Earth, Wind & Fire To Perform One Show On March 20, 2006 At The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall In Sarasota, FL Tickets Go On Sale January 28, 2006

Sarasota, FL - Earth Wind & Fire has been added to the Van Wezel's 2006 Season on Monday, March 20, 2006 at 8 PM Tickets: $65, $60, $55. Tickets go on sale on Saturday, January 28, 2005 at 9 AM at the Van Wezel Box Office.

"Do you remember" the first time you ever-heard Earth, Wind & Fire? Do you remember smiling, singing along, shaking your rump or cuddling with your loved one while listening to their albums? Do your remember the energetic rhythms, sultry love songs, feel-good vibes and lyrics that were
intelligent, positive and uplifting? Do you remember the vocal interplay between Philip Bailey's highs and Maurice White's lows, propulsive bursts of funk from the horn section, sophisticated instrumentation and complex arrangements? Do you remember the first time you saw them in concert? Do
you remember the full spectrum of vibrant colors, masterful musicianship and extraordinary theatrics? Do you remember the purity and spiritual elements that always seemed to elevate your mood and expand your consciousness? And here we are, a breath away from entering a new millennium, and Earth, Wind & Fire's music is as timely and timeless as
ever.

Maurice White knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish when the Memphis-born, Chicago-reared drummer left his gig as a member of renowned jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis' quartet and session drummer for the famed Chess Records. Simply put, he wanted to form a band that abolished the lines
between musical genres. He wanted to be able to freely borrow from all styles of music without regard to convention. "Although we were basically jazz musicians, we played soul, funk, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music which somehow ended up becoming pop," Maurice recalled. "I wanted to do something that hadn't been done before. We were coming out of a decade of experimentation, mind expansion and Cosmic awareness and I wanted our music to convey messages of universal love and harmony without
force-feeding listeners spiritual content."

After heading west to Los Angeles, Maurice coaxed his younger brother Verdine, then nineteen, to join him. Verdine was a classically trained bassist who previously had never been outside of Chicago. The first grouping initially took the name "The Salty Peppers." Maurice renamed the band Earth, Wind & Fire, which he took from his astrological chart (he's a
Sagittarian- no water). At first, EW&F was loose and somewhat unfocused. They even tried unsuccessfully using female singers in the mix. After his vision wasn't quite realized on two 1971 albums for Warner Brothers Records, Maurice demolished the band to its foundation and rebuilt the
unit, adding a four-octave singer-percussionist from Denver named Philip Bailey and a drummer-percussionist-vocalist from Los Angeles named Ralph Johnson. Verdine stuck around. Good thing.

Maurice's charismatic tenor and Philip's stratospheric falsetto helped chisel the band's vocal identity. The two fit together and complimented one another remarkably well. In the studio, Maurice floated a thicket of elaborate vocal arrangements over a stream of musical rivers. Philip brought an innate sense of melody to their songwriting efforts.

Earth, Wind & Fire created the soundtrack to a pioneering black film, "Sweet Sweetback's Badassss Song," then promptly switched to Columbia Records, which became the home for so many of Earth, Wind & Fire's classics. The albums "Last Days and Time," "Head To The Sky" and "Open Our Eyes" propelled the group onto the radio and were backed with concert dates wherever they could play including clubs, colleges and theatres. An underground following began to amass. It was a soundtrack to an ill-fated film that busted them wide open. "That's The Way Of The World," was a total stiff at the box office (twice), but it did huge business at record stores. Earth, Wind & Fire got their first #1 single "Shining Star," first Grammy Award and first double platinum sales award. They were just getting started.

Tickets for Monday, March 20, 2006, 8 PM, go on sale at the Van Wezel Box Office on Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 9 AM located at 777 North Tamiami Trail, through the Charge-It Line; 953-3368; Toll Free at 1-800-826-9303; or on-line at vanwezel.org. The Café brought to you by Morton's Catering at the Van Wezel opens two hours prior to show time for dinner and beverage services. For reservations please call 941-552-0344.