2008 Woodie Awards
Nichol Trio gives escape from television
By: Rachel Esterline
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
John Nichol believes people need to value music more.
In fact, he said, music can make the country rich and strong.
In order to live out that philosophy himself, Nichol performs and teaches music.
"We need to get away from the TV set," Nichol said. "Television is a thief of time."
But for Nichol, music has become a family affair.
The Nichol Trio - comprised of CMU saxophone instructor John Nichol and his two sons, Jonathan Nichol and Jason Nichol - performed at Moore Hall's Townsend Kiva as part of the Michigan Story Festival on Saturday afternoon. Based in Mount Pleasant, the family has been together as a group since 2001.
Jonathan Nichol is a CMU alumnus and teaches saxophone at Alma College. Jason Nichol is a freshman at CMU. Both Jason Nichol and Jonathan Nichol said they have been working professionally since they were each about 15 years old.
The trio got the audience involved during their performance of "Mustang Sally," when Jason Nichol prompted the crowd to join in and sing "ride, Sally, ride."
"It was fantastic," said Kendra Kestner, a Jackson graduate student. "I think it's great that they're a family and they perform together."
Saturday was first time they performed at the Michigan Story Festival, but The Nichol Trio performs at several Central Michigan University events.
The trio plays with each other about three times a week.
"What we do for fun is play music," Jason Nichol said.
Their performance tells stories using vocal and instrumental favorites from both classical and jazz music.
"It's good to play American songs because every American song tells a story," Jonathan Nichol said.
To end the night, the trio played their theme song, "Take the 'A' Train." Jonathan Nichol said he has played the song at every gig since he was 15 years old.
John Nichol said the audience enjoys his family's performance because of their youthfulness and energy.
Emily Grabinski, a Muskegon freshman, said she attended the concert because she knew John Nichol as a professor.
"I thought it was really cool," she said.
news@cm-life.com
In fact, he said, music can make the country rich and strong.
In order to live out that philosophy himself, Nichol performs and teaches music.
"We need to get away from the TV set," Nichol said. "Television is a thief of time."
But for Nichol, music has become a family affair.
The Nichol Trio - comprised of CMU saxophone instructor John Nichol and his two sons, Jonathan Nichol and Jason Nichol - performed at Moore Hall's Townsend Kiva as part of the Michigan Story Festival on Saturday afternoon. Based in Mount Pleasant, the family has been together as a group since 2001.
Jonathan Nichol is a CMU alumnus and teaches saxophone at Alma College. Jason Nichol is a freshman at CMU. Both Jason Nichol and Jonathan Nichol said they have been working professionally since they were each about 15 years old.
The trio got the audience involved during their performance of "Mustang Sally," when Jason Nichol prompted the crowd to join in and sing "ride, Sally, ride."
"It was fantastic," said Kendra Kestner, a Jackson graduate student. "I think it's great that they're a family and they perform together."
Saturday was first time they performed at the Michigan Story Festival, but The Nichol Trio performs at several Central Michigan University events.
The trio plays with each other about three times a week.
"What we do for fun is play music," Jason Nichol said.
Their performance tells stories using vocal and instrumental favorites from both classical and jazz music.
"It's good to play American songs because every American song tells a story," Jonathan Nichol said.
To end the night, the trio played their theme song, "Take the 'A' Train." Jonathan Nichol said he has played the song at every gig since he was 15 years old.
John Nichol said the audience enjoys his family's performance because of their youthfulness and energy.
Emily Grabinski, a Muskegon freshman, said she attended the concert because she knew John Nichol as a professor.
"I thought it was really cool," she said.
news@cm-life.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Bill and Rose Kelley
posted 10/22/07 @ 9:11 AM EST
We are so lucky that the Nichol Family are generous enough to so freely share their talents with the community. It's been wonderful to watch Jonathon develop into a marvoulous musician, and to see Jason come into his own on bass and vocals. (Continued…)
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