Jermaine Woodard Jr. Wows a Standing-Room-Only Crowd at the Wood

By David Raymond

On Friday night, September 25, Jermaine Woodard Jr. wowed a standing-room-only crowd at the Wood with an inventive and charming program, accompanied by a nimble trio featuring Susan Carroll on piano, Maurice “Mo” Thomas on bass, and John Giacchii on drums.

Woodard delivered a creative program organized to chronicle each phase of his life in song. The result was a virtuoso tour of wildly diverse musical styles spanning decades and continents, delighting the audience with surprises at every turn. Woodard and his ensemble moved effortlessly from R&B to classical, opera to rock. One moment, the crowd was singing along to Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly,” and the next, he stepped back from the microphone to fill the space with his operatic voice in a moving rendition of Respighi’s “Nebbie.”

Other highlights included spiritual classics like “How Great Thou Art” by Stuart K. Hine; R&B with Lou Rawls’s “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine”; American Songbook standards such as Cole Porter’s “Night and Day”; and the classic rock staple “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. The crowd was kept on its toes, both figuratively and literally, as they rose to a standing ovation after Woodard closed with Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

We are grateful to Jermaine Woodard Jr. for providing such an amazing evening to kick off our fall music series, and we look forward to when he can return to fill the Wood again with his inimitable virtuosity and soul.