It was another one of those wild, windy California evenings. Luckily, I was able to find a metered parking space near the Schoenberg Music Building that houses the Jan Popper Theater. With my hair blowing helterskelter and my coat waving like a flag, I hurried to attend a very special concert. Sandra Booker was completing a partial fulfillment and requirement for her Bachelor of Arts Degree from UCLA’s Department of Ethnomusicology. This was her Senior Recital. The intimate theater was full. She was already singing Kumbahya as I slid my way down the sloping aisle. I kept thinking I should have worn rubber soled shoes instead of heels.
Riding a skateboard would have made a more graceful entrance. lol. They should carpet that incline before somebody slips and falls; but I made it. Booker was accompanied by an impressive band. Dale Fielder was on soprano, alto and tenor saxophones; Derrick Finch on piano; Jacques Lesure playing guitar, Edwin Livingston lending his rich, full sound on bass and Thomas White tasty on drums. Booker followed the popular AfricanAmerican spiritual Kum Bah Ya with a tender composition entitled Spring Song. It was AfroCuban influenced, with a lilting Samba beat. I had not heard this song before and I was impressed with the melody, the chord changes as well as Booker’s presentation. This number was followed with a poignant lyric that asked What Made God? The arrangement was notable. Afterwards, Sandra paused to thank
the packed audience for their participation in an evening she would treasure forever. She told us she had composed and arranged every song she was performing onstage, with the exception of the familiar Spiritual that opened her show. The audience broke into huge applause, showing great support for Booker’s multitalents.
It’s Time was a feisty tune with a great lyric. On a few numbers, Booker broke into Scatsinging to assert her vocal prowess and showcase her improvisational skills. Her voice is a rich instrument, rising from a hushed alto to a powerful Soprano with ease and agility. At times, the power of her delivery needed no microphone at all and could have been more effective without amplification. She has a voice that begs to be heard
on ‘Broadway’ or other musical stages. Towards the end of the program, as if to celebrate and spiritually bless her academic accomplishments, she introduced us to a composition titled, A Song for the Lord. This one, she dedicated to her mother. It was a song about Booker’s native New Orleans, and the somber melody hushed the theater. Based on Creole music, it used a 40bar arrangement as opposed to the standard 32 bars. Booker sang her original composition with great sensitivity and expression, while a single tear trailed it’s way down her cheek. At it’s conclusion, the audience rose in thunderous communion to offer her a standing ovation for a job well done. Carrying the New Orleans theme from melancholy to joyful, Booker wiped the sadness away by splashing us with her rollicking Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler composition ( or
Let the Good Times Roll). This joyful tune encouraged audience participation and before we knew it, all of us were clapping. Had there been room, I’m certain we would have gotten up and danced. It was a fitting way to end a heartfelt concert that gave me a whole new perspective on Sandra Booker. Not only is she a fine vocalist, as well as a UCLA graduate, but this little lady is also an accomplished composer, lyricist and a developing arranger. All I could say at the end of the evening was, ‘Bravo!’
Reviewed by:

Dee Dee McNeil
March 14, 2008

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