By David Gordon
Everyone’s heard of the Three Tenors: Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and the late, great Luciano Pavarotti. But few have heard of their African-American counterparts, the Three Mo’ Tenors.
Created and developed by Marion J. Caffey, Three Mo’ Tenors began in 2001 and has skyrocketed ever since. Featuring 10 styles of music (from gospel to opera to punk rock), the goal of this group is to showcase the glorious voices of African-American tenors.
The Three Mo’ Tenors are currently performing at West 42nd Street’s Little Shubert Theatre, a four-month leg of their world tour. Well, make that Six Mo’ Tenors, as there are two alternating groups. The performance in question comprised of Kenneth Alston, Jr., Ramone Diggs, and Phumzile Sojola, and was absolutely thrilling.
The gentlemen entered and performed Verdi’s classic aria, “La donna e mobile” from “Rigoletto,” followed by a few other opera selection. Then the guys jumped into the meat of the concert which consisted of an array other styles, the diversity of which manage to take the audience by surprise. Listeners didn’t expect such a soulful voice like Diggs’ to jump from “Les Miserablés'” “Bring Him Home” to Usher’s R&B favorite “Yeah.”
What’s particularly impressive is the fact that their voices have the ability to bounce back and forth into each style. Alston’s solo, “Rain,” from the musical “Once on This Island,” pleased the crowd so much they nearly received a standing ovation midway through the first act.
African-born Sojola led the crowd in a South African medley, beginning with “The Lion King’s” “Circle of Life” and ending with the spiritual “Dali Wam,” which encouraged audience participation.
The only problem was perhaps the musical diversity. With ten styles of music over the course of the two-hour program, most songs are relegated to medleys. Gospel and spirituals, two styles that the Tenors are known for, were only given the last ten minutes of the program. Receiving the biggest response from the crowd, it became clear that the gospel was the most enjoyable section, more so than the Broadway songs and the medley of the greatest hits of Queen. Perhaps those should have been eliminated to make way for more of the songs that made the audience cry.
Backed by a fantastic five-piece band, under the baton and direction of Keith Burton, and featuring Caffey’s lively direction and choreography, one really doesn’t want the show to end. The crowd loved the show so much that it prompted one person to scream out with glee, “Do it again!” to which one of the tenors replied, “Only if you come back again tonight.”
If one does plan to go back on a different night, chances are, it would be a totally different show, since there is another cast, this one featuring James Berger, Jr., Duane A. Moody and Victor Robertson. However, one might want to take this second show into consideration-it’s just that good.

Taking on a tradition of trios and music, Three Mo’ Tenors provide a fun show and lots of talent with their live performances. (threemotenorsontour.com)