Lyle Lovett & His Large Band to Perform at UB Nov. 12

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Lyle Lovett & His Large Band on Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

No one writes songs like Lyle Lovett. Finely wrought and full of wit, wisdom and Texas-sized storytelling, the veteran singer/songwriter's catalog is rife with characters and concepts that loom large on the American landscape. When Lovett brings his Large Band to the center for the first time, fans can expect to hear selections from "It's Not Big It's Large," Lovett's most recent album, in addition to concert favorites.

In concert, Lyle Lovett and his Large Band are able to present a musical breadth that very few artists can deliver. Their performances have been called "richly textured" and "wonderfully vibrant" by the Washington Post and "big time entertainment in all respects" by the Arizona Republic.

The Large Band is a formidable musical collective. It's a swinging Texas big band one minute; a sweaty-turn-on-a-dime R&B unit the next; an uptown jazz orchestra the one after that; and then a righteous, Sunday-go-to-meetin' gospel outfit. Subtract a few players for a minute and the Large Band becomes a small one, perfectly suited for subtly enhancing the most intimate and understated songs from Lovett's deep catalog. In short, they're ready for anything.

Lyle Lovett is one of the all-time great American singer/songwriters. His voice is unique, but his antecedents are recognizable. In his work two roads come together -- the trail blazed by the great Texas storytellers, and the crooked highway navigated by artists such as Randy Newman and Tom Waits. Lovett's first gift was to combine these two potent strands of musical DNA to generate songs as brilliant and double-sided as "If I Had A Boat," "God Will," "If I Were the Man You Wanted," "Family Reserve" and "Her First Mistake." Lovett was also capable of both flat-out humor ("That's Right [You're Not from Texas"], "Here I am," "Church") and heartbreakers that were poignant without ever descending into sentimentality ("She's Already Made Up Her Mind," "Nobody Knows Me," "The Road To Ensenada").

Lovett also has a gift for big band arrangements that has no precedent among contemporary singer/songwriters, made all the more potent because of its somewhat surprising use. He also displays a literary talent that has made him part of the tradition of American ironists. This is probably the aspect of Lovett that interested director Robert Altman, who cast him in four films ("The Player," "Short Cuts," "Pret-a-Porter," "Cookie's Fortune") and had him score a fifth ("Dr. T and the Women").

Tickets for Lyle Lovett & His Large Band are $53.50, $46.50, $38.50. Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 716-645-6771. For more information call 716-645-2787.