Legendary saxophonist Charles Neville, with Peter J. Newland and RadioXile, will perform R&B, funk, jazz, blues and bebop at VFW Hall Florence, MA, Sunday Oct 27,  at 7:30 pm.  Joining the band as special guest will be jazz, blues and bebop flutist Peter H. Bloom, a veteran of the famed Aardvark Jazz Orchestra.  The Valley’s own Lonesome Brothers (Jim Armenti and Ray Mason) will open the show.  Playing with RadioXile and backing up Charles Neville will be Mark Pappas on guitar, Chet Pasek on drums, Guy DeVito on bass and Ralph Whittle on keyboard. 

Tickets: $12.  Proceeds to benefit Stand Up To Cancer, working to accelerate innovative cancer research. Information: 413-625-6710.  (Press contact:  Rebecca DeLamotte, Americas Musicworks, 617-776-8778.) 

Saxophonist Charles Neville is the second oldest of the Neville Brothers, the Grammy-winning New Orleans blues and funk band whose global career has spanned 35 years. Charles’s background encompasses R&B, funk, jazz, bebop, popular music and American Indian music.  In his home town of New Orleans, he was a member of the house band in the Dew Drop Inn and played behind Allen Toussaint, James Booker, Ernie K-Doe and Huey “Piano” Smith.  On the road, he backed giants like B.B. King, James Brown, Ray Charles, Johnny Ace, Little Walter, and Big Maybelle. On his own, Charles has played with Ramsey McLean & the Survivors (Charles’ daughter Charmaine on vocals) and with the American Indian group Songcatchers.  He leads his own group, Diversity,a mix of jazz and classical musicians. 

Peter J. Newland, founder and leader of RadioXile, is a guitarist, keyboardist, harmonica player and vocalist who has toured nationally, worked with country music greats in Nashville, and founded and performed with the premier rock band FAT, who opened for the Allman Brothers, shared the stage with rock luminaries like Grand Funk Railroad and Little Richard, and were signed to Atlantic Records by Ahmet Ertegun.  In Nashville, Peter worked for Paul Overstreet and Fitzgerald-Hartley. He had songs cut by Hank Williams Junior, Tracey Lawrence and others.  

Flutist Peter H. Bloom, special guest in the October 27 show, is a jazz and classical flutist who tours the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia and appears on 35 CDs, including 11 discs with the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. In almost 40 years with the band, he has played at Lake George Jazz Weekend, Boston Globe Jazz and Blues Festival, Berklee Performance Center, Scullers Jazz Club, The National Gallery in DC, Saint Peter’s Church (NYC), and elsewhere, and has performed with jazz greats Sheila Jordan, Walter Thompson, Raj Mehta, Geri Allen, and Jaki Byard.   

The Lonesome Brothers (Jim Armenti, guitar, mandolin, harmonica, vocals; Ray Mason, bass and vocals) have appeared at Newport Folk Festival, Green River Festival, Northampton Brew Fest, Celebrate Holyoke, Springfield CityFest, Taste of Amherst, others. The band has been heard on A Prairie Home Companion, WGBH's Caught in the Act and GCTV's Homegrown, and have shared the stage with Jerry Jeff Walker, Marshall Tucker Band, and others. 

RadioXile Band Members are well known to Valley audiences: Guitarist Mark Pappas played with the legendary Jack Veronesi and Friends, Top Hat Band, the rock band FAT and Peter Newland’s Duo.  Bassist Guy DeVito was a founding member of FAT, and musical director at The Agouti Nightclub on Montserrat.  Drummer Chet Pasek has toured the U.S. and Canada with diverse bands and Broadways shows. Keyboardist Ralph Whittle has performed with jazz mainstays Peter Erskine, Rufus Reed, Marvin Stamm, others.