(Above: Bill Hulings and Lynnea Barry are featured vocal performers with the Emerald City Jazz Kings.)
By Randi Bjornstad
The Jazz Kings are back
One of the first successful female songwriters of words and music for Broadway shows and Hollywood films will be featured as the Emerald City Jazz Kings bring their concerts back live on the Jaqua Concert Hall stage at The Shedd Institute for the Arts in downtown Eugene.
Dorothy Fields is the composer/lyricist in question as the Jazz Kings perform Diga Diga Doo, featuring songs from Fields’ extensive songbook that contains more than 400 musical works.
Fields, who died in 1974 three months shy of 70, created some of the the most memorable and singable songs in the book, starting with On the Sunny Side of the Street in 1930, I’m in the Mood for Love in 1935, The Way You Look Tonight and Pick Yourself Up in 1936, and many more through to the ultimately beltable Big Spender later in life, in 1966.
In 1936, which may have been her banner year, Fields and Jerome Kerns won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for The Way You Look Tonight, from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ smash hit, Swing Time.
Later in her career, Fields collaborated on the music for Annie Get Your Gun, Redhead, and Sweet Charity.
The Jazz Kings are calling their show Diga Diga Doo — The Dorothy Fields Songbook. They will play three concerts in the Jaqua Concert Hall at The Shedd at 868 High St. in downtown Eugene:
- Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 18 at 3 p.m.
Dinner will be served by reservation at 6 p.m. before the evening shows and immediately after the matinee.
Tickets range from $22 to $30, with some discounts available. Meal prices are $23.75 for adults and $18.75 for children 9 years and younger. In accordance with state guidelines, attendance must be made through advance reservations only — no tickets will be sold at the door.
A note from The Shedd: Conduct at indoor meals and performances will adhere to social distancing, mask-wearing, and disinfection requirements of the Oregon Health Authority. As a result, the show will be one straight set with a minimum of 15 feet between the band and the audience. Seating will be limited to 100 people per concert. There will be no post-concert meet-and-greet. Meals will be served in the outdoor Warren Court, and drinks and concessions during the show will follow state restaurant and bar guidelines. which includes limited seating.
For tickets, call 541-434-7000 or go online to theshedd.org/
Private and group music classes
The Shedd resumes its panoply of music lessons for players of all ages — children, teens, and adults — and instruments and musical styles ranging from mariachi to strings to gig band, including a program called The Music Box that offers an in-depth exploration of the world of music, including a two-hour after-school version of the program.
String Band offers teens and young adults to explore and practice skills with banjo, mandolin, guitar, bass, fiddle, and autoharp, by practicing and playing with other musicians in genres not limited to but including Americana, folk, and bluegrass.
Classes are open to new students at any time. For information or to register, call 541-434-7000, email registrar@theshedd.net, or go online to theshedd.org.
(Above: Young students practiced their musical skills in one of The Shedd’s classes for youthful musicians; photo courtesy of The Shedd Institute for the Arts.)
