Blood, Sweat & Tears At The Suffolk

No one can argue that Blood, Sweat & Tears invented a new style of music. While BS&T is not the first band to ever use a horn section, they were the first to fuse it with rock, jazz, and some blues thrown in for good measure. On Saturday, August 27, at 8 p.m., Suffolk Theater presents Blood, Sweat & Tears live in concert.

From the first ensemble in the late 1960s practicing in a loft on Bleeker Street in New York’s Greenwich Village and having crowds clapping on the street below between songs, founding member and drummer Bobby Colomby knew they were on the right course. Since then, the band has never stopped touring for over 50 years.

The band’s second album self-named “Blood, Sweat & Tears” set them on the right track, rising to the top of the charts for seven weeks, yielding three top five singles, and winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1970, beating out the Beatles’ “Abby Road.” The album went on to earn quadruple platinum status with sales well over four million units.

Blood, Sweat & Tears went on to receive 10 Grammy nominations with three wins. Other prestigious awards and recognitions include: The Playboy Jazz & Pop Award, the Blood, Sweat & Tears 1969 album induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2008 they were recognized as an Honorary Ambassador of Peace Republic of Korea.

Blood, Sweat & Tears has had many configurations over its 50 plus years of touring, but one thing is for sure — the music is timeless and fans are never disappointed. Over the years, the majority of musicians that have passed through BS&T have gone on to fame as players, producers, arrangers, and solo performers more than any other band on the planet. Founding member Bobby Colomby found their latest vocalist Keith Paluso — audiences may recognize him from the 2018 season of “The Voice” — who critics say is the best singer since David Clayton-Thomas. To this day Colomby still hand picks the musicians for every tour using the same theory that, “Great musicians make great music.”

Although BS&T still headlines jazz festivals all over the world, they only perform about 60 shows a year so it’s a rare treat to see them live. Tickets for the Suffolk Theater show are $69 to $79 at suffolktheater.com. Suffolk Theater is at 118 East Main Street in Riverhead.