October 15, 2017 was a special night for us at Roxy & Dukes in Dunellen, NJ. On that night we welcomed not only the great Long Island acappella group, the Traditions, to Roxy & Dukes for the first time but we also had the return of Joel Katz to the acappella scene. The Traditions have a long career as one of the most respected acappella groups around. And often called the “Voice of Jersey Acappella,” Joel had recently returned to singing after a serious illness. Joel was singing with his new group, the Dynamics. But his earlier appearance at the UpTown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester, PA, had been with a live band. On this night he and the Dynamics sang acappella. WE are completing a three part series of articles on Joel Katz for Echoes of the Past magazine.
Joel Katz & the Dynamics led off the night in great form. Joel Katz’ powerful voice led most of the songs including “Your Last Chance,” To Make A Long Story Short,” “Chapel Of Dreams,” “When We Get Married,” “Crazy Little Mama,” and “Little Girl Of Mine”. Ema led “Denise” and “So In Love”. Other members of the group included Elmo Maisonet (from the Brooklyn Keys and Vito & the Salutations) and Lou. Les Levine did a great job filling in on bass.
Led by the superb tenor voice of John Streich, the Traditions first formed in 1983 and have been singing acappella ever since. What a performance they gave, launching into songs like “Goodbye To Love,” Heart’s Desire,” “There Goes My Love,” “Gee,” “What Did She Use,” “Lost Love,” “It Happened Today,” “Tears On My Pillow,” “Teardrops and “Long Lonely Nights”. Besides John Streich, this talented group included Joe Clements, Chris Petri, Chris Mahoney and Lou DiCarlo.
We had a great crowd and this was truly a night to remember. Hope to have both groups back soon. Check out the photos and videos below.
