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Country star Jo Dee Messina brought her sassy energy to the stage Friday night, when she gave an electrifying concert at the Pepsi-Cola Roadhouse in Burgettstown.

Much of the evening was spent pumping up the nearly sold-out crowd with her anthems celebrating girl power and self-respect, such as "My Give a Damn's Busted" and "Bye Bye." Messina alternated between the roles of singer and comedian, and entertained the audience as much with witty words as she did with music.

"Since I already have your money, I think it's safe to say I'm from New England," Messina said to the crowd full of Pittsburgh Steeler fans.

Messina also made a contest out of the "Bye Bye" song, with men and women alternating between loudly singing a key stanza. As expected, the women won.

The audience also got to see the softer side of Messina, who shifted gears into a beautiful ballad called "It Gets Better." She played the piano while singing the self-penned song, which is on her current album, "Delicious Surprise."

-- Kellie B. Gormly

'The Poetry of Jazz'

Composers Tom Roberts and Joe Negri and the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh teamed up over the weekend to premiere a dynamic look at some classic black poetry.

"The Poetry of Jazz," performed at Carlow University, Oakland, presented marvelous musical versions of works by Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Paul Laurence Dunbar and James Weldon Johnson.

The most striking element was the difference between the work of the two composers. Roberts' pieces were done in a blues-jazz form that brought to mind the music of the '20s and '30s. Negri's style was more sophisticated in approach, resembling work of Richard Rodgers or other show composers. Yet they both fit together well and created a strong night of music.

Soloists Maria Becoates-Bey and David Hughey were great in such pieces as "Rent Party Shout" and "Same in Blues." The choir, meanwhile, offered strong ensemble work and wonderful chordal background throughout the night.

-- Bob Karlovits

Jazz jam at Gullifty's

Wednesday's jam session at Gullifty's Restaurant showed the Squirrel Hill restaurant is making definite inroads at being a site for music as well as food.

An attentive and enthusiastic crowd still was filing in as the band led by trumpeter Dan Donohoe finished the first set after 10 p.m. And he, keyboardist Max Leake and drummer Jevon Rushton also were being joined by a good group of performers such as sax mainstay Don Aliquo and singers Shawnee Lake and Chizmo Charles.

They were performing fairly familiar material such as "Summertime" and "Red Clay," but playing songs people know is what makes jam sessions work. The performances were energetic , as Donohoe and Aliquo, for instance, tried to put together some background riffs to give the pieces the sound of being arranged.

The restaurant has jazz Monday and Wednesday and blues on Thursday. Owner Dave Papale says interest has been suggesting he could even do more.

What's this? Success at a club?

-- Bob Karlovits

River City Brass Band

Saxophonist-arranger Mike Tomaro is helping the River City Brass Band create one of its best concerts in years.

The "Stompin' at the Savoy" shows are the ensemble's annual tribute to big-band music, and Tomaro's work is lifting that homage to a high level.

His playing and arrangements on "Speak Low," "Harlem Nocturne" and a Duke Ellington medley raise the concerts to a brilliant jazz level. His improvisations are exciting and forceful, but never stray from the approach of the songs he's presenting.

The band offers outstanding work elsewhere, too. The cornet section really shines throughout this show, and hits its peak in "Trumpet Blues & Cantabile," the Harry James hit done by the five members of that group.

Flugelhorn ace David Gedris also does a great job on a mellow rendition of "Manha de Carnaval," the Luis Bonfa classic.

The big-band show always is a favorite of this ensemble and this one might be the best ever.

The concert will be repeated 8 p.m. today, Upper St. Clair Theater; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Heinz Hall, Downtown; 3 p.m. Sunday, Baldwin High School. Prices vary.

Details: 412-322-7222.

-- Bob Karlovits

Momentum 06

Michele Lowe's "Mezzulah, 1946" launched City Theatre's Momentum 06 on an up note last Thursday.

Lowe, whose "String of Pearls" had its world premiere at City Theatre in 2003, returned with "Mezzulah, 1946" that had a well supported first reading as part of City Theatre's annual weekend of plays in various stages of development.

Set in Seattle just after the end of World War II it's about a young woman with a love of aerodynamics who's asked to give up her job at an airplane factory so that a returning veteran can have a job.

Smart, often funny and yet moving, it's about ambitions, dreams and finding a comfortable identity for ourselves in a world that tries to make us fit its own expectations.

The talented cast of readers headed Elena Passarello as Mezzulah also included Larry John Meyers, Laurie Klatscher, Joel Ripka, Robin Abramson, Maria Becoates Bey, Daniel Krell, Christina Cataldo, Joshua Reese and Michael Solomon.

-- Alice T. Carter

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