The Modernistics

Absolutely joyous, virtuosic and wonderful! (Concerts at the Crane)
An excellent musical group…delightful…a home run. (Essex Daily News, New Jersey)
Nothing but great comments after the show! (Coffeehouse Concerts, Montrose NY)
Rave reviews from the audience…fantastic! (Bloomfield Music Series, NJ)

The Modernistics are Ted Powers, guitar, ukulele, banjo, tap and vocals; Pamela Powers, tap and vocals; Peter H. Bloom, flute; Mark Leighton, guitar; and Dave Zox, double-bass. The artists have performed and taught extensively in the United States and abroad. The group performs as a quintet and as a trio, celebrating the Great American Songbook, with crowd-pleasing favorites by Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Dorothy Fields, and other master tunesmiths.

The Modernistics are celebrating the 2020s with The Twenties Roar Again!, featuring hit tunes like Fascinating Rhythm, Blue Skies, Stardust, Love Me or Leave Me, I Want to Be Happy, Let's Misbehave, and more. Their latest show is a Gershwin Celebration Concert, with classics by George and Ira Gershwin: Slap That Bass, A Foggy Day, I've Got a Crush on You, How Long Has This Been Going On, Oh Lady Be Good, and I Got Rhythm, among other great numbers.

The Modernistics Trio

In addition to their Gershwin Celebration and The Roaring Twenties, the Modernistics salute the Great American Songbook with music across the decades, including tunes like these:

Sunny Side of the Street
Let’s Fall in Love
It's Only a Paper Moon
Skylark
Lulu's Back in Town
Georgia on My Mind
Night and Day
It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing

Acclaimed for their tap dancing prowess and their mastery of great American songs spanning many sounds and styles, Ted and Pamela Powers have performed extensively in the United States and abroad. Ted Powers’ career in jazz, blues, and pop includes several years as a solo performer in the south of France and tap-dancing in the U.S. with the legendary Jimmy “Sir Slyde” Mitchell. He has appeared widely as a solo artist; with jazz notables like Billy Novick, Ray Santisi, and Peter Tillotson; and with the band Swing Café.

Pamela Powers has performed and taught in the United States, Germany and England. She studied with Harold Nicholas of the iconic Nicholas Brothers and with renowned Broadway choreographer Charles Hughes. She is known for her inventive choreography, virtuoso tap dance, captivating voice and charisma on stage.

Flutist Peter H. Bloom, praised for “infectious brio” (The New York City Jazz Record) and “exquisite melody” (JazzImprov), has performed in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand and is featured on 49 CDs. He has shared the stage with Sheila Jordan, Charles Neville, Jimmy Giuffre, Ricky Ford, Geri Allen, Jaki Byard, and other jazz legends, and is a veteran of the famed Aardvark Jazz Orchestra (51st season). Bloom’s latest CD, Exuberant Ellingtonia, has been called “a treasure trove” (Textura Magazine, Ontario) and “one of those albums we know are unique jewels” (Jazz, ese ruido, Spain). His playing has been called “breathtaking” (Ivan Rod Review, Denmark), “a revelation for unforced sweetness and strength” (The Boston Globe), and “wonderfully smoky and mysterious” (EarRelevant).

Mark Leighton is acclaimed as a jazz and classical guitarist. He performs across the Northeast, at venues including Islesboro Maine Summer Concerts, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, King's Chapel Boston, Corning Community College, Boston Public Library, and the Hudson River Museum of Art. He was Director of First Night Quincy for 20 years and serves on the faculties of Colby College and St. George’s School. He has appeared with the great jazz woodwind artist Billy Novick and with blues notable Larry Carsman, among others. A graduate of New England Conservatory, he studied with famed guitarists Sharon Isbin, David Leisner and Robert Sullivan.

Bassist Dave Zox has performed with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Artie Shaw Band, Herb Reed and the Platters, John Abercrombie, Kenny Werner, Phil Woods, Garrison Fewell, Jim McNeely, and other illustrious artists. Dave played for years with keyboard legends Ray Santisi and Harvey Diamond, and with the venerable Al Vega Trio. He teaches at Northeastern University, Phillips Academy Andover, and the Ipswich Public Schools.

The Modernistics have performed extensively as a trio and as a quintet, with shows for The Stissing Center (NY), Ocean Park Music Festival, Middletown Concert Association, Medallion Opera House, The Robert H. Wood Great Artists Series (NY), Misericordia Performing Arts Series (PA), Coffeehouse Concerts in Montrose NY, Colby College Concert Series, Guilford Library Summer Concerts (CT), Bloomfield Library Music Series (NJ), Garmany Music Series, The Firehouse Center for the Arts, Kimberton Arts Alliance (PA), and other venues.

Photos: Erlyn Ordinaio, Heloise Tanglewood