Billy Summer, a longtime Bay area musician and current frontman for rock and roll trio Luxury Mane, says his dad, Dr. Robert Summer, was always a musical hero of his, and a musician who always strived for excellence while maintaining a unmatchable work ethic. Dr. Summer was a director of choral studies at the University of South Florida, and in 1979 he founded The Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, which is now one of the most respected vocal groups in the U.S. Until a few weeks ago, you’d have to look through the archives of newspapers like the now-shuttered Tampa Tribune to read about the doctor. Not anymore.
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On January 18, as part of its own 30-year anniversary, The Straz Center unveiled Rock The Riverwalk, a multi-panel, outdoor, three-decade history featuring some of the most important figures of Tampa’s rich musical past. Curated by former Tribune pop music critic Curtis Ross — and pieced together with help from Maggie DiPietra, Zachary Hines and former Tribune classical music critic Kurt Loft — the exhibition hits a few of the heavies (producer Phil Gernhard, jazz singer Belinda Womack, Southern rockers The Outlaws, metal icons Savatage), but really shines in the way it highlights some of the less-recognized but equally important musicians whose work helped create the scene we have today.
Clarinet and accordion-driven pop outfit Pee Shy is featured, and so are other forward-thinking groups like Tampa punks Pink Lincolns, pioneering house music group Rabbit In The Moon and even teen rockers White Witch. The area’s immigrant culture gets a nod in the form of tributes to the vocalists the Arena Twins, percussionist Gumbi Ortiz and late world-music giant Ray Villadonga. Blues, gospel, jazz and hip-hop are also represented, thanks to slides on Cannonball and Nat Adderley, Mary McClain, Shock G and even saxophonist Eric Darius.
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Darius — a 35-year-old Blake High School alum who has gone on to play in bands with Prince, Santana, Babyface and George Benson — was in attendance at the exhibit’s opening night, and got to catch up with the aforementioned Dr. Summer, who once invited a then-undergraduate Darius to speak about jazz for one of his classes.
“He was brilliant even then,” Dr. Summer told CL. “I believe so strongly that the cultural life of our community is connected most to those who live and work here, more than the acts that pass through. I’m honored to have been considered helpful in the growth of choral singing in our area.”
Music fans should make a pass through the free exhibition a must-do before it closes near the end of spring. Those with Spotify accounts can scan special codes to hear the music.
“I knew it shouldn’t be a best-of, which would have been far too subjective,” Ross told CL, adding that he cheated a bit by writing about more than one performer or personality on one panel. “When I had to cut someone from the list I tried to make sure that their community or musical style still was represented."
Beyond that, Ross said, most of the choices had some impact beyond Tampa.
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"Even though some of them may not have been hugely successful, a lot of the artists represented toured nationally or internationally, made network TV appearances or released records on a major label," he said, citing late Tampa percussionist Joe Lala as an example. "He may not have been a household name but he played on hundreds of records, a lot of them big hits. People have heard him play even if they have no idea who he was."
"Tampa natives remember Lala and Blues Image and The Outlaws, but we have thousands of people moving here every year who likely aren't aware of the area's musical history," Ross added. "But any place that can claim the Adderleys, Digital Underground and Pee Shy deserves a salute."
Straz Center and Ross don’t know an exact end date, but the idea of an encore isn’t out of the question, either.
"Paul Bilyeu from the Straz contacted me in August or September last year to discuss the project. I said yes immediately and then thought 'What have I gotten myself into?!,'" Ross said when asked about doing it all over again. "As much of an ordeal as whittling down the list was, I’d definitely do it again.”
Rock the Riverwalk can be found on the Tampa Riverwalk outside of the Straz Center for Performing Arts located at 1010 N. Macinnes Place near the Cass Street Bridge. See the panels and listen to a playlist online by clicking here.
This article appears in Feb 1-8, 2018.