Eight months of work have gone into creating a unique musical and cinematic experience for a Feb. 10 performance at Marion’s Lincoln Theatre. The former movie palace will once again show a silent movie but with a newly created soundtrack that will be performed live by the renowned Tri-Cities Jazz Orchestra.
A patron of the downtown theatre inspired the event.
Tracy Thompson, the Lincoln’s executive director, shared that the patron “had a fantastic experience at a similar performance” and hoped a similar one could be staged in Marion.
“We decided to feature a silent film with a romantic theme, perfect for Valentine’s Day. After careful consideration, we identified regional bands capable of taking on this unique challenge. The Tri-Cities Jazz Orchestra (TJO) was our top choice,” Thompson said.
The romantic comedy selected for the event is the 1927 silent movie classic “IT.” The film tells the story a simple working-class shop girl, Betty Lou Spence, who develops a crush on the new manager of Waltham’s department store, Cyrus Waltham. From two different classes of life, the pair tries to find their way to a relationship with complications thrown in along the way.
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Clara Bow played Spence. According to Library of Congress material, in 1927, Bow “had risen to the top of popularity representing the modern 1920’s flapper lifestyle, and for all practical purposes was indeed the current starlet embodying Hollywood’s ‘it’ girl.”
Antonio Moreno took on the role of Cyrus.
“During the age of silent movies, mini-orchestras or just piano accompanied films to add to the experience and create emotion,” explained Eddie Dalton, Tri-Cities Jazz Orchestra (TJO) director. For this presentation, the “TJO will be filling in for these age-old musicians who set the stage for the ‘Big Band’ era. We will be accentuating the ‘non-dialogue’ with musical selections dealing with the mood of each scene of the movie.”
To develop the evening’s music, Dalton said, “I began by preparing and borrowing music from various sources to accompany the film. This music is hard to find and very few people still have access to charts from this time period. I have been working on this project for over eight months just acquiring music that will fit and enhance the film.”
“With that being said,” Dalton noted, “the film doesn’t have a ‘soundtrack’ so I have created my own.”
TJO will begin with the tune “After You’ve Gone,” which serves as the film’s “hook” and will reoccur in multiple scenes.
Accompanying “IT” is a first for TJO. “We have never attempted anything like this before and it is a true challenge,” said Dalton. However, he has every confidence in the group. “I must say, the members of this Jazz Orchestra are incredible musicians. I can’t believe how well they are adapting to this style of music. It takes a great deal of talent to shift gears from the ‘Big Band Era’ to the ‘Jazz Age,’ sometimes known as the ‘Golden Age of Jazz.’ I am truly humbled to lead this group of musicians and to call them my friends and extended family.”
The TJO is a 17-piece big band comprised of musicians from Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The band specializes in playing music from the Big Band Era to the present day, including music from such jazz greats as Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, Stan Kenton and others. With more than 300 pieces of music in their library, the group also plays music from the bands TOTO, Earth Wind and Fire, and Bruno Mars — to name a few.
TJO has performed at various venues and events throughout the region, including NPR live radio broadcasts, music festivals, theaters/concerts, restaurants and weddings.
The group also has other configurations including the “TJO Seven,” a smaller version of the big band, including trumpet, trombone, alto sax, tenor sax, piano, bass and drums.
As director, Dalton brings with him considerable experience, including a stint as a middle school band director, a percussion instructor for both Milligan University and King University, and a Gretsch Drums Endorsing Artist.
For Thompson’s part, she reflected, “I can’t imagine a more delightful way to spend the Saturday night before Valentine’s Day than enjoying a romantic silent movie accompanied by live music in a 1929 movie palace.”
The Feb. 10 event will take place at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 to $12 and are available at the box office or online at https://www.thelincoln.org.
