GOOD TIMES
Stone Rooster’s sounds
Cameron Shave
Michael J. DeCicco
Gilda Pieregalla Downey hasn’t let turning 95 years old slow her down.
In fact, the owner and manager of Gilda’s Stone Rooster in Marion for the past 40 years has stepped up what her popular jazz venue has to offer and infused more youthful performers into the mix. For the past 11 years, the 17-piece Southcoast Jazz Orchestra has performed at the Rooster twice a month on Monday nights, and that group’s smaller but no less dynamically-sounding offshoot, The
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S ou th C oast P r ime T imes
Southcoast Brass Band, plays there once a month on Thursday nights. But it’s on the weekends that Gilda Downey doubles down on thinking young. Three Saturday evenings a month, a trio or quartet of young Jazz musicians perform at the Rooster. Every fourth Saturday, 17-year-old trumpeter Cameron Shave and his 17-piece Big Band orchestra comprised of fellow high-school-age musicians takes the Rooster stage. The Stone Rooster’s current goal, Downey explained, is “promoting the younger generation, the young kids. There’s some great young talent around.” She said she first met Shave two years ago when he was around 15. She invited his teenage bandmate, tenor saxophonist Anthony Defeo-Gelmam, to the club to perform, and he brought Shave along with him.
M arch /A pr il 2020
Downey told Shave to put a band together and then he could perform there. The Bridgewater resident chose to recruit his bandmates from a pool of talented young musicians at surrounding area high schools. “Now at 17 he’s getting to be great,” Downey said. “I’m there watching him, and he’s amazing. I don’t want them to bring a singer, because it takes attention away from the musicians. You’ve got to see them and see how good they are. You’ll think it’s a 40-year-old professional playing.” She said part of her goal in booking talent for the Rooster right now is encouraging these young performers and those who aspire to perform. “I tell parents to bring your kids to see these young people play and see that they can do it too,” she said. She has a similar goal when it comes to encouraging those who are already stage ready. “They need a place to play, and I give them whatever they want,” she said. It’s a generation that doesn’t care about the money, she added. They take the door, which means they take whatever proceeds arise from the cover charge. And they are happy with that. “They just want that chance to perform,” Downey said.
Gilda Pieregalla Downey photo by R ay Drueke
