One Alternative, an extraordinary group of great musical skill, will be performing tonight at 7:30pm at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center in West Chester. The whole family is encouraged to come and be a part of this amazing evening of the vibrant mix of jazz, rock, classical and folk sounds unique to One Alternative.
The quintet of violin, oboe, guitar, bass and drums covers a lot of musical territory, from unique original compositions to covers of Yes and Frank Zappa. This opportunity is one you don’t want to miss. The joyful and dynamic performance of One Alternative will have the crowd at Uptown! remember their performance for a long time.
This group has enjoyed longevity thanks to their ongoing commitment to making the best instrumental music possible without being deterred by changing trends. The sound of One Alternative can best be described as an acoustic fusion, mixing the compositional form of classical music with the spontaneity of jazz, rock and folk. The resulting mix is a vivid and joyful listening experience.
One Alternative has shared the stage with a diverse group of artists, including Oregon, Renaissance, Spyro Gyra, Bill Bruford, Billy Cobham, Larry Coryell and the Dixie Dregs. Eight albums have been released, the most recent of which was “Twilight” in 2017.
Over the years, One Alternative has seen personnel and instrument changes. Bass guitar and drums were added in the early 2000s. In 2018, the idea came that the violin would work well as a replacement for the second guitar.
The addition of violinist Dana Allaband to the lineup has helped transform the essence of One Alternative into something completely new and refreshing. The group’s music has been reworked for the quintet, and the result is an even more realized sound that music lovers will enjoy.
One Alternative consists of many unique artists: Jill Haley on oboe and English horn, Allaband on violin, Mark Oppenlander on guitar, Chico Huff on bass and Tony DeAngelis on drums.
At the start, One Alternative was a trio of oboe and two guitars. Haley and Oppenlander were founding members along with guitarist Frank McDermott. In addition to writing original compositions, the trio played various folk, jazz, rock and classical venues in the Philadelphia area.
As they began to establish themselves in the music community, they decided to record an album. The self-released “Greenlawn” received a large amount of airplay on college/FM radio around the country in 1985. Jon Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote that Greenlawn was the “best independent recording project to come out of these parts in many moons”.
Ticket prices start at $35. For more information, go to uptownwestchester.org/.
