Fifth Avenue vocal jazz quartet

Fifth Avenue is a bright, fresh, musical group - mostly because they don't know any better. They hit the scene in June of 1983 and dazzled audiences with their tight, pure harmonies and delightful sense of fun. Within a year they were appearing before 45,000 people in a two-hour concert at the Spokane World's Fair Park. They have also worked with such artists as Bill Cosby and Jerry Lee Lewis, and did a tour to Japan and China aboard the Royal Viking Star cruse ship.

After three great years they decided to take a bit of a hiatus. So they did...for nine years. This hiatus involved starting families, establishing private businesses, doing the 9 to 5 routine, entering and exiting a witness protection program, etc., but each member continued to develop his musical chops. But hey! Now, The Ave is back together and they're more fuel efficient, economical, and they have more RAM. Recently, Fifth Avenue has performed for enthusiastic audiences at the Boise State jazz festival, the Casper College jazz festival, the Frank DeMiero Jazz Camp and the 1998 International Association of Jazz Educators conference. They also had the pleasure of performing at the 1999 Boise Summer Riverfest, in concert with a jazz big band. Their audience included over 100,000 listeners in attendance, as well as countless more watching on live television. Between these engagements they've performed at colleges, conventions, and a couple of places that they'd rather not talk about.

A group like this doesn't come out of nowhere, but Lynnwood, Washington, is pretty close. They all attended Edmonds Community College, and sang with Frank DeMiero's nationally acclaimed Soundsation jazz choir. That group made guest appearances at the prestigious Montreaux and Concord jazz festivals, and appeared with people like Bob Hope, Joe Williams, The Hi-Lo's, The Four Freshmen, and many others. As a group, Fifth Avenue is bright and lively. They experimented with dull and listless, but found they didn't like it. They perform all kinds of music - focusing on jazz and original works - but the secret to their success is that they really sing. They don't need a hot studio engineer to make them sound right, they just do it, and their arrangements are amazingly sophisticated. They break it all up with comedy and the effect is devastating.

Fifth Avenue is definitely a group on the way up - fresh, extremely talented and enthusiastic. Their only possible drawback, besides those devastatingly good looks, is that they may be too nice, but with hard work and some therapy they might be able to overcome that.

Discography

4 The Fun Of It

Singing in the jazz tradition of The Hi-lo’s and The Four Freshmen gives you a sense of this dynamic quarted from the Pacific Northwest who first got together in 1983. They had all attended Edmonds Community College and sang with Frank DeMiero’s nationally acclaimed Soundsation jazz choir. After notable successes they retired three years and one recording later. After a nine year hiatus they began once again to dazzle audiences with tight, pure harmony. Now they tour with a trio of piano, bass, and drums and that’s what you’ll find mostly on this recording, their first in over fifteen years! While only "My Romance" is a cappella (well, along with the Bonus Track) the peerless harmonies will be a joy to all those who love older jazz standards such as "Fascinatin’ Rhythm," "My Sugar Is So Refined," "Mack the Knife," and more!

4436 CD $14.98

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