The Modernistics

Acclaimed for their tap dancing prowess and their mastery of great American songs spanning many sounds and styles, Ted and Pamela Powers have performed extensively in the United States and abroad.  Ted Powers’ career in jazz, blues, and pop includes several years as a solo performer in the south of France and tap-dancing in the U.S. with the legendary Jimmy “Sir Slyde” Mitchell.  He appears widely as a solo artist, with jazz notables such as Billy Novick and Peter Tillotson, and with the band Swing Café.

Pamela Powers has performed and taught in the United States, Germany and England.  She studied with Harold Nicholas of the iconic Nicholas Brothers and with renowned Broadway choreographer Charles Hughes.  She is known for her  inventive choreography, virtuoso tap dance, captivating voice and charisma on stage.

Flutist Peter H. Bloom, praised for “exquisite melody” (JazzImprov) and “hip, jazzy flute work” (Allaboutjazz.com), has concertized in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand and is featured on 48 CDs. He has shared the stage with Sheila Jordan, Jimmy Giuffre, Ricky Ford, Geri Allen, Charles Neville, Jaki Byard and other jazz legends, and is a veteran of the internationally renowned Aardvark Jazz Orchestra (49th season).  His latest CD, Exuberant Ellingtonia, has been called “a treasure trove” (Textura Magazine, Ontario) and “one of those albums we know are unique jewels” (Jazz, ese ruido, Spain).   “Bloom’s flute sings Duke’s often sophisticated melodies with infectious brio.”  (The New York City Jazz Record, April 2022).
    
Mark Leighton is acclaimed as a jazz and classical guitarist. He performs across the Northeast, at venues including Islesboro Maine Summer Concerts, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, King's Chapel Boston, Corning Community College, Boston Public Library, and the Hudson River Museum of Art.  He was Director of First Night Quincy for 20 years and serves on the faculties of Colby College and St. George’s School. He has appeared with the great jazz  woodwind artist Billy Novick and with blues notable Larry Carsman, among others.  A graduate of New England Conservatory, he studied with noted guitarists Sharon Isbin, David Leisner and Robert Sullivan.
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Bassist Dave Zox has performed with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Artie Shaw Band, Herb Reed and the Platters, John Abercrombie, Kenny Werner, Phil Woods, Garrison Fewell, Jim McNeely, and other illustrious artists.  Dave played for years with keyboard legends Ray Santisi and Harvey Diamond, and with the venerable Al Vega Trio.  He teaches at Northeastern University, Phillips Academy Andover, and the Ipswich Public Schools.

The Modernistics have performed for the Ocean Park Music Festival, Middletown Concert Association, Medallion Opera House, Tillotson Center, Concord City Auditorium, the Robert H. Wood Great Artists Series (NY), the Misericordia University Performing Arts Series (PA), West Claremont Center for the Arts, The Colby College Concert Series, The Garmany Music Series, The Firehouse Center for the Arts, and other venues.

The Modernistics are Ted Powers, guitar, ukulele, banjo, tap and vocals; Pamela Powers, tap and vocals; Peter H. Bloom, flute; Mark Leighton, guitar; and Dave Zox, double-bass.  The five artists have performed and taught extensively in the United States and abroad.  The group performs upbeat shows of Music and Dance from the Great American Songbook, with crowd-pleasing favorites by Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields, and other master tunesmiths. 

The Modernistics are celebrating the 2020s with a new show, The Twenties Roar Again!, featuring hit tunes like He Loves and She Loves, Fascinating Rhythm, Blue Skies, Stardust, Love Me or Leave Me, I Want to Be Happy, Let's Misbehave, and more.