Piano Tuner Plays Important Role in “Five Guys Named Moe.”

It takes more than actors, musicians and dancers to put on a great theatrical musical performance. There are also a number of technicians handling audio, lights and more.

I was delighted to see, that when crediting all of those who contributed to the production of “Five Guys Named Moe” at the Court Theatre in Hyde Park, the producers included the production’s piano tuner Kent Busse in the program.

I am sure the appreciation extends to the outstanding six piece jazz band that accompanied the “Moes.” J.P Floyd (trombone), Sam Hankins (trumpet), Jarrard Harris (reeds), Ben Johnson (drums), Chuck Webb (bass), led by Abdul Hamid Royal (music director/pianist).

When you sit down to play it’s nice to have the confidence of knowing that your instrument is in tune. In a combo of this size the musicians usually tune-up to the piano, so it all starts there.

It is a similar experience for the singers. They have a certain pitch in mind that they expect to hear as the first note is sung.  Singing in tune starts with an in-tune piano. In this production the Five Moes sing five part harmony. Typically each singer’s harmonic interval is derived from the first note. If that note is “off” everyone is off.

The harmonies of this doo-wop quintet comprised of Big Moe (Lorenzo Rush, Jr.), Little Moe (Darrin Ford), Eat Moe (James Earl Jones II), Four Eyed-Moe (Kelvin Rosten, Jr.) and No Moe (Eric A. Lewis) are spot on.

I think I’ll make Kent Busse the sixth Moe, “Hear Moe,” because what he hears will determine what the audience will hear.

Kent has been the “official” piano tuner for The Lake Shore Music Studio for several years and recently tuned our piano at home. That is why I was particularly pleased to see him get some of the recognition he deserves and also give him a bit of recognition here as well.

According to Julie, Kent does a great job of keeping the LSMS pianos in shape as well as in tune. As you can imagine they get quite a workout from 50+ students per week aged 4 through 74+.

You can enjoy the fruits of Mr. Busse’s work by playing one of the many LSMS acoustic pianos or coming in to hear your kids play during their lesson.

Additionally you might check out “Five Guys Named Moe” which is a tribute to band leader and saxophonist Louis Jordan, one of the fathers of rock & roll, who popularized several blues/jazz standards like Caldonia and Choo Choo Ch’boogie.

Listen for the boogie piano accompaniment in the beginning of this video.

To read my entire review of “Five Guys Named Moe”.

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Guest Blogger : Reno Lovison is Julie’s husband and reviewer for Chicago Theater and Arts.