WHITE MILLS — In an isolated grove in White Mills last Saturday, July 19th, the music all but stopped for a moment.  A bird chirped.  Someone shifted loudly in their seat.  That was only an interval, however, a 16th, maybe even 32nd note.  Seemingly seamlessly, Jerry Weldon carried the tune on solo-style, wailing and whopping on his tenor sax with nothing more to keep the beat than the tapping of his own foot, despite the full band on stage.  Two, three, maybe 20—its hard to tell—minutes letter, the band picked back up right where it left off and the tune carried on, as electric and intoxicating as ever.

Such was the wonder entrenched in every riff and melody played by the critically acclaimed David Leonhardt Trio, with special guests Nancy Reed on vocals, Jerry Weldon of Harry Connick, Jr. tour fame on the tenor sax, and Shelley Oliver performing tap dance arrangements with the band.  The Trio is composed of Leonhardt, Matthew Parrish on the upright bass, and Pennsylvanian Paul Wells on drums.

Leonhardt, who began studying jazz as a Kentucky teenager, has produced, arranged, and/or performed with such names as Stan Getz, Slide Hampton, and Art Blakey Big Band.  He has performed worldwide, and currently writes for the magazine Piano Today. 

Leonhardt galvanized the crowd at the Wildflower amphitheater, performing originals, largely off his newest original album, Explorations, and a number of tunes off his 2000 album Plays Gershwin, as well as myriad others.

Also notable was the vocal ambiance brought by Brooklyn-raised jazz singer Nancy Reed, who under the canopy and shadow of nightfall and the trio’s jazz interpretation of Gershwin’s Summertime, brought forth auras and emanations of Billie Holiday herself.

Matthew Parrish on bass and Oliver rocked the evening as well, mounted a stunning an energetic tribute to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, the father of tap dance.

The night truly belonged to Leonhardt, however, his hands always performing an intricate and sensual dance with the ivory keys, joking with the crowd, up-beating melancholy tunes, and performing originals like “Iberian Lament” as though they were classics from ages hence, relics of boyhood perhaps, or a nostalgia for an old love. 

The performance will be rebroadcast on WVIA FM tentatively on August 11th at 7 p.m.  Check the station’s website for more details at www.wvia.org.

Saturday’s show was sponsored by Highlights for Children.  The Wildflower Amphitheater is on the grounds of the Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary in White Mills and will hold host concerts every weekend this summer.  For more information, call 253-5196 or visit them on the web at www.wildflowermusic.org.