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Dave Wickerham at the Bristol Paramount, For the final concert of 2004 we were fortunate in being able to arrange a return visit in October by Dave Wickerham who presented an outstanding recital on the occasion of his first visit to Bristol in October 2003. Dave is an accomplished organist with a background in classical organ playing as well as his theatre experience, and his all round expertise is apparent in his presentation of a varied and imaginative repertoire ranging from Sousa’s “Liberty Bell March” to a medley from the musical show “Chicago” and the “Ode to Joy” with variations. The Paramount Wurlitzer was in good voice thanks to the care and attention given by Chet Rataski, Crew Chief of the Paramount, who had augmented the organ on this occasion with a drum machine which was utilized several times by Dave in the course of his recital, and which gave forth a most authentic sounding snare drum roll. Even a technical computer glitch in the second half of his program did nothing to detract from the overall high quality of his recital. Any organist who essays to perform not one but two of Zez Confrey’s finger busting novelty numbers from the 1920s, “Kitten on the Keys” and “Dizzy Fingers” in one concert, in perfect tempo and with razor sharp accuracy must possess supreme confidence in his keyboard dexterity. With his immaculate playing Dave did full justice to both compositions, although an unfortunate combination of registration and auditorium acoustics led to a slight blurring of the rapid passages in the former piece. It has been said that the music which a Wurlitzer organ expresses best of all is a love song, and Dave exemplified this ability in his sensitive arrangement of the “Serenade” from “The Student Prince.” Dave can exploit the registrations which appeal to the emotions of the listener, and yet he avoids the pitfall of sounding overly sentimental and “schmaltzy.” I have found that many theatre organists share an affinity for the music of Sigmund Romberg, some of whose compositions indeed sound as if they were written for the Wurlitzer organ. The fact that Romberg himself played the organ may have had something to do with that. “Once in a While” and “Stardust” were given an effective big band
treatment by Dave, who again demonstrated that familiar old standards can be rejuvenated by innovative arrangements and registrations. Don MacDonald
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