Afternoon Jam Session Also Planned—

Free Concerts By Tony DeBlois This Weekend

DANBURY — Tony DeBlois is considered by many people to be one of the world’s most inspirational musicians.  Blind and autistic from birth, now at age 32 he is one of a handful of known musical savants who can create. 

Mr DeBlois does so by improvising in jazz and he composes his own music. Mr DeBlois loves to play all forms of music on 22 instruments and has mastered 8,000 songs.

“Tony and I first met when he was 14 in Pittsfield, Mass., where he was performing and I was speaking in

behalf of Covenant House,” said Barry Finch, who has arranged for a pair of local performances by Mr DeBlois this weekend. “Arriving early I had the overwhelming pleasure of listening to Tony practice. I was so inspired by Tony’s musical artistry that I cut my talk from 30 to 5 minutes so the audience could experience listening to Tony all the more.

“Over the years Tony has taught me many things, the greatest of which is how to access my own gifts by

simply closing my eyes,” continued Mr Finch “Early in our friendship, I recall one of my many visits to Tony’s home. We were all preparing to go out to dinner, something Tony likes to do almost as much as playing music.

A little anxious to get to the restaurant, he said, ‘Let’s go Barry.’  I responded, ‘Just a minute Tony, I’m having a little trouble buttoning my shirt collar.’

“Tony replied, ‘close your eyes Barry’ and as I did, my fingers, no longer distracted by visual sensory input, did the job easily and instantly. Recently while reading his mother/manager’s book about Tony’s career, called Some Kind of Genius [co-written with Antonia Felix], a passage reminded me of that lesson I learned from Tony.”

Mr DeBlois was bown weighing less than two pounds. He was blind, and had other physical and developmental challenges. He was diagnosed as autistic before reaching the age of 5 but his mother, Janice, had purchased a toy piano at a garage sale and put it in her sons’ room (Tony DeBlois has a brother, Ray, who has Asperger’s syndrome).

She was determined, she wrote in Some Kind of Genius: The Extraordinary Journey of Musical Savant Tony DeBlois, to help her son explore his own innate abilities.

For six weeks Mr DeBlois put every combination of notes together on that toy piano. Then one day his mother heard the distinct opening strains of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and that was it: Mrs DeBlois has since then fought, in courts and classrooms, for her boys and other disabled students. She has nurtured and encouraged them to develop their unique talents.

Tony DeBlois has since graduated, with honors, from Berklee College of Music, and now reportedly knows more than 8,000 songs. He can play at least 20 instruments, and will have some of them with him on Saturday, October 7, when he performs and jams at Danbury High School.

The singer, songwriter, composer and performer is also proudly a member of Knights of Columbus,

Concerts will be performed at 2 and 7:30 pm, and an open jam session will be ongoing from 4:30 until 7 pm. Mr DeBlois would love to be joined by musicians of all ages and backgrounds for the jams. He loves music and will amaze newcomers with his ability to learn new songs.

Performances typically last about an hour and are suitable for all ages. Mr DeBlois likes to open with “A Whole New World,” which draws children into the show atmosphere, he said, and continues primarily with audience requests. He grew up listening to the likes of Johnny Mathis, The Spinners and The Supremes, and enjoys recreating their music.

For additional information contact Barry Finch, 743-1621.