Arts & Entertainment

Photo b Justin Munter

The Jam Society: Bassist Tony Lannen, drummer Amir Edwards and guitarist Ari Teitel.

Blues Brother

Guitarist, 13,
has gigs all
over town.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

ri Teitel turned 13 on his last
birthday, but he already knows
all about the blues, jazz and
rock clubs around the area and the fes-
tivals where club musicians often are
featured.
More than a music fan, he is a guitar
player and songwriter who has formed a
three-member band, the Jam Society, and
appeared at the clubs and festivals where
his favorite music is heard.
The trio, which includes drummer Amir
Edwards and bass player Tony Lannen,
also young teens, are hoping for a large
audience when they perform 11:30 a.m.-
1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 13, at Campus

Martius Park in downtown Detroit.
The group was chosen to be among
the acts for Lunchtime Arts, a free series
enlarging the entertainment offerings for
Summer in the Park programs launched
by the city of Detroit. The lunchtime
concerts present blues on Mondays, clas-
sics and variety on Tuesdays, rock on
Wednesdays, smooth jazz on Thursdays
and Motown and variety on Fridays.
"We'll be doing a lot of both original
and cover songs when we're at Campus
Martius," says Ari, who soon will start
eighth grade at the Roeper School in
Birmingham. "Sometimes, we perform lyr-
ics that are just spontaneous. They're not
deep, and they often have a comic effect."
The band, which can be previewed at
www.myspace.com/ariteitel, might intro-

duce park audiences to their own "Funky
Crusher," an instrumental piece that has
scary-sounding tones, or "European Gypsy
Queen;' a song that tells about meeting a
strange woman.
Another song choice could be
"Psychedelic Safari:' written entirely by
Ari to capture some make-believe animal
happenings.
"I started playing piano when I was
4 and quit when I was 6',' says Ari, who
decided he did not want to concentrate
on classical music to learn keyboard tech-
niques.
"I thought it would be fun to play the
guitar and bought one with my own
money when I was 9.1 took some lessons

Blues Brother on page 60

August 9 • 2007

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