Pat Loomis, saxophone, and his 'walk-on' guest, soul singer Leon Beal, Jr. in Library Park, with Zayra Pola, on percussion, in the background
Saxophonist/vocalist Pat Loomis and his Friends, the band that performed four outstanding Jazz & Blues concerts in Library Park this summer, is aptly named for its Friends. This became apparent again on August 29 when, as has happened many times before in the seven years of the series, two 'walk-on' musical guests added themselves to the band and electrified the already swaying crowd. Flute player Lance Martin walked into Library Park and joined the band of Antonio Loomis, guitar; Amy Bellamy, keyboards; Aaron Bellamy, bass; Joaquin Santos, drums; and Zayra Pola, percussion. Shortly after, classical soul singer Leon Beal, Jr. made his appearance and performed a thrilling Stand By Me.
Pat Loomis with another 'walk-on' guest, the flutist Lance Martin
Drummer Joaquin Santos
The theme of the evening was The Quiet Storm: An Evening Of Smooth, Seductive Grooves, and featured several by Stevie Wonder (Another Star; Boogie On Reggae Woman and My Cherie Amour, sung by Pat Loomis himself). The weather had turned cool and the somewhat chilled audience also heard Can't Hide Love (Earth, Wind, and Fire); Armando's Rhumba (Chick Corea); The Lady In My Life (Michael Jackson); and the final song of the final performance, Happy People (Kenny Garrett).
Before the concert began, half a dozen FOSEL board members and BPL president David Leonard were on hand to ring in their joint fundraising project for an interior library renovation, called Writing the Next Chapter. Poster boards displayed the proposed redesign, which elicited several comments along the lines of "about time this happened."
Proposed changes to the downstairs interior of the South End Library
Brochures detailing the renovation and how and where to donate are now available at the branch, and will be mailed in the near future to South End library supporters.