June 11 at the Paramount. It’s a fundraiser for Nicklin’s organization the Whale Trust.
The festival’s Insight Conversations with its leading guest photographers will be led by National Public Radio correspondent Alex Chadwick. They include talks with Mary Ellen Mark at 7 p.m. June 12, Joel-Peter Witkin at 4 p.m. June 13 and James Nachtwey at 4 p.m. June 14.
Steve Layman, music director of the Charlottesville Municipal Band, was on hand to discuss the move of the band’s 86th annual Summer Concert Series indoors to the Paramount.
The free concerts, which were announced previously, will be 8 p.m. June 3, June 17, July 1, July 15, July 29 and Aug. 12.
Layman said the move will benefit audience members and performers alike.
“It will bring people into the Paramount who might not ordinarily come,’’ Layman said.
Recent summer series had been in the Charlottesville Pavilion at the east end of the Downtown Mall, which wasn’t the best fit for the band or its audience because the performance space is better suited for rock and jazz than for concert band, Layman said.
“They were forty feet away from us,’’ he said of the audience.
Summer swelter added other challenges. Layman said the stage area under the lights could reach 110 to 112 degrees by concert time, which was tough on the musicians.
Audience members frequently called the band’s hotline on steamy days, hoping to hear that the concert would be moved indoors to an air-conditioned site, he said, adding that a couple of summers ago, wilting weather prompted the band to move about half its shows inside.
The switch also has a sentimental side in bringing the Municipal Band back to its old haunts. For years, the band played its summer concerts at Central Place on the Downtown Mall, close to the Paramount.
For information on Paramount offerings, visit http://www.theparamount.net or call 979-1333.