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Valley native's jazz-pop band dazzles Las Vegas
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
When the Big Band jazz stars of the 1930s and ’40s were in full swing, they were playing pop music.
There was no rock ’n’ roll back then, no hip-hop, no R&B. The big bands were the commercial music of the day.
Today, Big Band jazz is largely considered a specialty genre rooted in nostalgia.
Except David Perrico isn’t going along with it.
The Youngstown native and trumpet ace is a sought-after band leader in Las Vegas show rooms. Perrico and his 18-piece ensemble, Pop Evolution, which features vocalist Naomi Mauro, has been garnering rave reviews and a growing following among Vegas insiders with its in-your-face jazz-pop sound.
After a six-week run at the South Point Casino, Perrico last week took his act to the Palms for a stint of Saturday-night dates.
“I call it a modern-day band,” said Perrico, calling from Vegas. “We’re not doing swing or jazz; it’s just a pop band. We take Lady Antebellum, Britney Spears, Gnarls Barkley and give it a different treatment and funky arrangement.”
Perrico’s arrangements — brisk, bright, brilliant, brassy and accessible — are currently defining the Vegas sound. He and Mauro also collaborate on original music for the show, which has been luring in others performers.
“Entertainers in other shows are coming out because they know the band members,” said Perrico. “We’ve got the top players in the city. It’s a networking hang. It’s all new music and it’s fresh and it’s getting a lot of buzz. We also like to feature guest artists, too — whoever’s in town.”
Perrico, who grew up on Youngstown’s West Side, is a graduate of Chaney High School and Youngstown State University’s Dana School of Music.
He began his musical studies at age 11 with the late Esotto Pellegrini, who was principle trumpet with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra and a professor at Dana. Perrico recently got an endorsement to develop a line of trumpet mouthpieces and is naming one for Pellegrini.
After graduating from YSU, Perrico toured with the Tommy Dorsey Band for six years as a featured soloist. After a couple more years working on cruise ships, he moved to Las Vegas.
There, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 2006, and is still connected with the school as an adjunct professor.
Perrico has served as performer/contractor for Ben Vereen and Gladys Knight, and is the arranger/conductor for Vegas headliners Zowie Bowie Vintage Vegas Tribute and The Scintas variety show. He also performed with Cirque du Soleil and the Donny & Marie Osmond show at the MGM and Flamingo.
Perrico, who also leads a jazz quintet, has released nine recordings.
“If you want to be a freelance musician, you either need a steady gig or you do a little bit of everything, which I do — conducting, teaching, arranging, performing and writing shows for other acts,” he said.
While Perrico is a respected part of the Vegas scene, he stays connected to his hometown. On his annual visits, he usually takes time to hike in Mill Creek Park and stop by Cornersburg Italian Specialties, the Canfield Road deli where he worked as a kid. “All the things you take for granted,” as he put it.
He also had high praise for the education he received at YSU and stays in touch with his old professors. “I can’t stress enough how awesome a school it is,” he said.