DATE: Monday, November 10, 1997             TAG: 9711100074

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music review 

SOURCE: BY NIA NGINA MEEKS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   46 lines

JAZZ SONGBIRD NANCY WILSON BLOWS 'EM AWAY AT NSU GALA

The orchestra swung. The lady sang. The crowd cheered.

It was ``An Evening of Elegance with Nancy Wilson and the Virginia Symphony,'' at Norfolk State University's L. Douglas Wilder Performing Arts Center. Proceeds benefited The College Fund/UNCF.

The legendary singer, author of 60 albums, delivered songs from past to present. She smiled, charmed and delighted the 1,200 who gathered.

Saturday's fund-raiser helped close out NSU's Homecoming weekend, taking minds off the Spartans' earlier loss to Liberty University.

The Virginia Symphony got things going with selections by African-American composers. Symphony Assistant Conductor Wes Kennedy had his crew lead with the brass-heavy ``American Fanfare'' by NSU's own composer-in-residence, Adolphus Hailstork. The opening ended with a spicy Duke Ellington medley, featuring songs such as ``Caravan'' and ``In a Sentimental Mood.''

The show took a pause for the cause as The College Fund collected $60,000 from school-loan company Sallie Mae, an event sponsor. After shout-outs to University President Marie V. McDemmond and historically black colleges and universities, Kennedy prepped his players.

Then in walked Nancy Wilson. Stage left. Ginger-skinned and radiant.

She grabbed the mike and zipped into the uptempo ``Strike Up the Band.'' Her lips slipped to one side of her face as her voice cradled notes that touched the soul. Her phrasing stole the audience's breath on tunes such as ``Embraceable You,'' ``Our Love is Here to Stay'' and ``I Can't Make You Love Me.'' The 12-song set met with rapt applause at each opening line.

Wilson winked at the symphony and swayed to its rhythms. She chatted with the audience as if she were playing a cabaret.

Her trademark rendition of ``Guess Who I Saw Today,'' about a woman catching her cheating man, got much love from the women in the audience.

``Gentlemen, I want to thank you so much for all the years you've kept that song valid,'' Wilson said. The audience fell out.

``I couldn't resist,'' she added, giggling with her crowd.

The symphony did its due, moving from big band to strings-only accompaniment, playing with the fire of a jazz combo. No stereotypical stiffness. Feet patted non-stop.

``Ever since I was a little girl, this is how I saw myself,'' Wilson said, beaming. ``With an orchestra as magnificent as the Virginia Symphony.'' KEYWORDS: CONCERT REVIEW

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