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By Daniel Curtin
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Visitors to the Center at the Heights in Needham were singing, tapping their feet, and dancing up a storm as they listened to the Sarah Gardner Trio perform classics and original music alike. Dozens filled into a room at the Center to hear favorites like “Pennies from Heaven” and “Cheek to Cheek.”
Sarah Gardner provided the vocals while her father, Herb Gardner, played keyboard. Joe Donnelly, formerly of Boston rockers The Del Fuegos, rounded off the group on the drums.
Herb Gardner on the keyboard. Gardner also plays the trombone. Photos by Daniel Curtin
Alan Glou, one of the individuals in attendance, enjoyed the musical performance and thought it was very nostalgic.
“The piano player was fantastic, just like in the old days,” Glou said. “The young lady really has a marvelous voice, and the drummer really knows his stuff.”
In addition to playing classic hits, the group also played several original songs written by Herb Gardner. Gardner’s song, “Summer People,” was about the different peculiar ways tourists act. His song, “Gunshots and Sirens,” comedically looked at how some people have a hard time falling asleep in the countryside, as they miss the sounds of the city.
“It’s great fun to make music with your kids,” said Gardner, who plays music with his other daughter, as well.
“We have a singing group here every Tuesday at one o’clock, and [Sarah] would be a welcome addition,” joked an impressed Tom Gallant, who had come to the performance.
Several members of the audience were so impressed with the performance that they urged the Center staff to book the Sarah Gardner Trio for a repeat performance. Among them was David Siresdale, who attended the event with a few of his buddies.
“The originality of the composition was superlative and the father-daughter thing is very nostalgic,” Siresdale said. “We would love to have them back half a dozen times a year.”
