SoVoSó is such a unique vocal ensemble that its members call it an a cappella "band" rather than a group, because they use their voices to sound like musical instruments.
As part of the Quad City Arts Visiting Artist Program, the San Francisco Bay Area group is in the area for two weeks, giving a total of 36 performances at schools and businesses. Their visit will culminate with a public concert on Saturday, April 23, at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theater in Davenport. Tickets are $12 for the general public and $7 for students and children, and can be purchased by calling the Augustana Box Office at (309)794-7306.
David Worm and Joey Blake started this soul-singing, funky group as a spin-off of Bobby McFerrin's "Voicestra," for which they sang backup. In existence for 12 years, SoVoSó has lived through many metamorphoses, ending up today as a three-man, two-woman vocal ensemble.
Zoe Ellis, sister to jazz musician Dave Ellis, is the newest member. A full-time employee of Kaiser Permanente, Zoe says she has a really "smart" boss - smart because he gives her plenty of time off to keep her sanity by touring with the three different musical groups in which she sings.
Sunshine Becker joined SoVoSó several years ago when she became too old (early 20s!) to sing with Vocal Motion, the Oakland Youth Chorus' touring group. She told me that she'd always admired SoVoSó and was thrilled when Joey Blake called and asked her to audition.
Bryan Dyer used to sing with another a cappella group, Street Sounds, which participated in the Quad City Arts Visiting Artist Series eight years ago. Dyer has been with SoVoSó for five years.
"From the soul to the voice to the song" is the group's motto, printed on the black T-shirts and baseball caps that they wear on stage. It is also the origin of their name (SoVoSó=soul/voice/song). "Soulful" is the word that best describes the musical sounds emanating from these five talented vocalists.
It is clear from their scat singing and their vocally imitative sounds of horns playing and cymbals being brushed that the performers are strongly grounded in jazz. They also have a spine-tingling spiritual effect when singing gospel. For such a small group, SoVoSó has a surprisingly rich, full sound of alto, tenor, and bass voices blended smoothly together. Add to that the several musical instruments they "play" and you get a five-piece band with solo and back-up singers.
They are funny, silly, and extremely kid-friendly, which makes them the perfect choice as visiting artists in schools. And because most of them teach music both publicly and privately, they give musical instruction to the audience while they perform.
The kids at McKinley Elementary School in Davenport responded enthusiastically to Bryan's request that they sing the chorus on "Down by the Riverside," and they happily learned the call-and-response method from Joey to sing along with the group on an old folk song. They also got to stand up and wriggle their hips, waggle their heads, and shake their legs.
Dave taught the children how to use their voices to create the sounds of a jazz rhythm section. He carefully explained, through humorous and imaginative stories, how they could imitate a bass drum (pretending they're spitting out sunflower seeds), a snare (taking a breath when surfacing from the deep end of a swimming pool), and a high hat (hissing on every 16th note).
Their improvisational talents came to the forefront when Sunshine asked the audience for a favorite food (chicken), favorite car (limousine), and favorite kind of music (jazz). Bryan was frontman, while the girls sang backup and Dave and Joey added instrumentation for a jazzy, bluesy song about picking up a chicken (a cool bird with shades) from the airport in a limousine. Zoe and Sunshine sang the funny chorus "a chicken in a limo," and Bryan translated his clucking sounds ("That's chicken for 'the Holiday Inn downtown.'") while the audience laughed gleefully.
Based on what I saw and heard at McKinley Elementary, I can assume that Saturday night's concert at the Capitol Theater will be well worth attending. With their combined educational and professional experiences, SoVoSó is a tight, well-rehearsed band that delivers what it promises: soul, voice, and song.
David Worm and Joey Blake started this soul-singing, funky group as a spin-off of Bobby McFerrin's "Voicestra," for which they sang backup. In existence for 12 years, SoVoSó has lived through many metamorphoses, ending up today as a three-man, two-woman vocal ensemble.
Zoe Ellis, sister to jazz musician Dave Ellis, is the newest member. A full-time employee of Kaiser Permanente, Zoe says she has a really "smart" boss - smart because he gives her plenty of time off to keep her sanity by touring with the three different musical groups in which she sings.
Sunshine Becker joined SoVoSó several years ago when she became too old (early 20s!) to sing with Vocal Motion, the Oakland Youth Chorus' touring group. She told me that she'd always admired SoVoSó and was thrilled when Joey Blake called and asked her to audition.
Bryan Dyer used to sing with another a cappella group, Street Sounds, which participated in the Quad City Arts Visiting Artist Series eight years ago. Dyer has been with SoVoSó for five years.
"From the soul to the voice to the song" is the group's motto, printed on the black T-shirts and baseball caps that they wear on stage. It is also the origin of their name (SoVoSó=soul/voice/song). "Soulful" is the word that best describes the musical sounds emanating from these five talented vocalists.
It is clear from their scat singing and their vocally imitative sounds of horns playing and cymbals being brushed that the performers are strongly grounded in jazz. They also have a spine-tingling spiritual effect when singing gospel. For such a small group, SoVoSó has a surprisingly rich, full sound of alto, tenor, and bass voices blended smoothly together. Add to that the several musical instruments they "play" and you get a five-piece band with solo and back-up singers.
They are funny, silly, and extremely kid-friendly, which makes them the perfect choice as visiting artists in schools. And because most of them teach music both publicly and privately, they give musical instruction to the audience while they perform.
The kids at McKinley Elementary School in Davenport responded enthusiastically to Bryan's request that they sing the chorus on "Down by the Riverside," and they happily learned the call-and-response method from Joey to sing along with the group on an old folk song. They also got to stand up and wriggle their hips, waggle their heads, and shake their legs.
Dave taught the children how to use their voices to create the sounds of a jazz rhythm section. He carefully explained, through humorous and imaginative stories, how they could imitate a bass drum (pretending they're spitting out sunflower seeds), a snare (taking a breath when surfacing from the deep end of a swimming pool), and a high hat (hissing on every 16th note).
Their improvisational talents came to the forefront when Sunshine asked the audience for a favorite food (chicken), favorite car (limousine), and favorite kind of music (jazz). Bryan was frontman, while the girls sang backup and Dave and Joey added instrumentation for a jazzy, bluesy song about picking up a chicken (a cool bird with shades) from the airport in a limousine. Zoe and Sunshine sang the funny chorus "a chicken in a limo," and Bryan translated his clucking sounds ("That's chicken for 'the Holiday Inn downtown.'") while the audience laughed gleefully.
Based on what I saw and heard at McKinley Elementary, I can assume that Saturday night's concert at the Capitol Theater will be well worth attending. With their combined educational and professional experiences, SoVoSó is a tight, well-rehearsed band that delivers what it promises: soul, voice, and song.
