Hello,
Since you reached this page, you must be looking for information about my NEW Little Big Band. I am resisting social media sites (so far) like Facebook, Twitter etc, so bear with me.
My Little Big Band is a 9-piece group of very talented musicians that love to play big band music like the "Great American Songbook" and swing jazz. We began rehearsals in May of 2016 and are now available for your event. Our first appearance was part of a concert on Sunday, January 22, 2017. The venue was Strongsville United Church of Christ.
Currently there are no performances scheduled. We are now booking dates for 2022.
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Sunday, September 19, 2021
We played a 30 minute program to open the Day at the Chalet in Strongsville. This is a noon-5 p.m. celebration of Arts in Strongsville held at the Metropark chalet.
There were no performances in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Sunday, April 28, 2019
We had been originally booked at Brothers Lounge for early March but had to reschedule due to my back injury. Ken Mehalko was on vacation so Don Kubec filled in on Alto Sax and did a super job. We added Aretha Franklin's Natural Woman to our repertoire and performed it for the first time.
Saturday, November 24, 2018
Our second appearance at Bar 107 in Berea had Cindy Smith with us this time. She was ill and did not make the first gig there on June 16th. It was the debut of two Aretha Franklin tunes, Chain of Fools and RESPECT...a tribute to the late music icon. Again, we seemed to be well received and we look forward to another visit.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
Our second appearance at The Brothers Lounge in Cleveland was quite well received and we are hoping ror a return engagement. Cindy Smith came directly from her final performance as Mrs. Lovett in the Brecksville Theater production of Sweeney Todd and was in exceptionally good voice. Our playlist was a new show from the last time we were there. We were able to debut new arrangements of Miles Davis' Freddie Freeloader and an instrumental version of Michael Buble's It Had Better Be Tonight. Thanks to Don Kubec, Norm Turza, Glenn Toy, Tim and Betz, and Karl Dustman for coming by. Thanks to all for supporting live music.
Sunday, Septermber 16, 2018
My Little Big Band provided a one-hour show for the corporate picnic of Dedicated Transport LLC in Brooklyn Hts. Thanks to Dave Hartman for setting us up to entertain his company's employees. Dave is the Director of Safety at DT. They provided a tent and had a food truck supplying the fare. Good move. Somebody brought home made apple pie...fabulous. Thank you. We had a nice time there. Dave even sat in on trombone for a few tunes.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Bar 107 in downtown Berea booked us for an evening of Classic Big Band music and Jazz. It is a small venue but has a lively "vibe" to it. This turned out to be quite a challenge as vocalist Cindy Smith was unable to sing due to illness. We were able to cover the vocal melodies with David Kay playing tenor or soprano sax while Dick Ingersoll switched from Baritone Sax to Tenor Sax on David's band part. My teaching pals from Strongsville Schools enjoyed dinner and most of the evening's musical fare as they left before the last note was played. Bass player Paul Lorz also stopped by to catch a set. Nice to have a gig only three miles from home.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Our first appearance at The Brothers Lounge in Cleveland was a musical success. However, the Count Basie Orchestra was in town to play at Nighttown and the Cavs were playing a Finals game. So the turnout was a disappointment but we will be back and hope to attract a larger crowd.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
The Institute For Learning in Retirement (ILR), a senior outreach program hosted by Baldwin Wallace University invited us to play a concert for their Spring banquet. The venue was the Strosacker Hall Banquet Room on the BW campus. The band was a huge hit and we are looking forward to a return engagement.
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Our second appearance at Strongsville United Church of Christ's Performing Arts Series consisted of classic songs from the Great American Songbook: After You've Gone, I Get A Kick Out of You, My Funny Valentine, When the Saints Go Marching In, Memory - from the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, Cats, They Can't Take That Away From Me, I Got It Bad (and that ain't good), Something's Gotta Give, When I Fall in Love, and C Jam Blues.
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Fred Lombardo hired us to play for his 80th birthday party. About 40 friends and family convened at the Olympia Clubhouse in Strongsville for food, spirits, and good music. Fred selected the songs he wanted and some family members even sang with the band. Fred is a huge "Sinatra" fan so we played some of the swingin' standards in the the style of Old Blue Eyes.
Sunday, October 8, 2017
Rocky River United Methodist Church has a "Gifts of Music" concert series. We were honored to be the first performance of the 10th Anniversary season. An enthusiastic audience enjoyed a program that included Duke Ellington's Caravan, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, and It Don't Mean a Thing (if it ain't got that swing); other selections were After You've Gone, Memory (from 'Cats'), a Glenn Miller Medley, Lawrence Welk's Bubbles in the Wine Signature Theme, The Man I Love, Night & Day, 'S Wonderful, The More I See You, You Do Something to Me, The Shadow of Your Smile and Benny Goodman's Stompin' at the Savoy.
September 16, 2017
The Arts in Strongsville Foundation holds an all-day event at the Metropark Chalet in September. We were invited to kick off the day's activities with a 45 minute program. September 16th had beautiful weather and the band sounded great. I hope we can do it again in 2018.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
The debut of the Little Big Band featured a program of nine selections and an encore. Here is a sample:
It Don't Mean A Thing (Duke Ellington) 46 MB (wait for download) Full version
Just in Time (Cindy Smith, vocal) sample
You Made Me Love You (Cindy Smith, vocal) sample
Stompin' at the Savoy (Benny Goodman) sample
Bubbles in the Wine (Lawrence Welk) Full version
At Last (Cindy Smith, vocal) sample
Night & Day (Cindy Smith, vocal) sample
The Way We Were (Dale Hildebrand, trombone) sample
Caravan (Duke Ellington) sample
Glenn Miller Medley Full version
Why a LITTLE big band?
A full size (18 piece) big band is too large for many venues, and may be too costly for some clients. It's also easier to get nine musicians together for a rehearsal rather than eighteen.
The instrumentation is 3 saxes, two brass, three rhythm, and a female vocalist.
Alto Sax (doubling clarinet)
Tenor Sax (doubling flute & clarinet)
Baritone Sax (doubling clarinet)
Trumpet (doubling Fleugelhorn & Flute)
Trombone
Piano
Bass
Drums
Girl Vocalist
This site is a work in progress so keep checking back.
If you are interested, you can contact me right here at the site. Thanks for visiting.