Polka king performs at Colonial Theatre

[/media-credit] Jimmy Sturr, the king of polka

PITTSFIELD – Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra came to town last weekend and turned The Colonial Theatre into one big clapping, rocking and spirited polka party.

The reigning “king of polka,” with 106 polka albums under his belt, has been wowing audiences for decades.

Last Sunday afternoon’s show, presented by the Berkshire Theatre Group, was no exception as loyal fans of the polka master and his entourage of talented musicians filled the Colonial Theatre with wild enthusiasm.

Mr. Sturr and his musicians are considered by many to be the best in polka music in the entire country.

Polka music’s living legend came out onto the stage dressed in black pants and shirt, with a bright red suit coat and shiny chain around his neck. His orchestra members wore black pants and snappy purple shirts.

He made everyone feel welcome, throwing in a little humor while addressing the audience.

The program even included some fast-paced polka dancers, who whirled and swirled onstage with amazing speed and coordination. They were Joanne Scarfone of Pittsfield and Michael Riel of Chicopee.

The dancers won the spirited approval of the audience, who gave them hardy and enthusiastic applause.

Mr. Sturr actually comes from an Irish background. He was born in Florida, N.Y., in 1941. He plays clarinet, saxophone and trumpet.

Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra’s recordings have won 18 out of 24 Grammy Awards given for the Best Polka Album.

A few of the albums the group has recorded are I Love to Polka, Polka Your Troubles Away, Shake, Rattle and Polka and Sturr It Up.

Every musician in the orchestra who stepped up to the mic to play was as talented as the one before him.

Frankie Urbanovitch played a masterful fiddle, tapping the stage with his boots and gestering with his bow up to the top of the Colonial.  His raucous enthusiasm spread throughout the audience.

An immensely talented fiddler, he also sang and frequently gestured to the audience to provide clapping accompaniment.

When Mr. Sturr introduced the drummer, Mike Killmer, he told the audience he works as an associate warden at a prison in Danbury, Conn.

Accordions are extremely important to polka music, and Steve Swiadeo’s brilliant command of the instrument was evident last weekend. The more he played, the more the audience enthusiastically clapped their approval.

His rendition of Myron Floren’s (of The Lawrence Welk Show fame)  “Accordion on Fire” lived up to its title.

The crowd got a kick out of the group’s version of “Who Stole the Kishka?”  sung by Kevin Krauth. Kishka, by the way, is blood sausage in the Polish cuisine.

True to form in mixing traditional polka music with other types of music, Mr. Sturr introduced Chris Caffery, a guitarist from the wildly popular American progressive rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

The numbers the long blond-haired musician shared with the orchestra received more thunderous applause.

The second half of the performance included a patriotic section that had the audience’s total devoted attention. The musicians played tunes honoring the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy.

Jimmy Sturr then asked veterans from different wars, such as Desert Storm, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War and World War II to stand up in the audience.

“Welcome home,” his voice boomed from onstage.

Then he honored servicemen and women who served in peace time and added the firefighters and police from 9/11.

“Say a little prayer tonight for those fighting right now,” he told the audience.

Addressing the veterans, and speaking in an emotion-filled voice, Mr. Sturr said, “God bless you. Because of you, we can say ‘God bless the USA’ and ‘I’m proud to be an American.’”

Mrs. Scarfone and Mr. Riel, the polka dancers, carried a huge American flag out onto the stage. It was a proud and poignant moment.

“I’m proud to be an American,” Mr. Sturr said over the microphone. “The United States is the greatest country in the whole world.”

Then orchestra members sang “I’m Proud to Be an American,” and there were a few tears shed among audience members.

Ever the entertainer, Mr. Sturr met with audience members in the lobby of the Colonial, following the show, to sign CDs and a book.

Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra will perform on May 19 at the Pierogy Festival in Three Rivers.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on April 18, 2013. Filed under Arts and Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry