A Little Motown Sound

“Motown was about music for all people – white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone. ” — Berry Gordy, Jr. Last weekend we had the opportunity to take in the ‘Magic of Motown’, a combination history lesson and music concert. Think The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, The Commodores, The Jackson Five. It’s hard to conjure up an image of a Motown tune without waxing nostalgic… humming a few bars, singing a few lyrics and snapping your fingers. The presentation was another freebie offered by the Clark County Library as part of their Summer Concert Series. J. Chang-Tablada, a singer, pianist, teacher, music director, and raconteur of mixed racial descent… he’s Filipino, Korean, and Irish, seemed an unlikely candidate for a Motown presentation. Boy, were we ever wrong.Described as a ‘cabaret artist’ in his promotional blurb, Chang-Tablada was absolutely captivating from the moment he walked…