Dancer/singer/actor Elijah Rock will be making his Boise debut on Friday, September 23, 2022 at the Knitting Factory in Boise. For this performance, featuring the Great American Songbook and entitled Our Love Is Here To Stay, Elijah and the Knitting Factory have turned it into a special event, with 100% of the benefit’s proceeds to go to the Alzheimer’s Association’s Greater Idaho Chapter. Special Events Manager Andrea Lucas says” This event will have the feel of an intimate private evening coupled with an exclusive public concert. We love the idea of giving back to the community with such entertainer as Elijah Rock, where we get to transform our venue into a swanky supper club. This is going to be super exciting!”
The event itself intends to recreate a swanky supper club atmosphere reminiscent of The Cotton Club with tapas, drinks, and dessert. Everyone is encouraged to “dress to the nines” and enjoy an elegant evening at this red carpet/black tie event. Our Love Is Here To Stay is being produced by Lesley Jacobson, longtime Boise resident, who has had a lengthy career as a passionate advocate of the senior living community. She has spent time serving as an Executive Director of Morning Star Senior Living. Starting this month, she will be transitioning into becoming the Executive Director of Cornerstone Memory Care. Although guests of all generations will be welcomed at the event, Lesley has sent a special invitation to all those in Boise’s senior community. She said, “I realized that the music Elijah performs is the perfect genre of music for the seniors who grew up listening to these timeless songs.”
The Great American Songbook in a musical genre that covers classic tunes from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. It combines Broadway tunes, Tin Pan Alley Songs and Hollywood musicals and films. Many writers such as Johnny Mercer, Jerome Kern, Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin and Richard Rodgers have contributed tunes that have entered the Great American Songbook canon. The genre features some of the top performers of the era, including Frank Sinatra, Connie Francis, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Later on, several popular rock, jazz and country singers such as Rod Stewart, Linda Ronstadt, Harry Nilsson, Natalie Cole, Willie Nelson Diana Krall and Ringo Starr created albums of Great American Songbook tunes. Giving its name to the event, Our Love is Here to Stay, is one of the diamonds of the genre, written originally by the George and Ira Gershwin in 1937 for the movie The Goldwyn Follies and performed by performers such as Bobby Short, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Harry Connick Jr., Nat King Cole, Gene Kelly and Kenny Baker.
Elijah Rock sat down with The Boise Beat to discuss the upcoming event, explain why he has chosen the Alzheimer’s Association as the beneficiary of this spectacular musical evening; and talk about his musical background and why the Great American Songbook’s music and performers have stood the test of time. A dancer, singer and actor, Elijah Rock has been praised by people such as Tony Bennett , (singing here with Lady Gaga) who told him, “Keep on singing and keep this beautiful music alive!”
Q. Elijah, how did you get into music?
A: I started my musical journey singing in the Lee Heights Community Church children’s choir. People often ask me how old I was when I first discovered I could sing and interestingly enough, an age doesn’t come to mind. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t singing, however, I believe I was nine or ten years old when I noticed I had a natural singing voice.
Lee Heights Community Church is an urban Mennonite church. Therefore, inherent with protestant denominations, I was blessed to learn the beautiful hymns and choral music. Being a racially mixed congregation, in the inner-city of Cleveland, I was also introduced to the rhythms and sounds of gospel music. When I sang my first solo at Lee Heights, I remember feeling accepted and loved. The late Mr. Hughes, our music director, was a trained classical singer, who also noticed that I had a gift for classical singing. I believe I inherited my vocal timbre from my Mother, whom I swear could have been the next Leontyne Price if given the proper training and opportunity.
I attended an all boys Jewish school, University School, from elementary through high school. It was around the fifth grade when my teachers noticed the same thing about me that Mr. Hughes (from church) did, which was my ability to sing and how I enjoyed performing in front of an audience. Collectively, they soon suggested that I audition for The Cleveland Opera Children’s Chorus and The Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus as a boy Soprano. So I did and I got in! At the age of eleven and twelve, my life was transformed by this experience. I learned basic vocal technique, rehearsal discipline, how to sing in a choral ensemble and blend with the other voices, how to read music and how to perform in front of large audiences. At age thirteen and going through puberty, I auditioned for The Cleveland Opera Children’s Chorus in the production of Hansel and Gretel and my voice cracked. I was no longer a boy Soprano and was let go from the chorus. I was devastated but my Mother encouraged me to continue following my passion. So I auditioned for The Singing Angels, an infamous Cleveland show choir, and was accepted. With the Angels, I sang in the Baritone section and I learned Broadway and Pop Choral music. We traveled all over Cleveland for performances and I experienced my first professional tour overseas in Poland and Spain.
Q. Who were your early musical influences?
A: In Cleveland, Oh as a senior in high school and under the encouragement of Beverly Rinaldi, I was one of a few vocalists to be accepted into The Cleveland Institute of Music Young Artist Program. I was in the company of some of the most incredible teachers, musicians, singers and instrumentalists in the world. It is also where I discovered a range of Classical, Broadway and American Songbook repertoire. I discovered that Opera singers weren’t the only ones who were trained vocalists. The likes of Tony Bennett and early Broadway Stars were trained in Bel Canto as well. I began to understand that Bel Canto was a formidable and adaptable voice technique for all styles of music because the technique is rooted in breath, tonality and the cultivation of optimal vocal range and voice amplification. Style preference is the icing on top. When I heard the likes of Paul Robeson, William Warfield, Roland Hayes. and Cab Calloway. I thought, “Wow, the opportunities are endless!” I loved the Negro Spirituals which Paul sang yet I also loved how Sammy Davis, Jr could swing with the Big Bands and tap dance. Additional Influences are Crooners; Nat King Cole, Arthur Prysock, Ernie Andrews, Johnny Hartman, Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams and Freddy Cole.
Q. What do you see as the reasons for the longevity of the Great American Songbook?
A: Artists of diverse ethnicities performing these songs together on stage and television provided the healing portion for the times,” Rock states. “They were the progressive ones for at least grappling with wanting to see beyond racism because they shared the commonality of music. Collaborating first hand and face to face with artists outside of their own culture. They learned about the human being – not just the fellow entertainer – and how there should be equality among all people because we all essentially have the same wants and desires for a good life of prosperity, love and fulfillment. The essence of this music is the integration of jazz and eurocentric symphonic leanings with lyrics that possessed positive universal themes about love and striving to live their finest life. We’re still feeling the impressions of that music because of its uplifting and introspective intentions – intentions needed now more than ever in this country.” “The music I sing from, The Great American Songbook, is not intended to invoke a nostalgic backward glance to a bitterly divided time in American history. It is performance art in the universal language of music shared with an explicit intention to imagine a world where human beings see each other as equals in all walks of life – an open window into open-mindedness, and a singular, compassionate vision that is true to the American dream.” In the words of George Harris of Jazz Weekly, “It takes a certain kind of artist these days to carry on the torch passed on from the likes of Nat “King” Cole, Freddie Cole, Billy Eckstine and Joe Williams.
Q. You’re doing an upcoming benefit at the Knitting Factory, with all proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Association. Why did you pick Alzheimers as your charity of choice?
A: I am currently engaged to my fiancé Lesley Jacobson who is the Director of Cornerstone Memory Care in Boise, ID. I fell in love with her empathy and thirst to understand community members who suffer from dementia. Her support in helping me navigate my father’s diagnosis and transition into Assisted Living has given us a shared purpose and vision for ourselves and for our family. Lesley has worked in this field for 23 years. She has begun introducing me to the memory care community in Boise, ID. We have identified a void which would greatly benefit from the education the healing arts can provide as an ongoing service so we thought supporting the Alzheimer’s Association- Treasure Valley Chapter, would be a great place to start.
Q. What songs do you feel best represent the Great American Songbook?
A: All of the songs written between the 1920-1940’s represent The Great American Songbook also referred to as The Standards.
Q. You are based in Boise now. What is special about this area to you?
A: The landscape in Boise is beautiful and awe-inspiring. I have also fallen in love with the people of Boise who have been very kind, open and receptive to me and what I have to offer the community via my expertise in the creative arts and the causes which I have a passion to support and bring awareness to.
Q. Is there anything more to add to your story?
A: My newest project is a string of singles I’m currently releasing followed by an EP release of Standards with a western swing twist produced by legendary hall of fame producer and songwriter Steve Dorff. ON DECEMBER 3rd, 2022 I WILL BE HEADLINING THE SAPPHIRE ROOM IN BOISE, ID.
Q: Thanks, Elijah. We’ll see you at this very special event!
Our Love Is Here To Stay, featuring the silky voice of Elijah Rock, will be the Fall Season Event in Boise that you mustn’t miss. The price includes, dinner, drinks and the concert. Sponsorship packages are also available. Alzheimer’s is a very real problem, especially for seniors in our society these days; and the opportunity to help the Alzheimer’s Association’s Greater Idaho Chapter and our parents, brothers, sisters and friends makes a real difference in our community.
Event: OUR LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
When: Friday, September 23th
Time: 7pm-11pm
Where: Knitting Factory Boise
416 S 9th St, Boise, ID 83702
Knitting Factory website: www.bo.knittingfactory.com
Elijah Rock website: www.elijahrock.com
***Formal Attire Strongly Encouraged***
For sponsorship packages, please contact Lesley Jacobson at 208.821.4028.
Photos and video courtesy of Elijah Rock
