Nikki Gorts (left) and Mark Gionfriddo (right)
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
NORTHAMPTON — Guests can step back in time and enjoy the music of the 1950s as Mark Gionfriddo brings his “It’s The Wildest!” show back to Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity at 130 Pine St. on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 3 p.m.
Local musician, Holyoke resident and creator of Mount Holyoke College’s “The Big Broadcast,” Gionfriddo and local singer Nikki Gorts will perform with a five-piece band, featuring the music of Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Gionfriddo describes “It’s The Wildest!” as an exciting, tune-filled tribute to Prima and Smith. “The Wildest” was the title of a 1956 album by Prima and Smith.
Gionfriddo said in the 1950s, Prima and Smith turned a tiny Las Vegas lounge and turned it into the place to be for an after-hours party with a mix of jazz, swing, novelty music and rock ‘n roll.
“With things being the way that they are in the world, I always thought to myself, if I could put together a little project like this, I think that not only would it be great music but it also would be lots of fun, and I think people would really enjoy it because it’s like party music, and it kind of takes their minds off of other things,” he stated.
Gionfriddo, Gorts and the band will pay homage to Prima and Smith with songs from the American Popular Songbook, including “Jump, Jive ‘N Wail,” “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody,” “Buona Sera,” “Sentimental Journey,” “I Wish You Love” and “That Old Black Magic.” Gionfriddo has also added a few numbers to the November show, including “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love,” “That Darn Cat,” from the Disney movie, and in a nod to the season, “Autumn Leaves.”
He said the show will be less like a cover band or impersonator and more like what the music would have sounded like at the time.
“We basically tried to present like a concert of that music. We’re not doing a tribute; it’s not like an Elvis [Presley] impersonation or anything like that,” Gionfriddo explained. “We’re just presenting the music as you would have heard it if you went to hear Louis Prima and Keely Smith and the band in a concert.”
The band will also play a number Gionfriddo wrote.
“I wanted to write a novelty song in the style of Louis Prima, and I was reminded of the 1996 film ‘Big Night,’ which revolved around an Italian restaurant busying itself for a visit from Prima and his band,” Gionfriddo explained. “I imagined them making all these exotic dishes for him when all he wanted was a simple plate of pasta, as in the song’s title, ‘A Side of Spaghetti and One Meatball.’
Gionfriddo, a faculty member at Mount Holyoke College, has created and produced “The Big Broadcast,” the college’s annual 1940s variety show, for the last 20 years.
He is also keyboardist and band director for the Young@Heart Chorus, as well as musical director of “Torch Song Tuesdays,” the monthly cabaret series at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield.
Gorts is a singer and theatre artist from Easthampton. She’s been performing throughout Western Massachusetts for 25 years and recently joined the cast of “The Big Broadcast” as a foley artist.
Gionfriddo said people can expect to hear wonderful music that isn’t performed much anymore, with some audience participation during certain numbers.
“It’s kind of like you would be going out to like a small club, and you’d see everybody like the band that we have, all having fun on stage,” he said. “We just love this music, and I think everybody who goes to it will get that feeling for sure.”
Tickets are available at bombyx.ludus.com.
