Three Mo' Tenors February 8, 2014

Three Mo’ Tenors: Ten Kinds of Cool at Cerritos

        By Glen Creason

     The fine franchise of “Three Mo’ Tenors” started out as an offshoot of the very classical “Three Tenors” of Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carrera who got folksy with audiences using their powerhouse pipes to surprisingly sing a pop song or two along with arias that sailed on the high C’s. The newest iteration of the Three Mo’s lets loose of the classical and while nodding at a couple of arias mostly allows the three gentlemen to showcase the powers of the tenor voice in ten separate genre. At Cerritos the esteemed tenors were Victor Robinson, Duane A. Moody and Phumizile Sojola who surprised and delighted a pretty full house at the Performing Arts Center.

     While the evening started with Verdi and Puccini it soon quickly moved toward Broadway and the Philadelphia Soul Sound with plenty of high notes and high spirits. Robinson sounded wonderful on “Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserables” and the trio joined in perfect harmony for the towering “Make Them Hear You” from the musical “Ragtime” that is exactly right for this show. There were no sour notes as the men gave their all to blues, pop, and R& B with more voice than you would be used to hearing. There was some sensational South African soul from Mister Sojola in “My Darling,” some “Paris Blues” and even a Queen medley that reached notes even Freddy Mercury might envy. Other sentimental journeys were tributes to Ray Charles and the great soul groups of the 60’s and 70’s including “Love Train,” “My Girl” and “La La Means I Love You” that hit the spot. Pianist Keith Burton kept it on point from one style to another moving easily from a funky “Midnight Train to Georgia” to soaring gospel sounds like a moving “Lord How Come Me Here” that proved to be the best of the entire show. However, Duane Moody stood the hall on its ear with his tour de force of “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired” that may have meant some folks did not need to go to church in the morning.  The show was finished by a reprise of the magnificent “Make Them Hear You” that was indeed heard in the big hall by all.