James Arnold April 2023

James Arnold shows everyone how it’s done!

By Linda Martin

If you couldn’t make it to SOhO for James Arnold’s concert I’m very sad for you! It was like attending a “Master Class” on Performing! On Sunday, April 16th Mr. Arnold arrived looking very dapper in a beautiful dark blue suit, complete with a crisp white shirt and blue tie. He looked the part of an entertainer who was going to sing his heart out…and he did not disappoint! Playing for him that day were the hugely talented Woody DeMarco on piano, Hank Allen on bass and Dick Weller on drums. All three are the best of the best!

It was one of the most “magical” afternoon’s I’ve ever experienced at SOhO! James made it look so easy, whether he was singing a ballad or an up-tempo song, he was just flawless. He opened the show singing “Take the A Train” and showed off his incredible scatting skills! Later in the show he went over to the piano and accompanied himself on the song “A House is Not a Home” which was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes (and I’m certain I wasn’t the only one)! He sang all of his songs with SO much soul that I was personally transported to a higher place with each song.

Joining James were some very talented singers. Some were local and some were from Los Angeles. He asked them one-by-one to come up on stage to sing in the 2nd half of his show. I was so impressed by the fact that James offered to share the stage with all these other singers. What a generous thing to do! Many singers like to be the only one getting all the adoration from the audience, but not James. He is a large man with a larger-than-life presence with a huge heart! Sharing appears to be 2nd nature to him!

Singing from L.A. were; Anthony Berry Smith, Jackie Marriott and Deborah Sharpe Taylor. There were also four local singers that sang; Sandy Cummings, Yvonne Bazinet, Jodi de Marcos and Kimberly Ford. Each one of these singers brought something different and special to the afternoon. But James was the icing on the cake. He came back on stage and killed it with more songs! I hope he returns to SOhO soon because I know I’ll do my best to be there! I would never get bored listening to James Arnold sing.

This and other jazz concerts wouldn’t have happened without our fabulous Santa Barbara Jazz Society. They work very hard to get the best talent available to perform at SOhO. All I can say is more-more-more, please!