Hello,

Since I don't do Facebook or Twitter, I thought this would be the best way to let you know when and where I am appearing and what I've been doing. Many of you have asked, and I honestly can't keep up with where all of you are. So here I am, with all the latest info in one place. I hope to be able to keep in touch with more of you this way, and now you can contact me right here at the site. Thanks for visiting.

This site is written in "blog" style - so start at the bottom (or where you left off) and work your way up.

2012---

The Cleveland TOPS Swingband played a senior's New Year's Eve party from 1-3 p.m. at Altenheim Community Center in Strongsville like we did last year and it was sold out. In the evening I played with Terry Kitchen's Swing City Big Band at SB-81 in Westlake from 9 to 1:00 a.m. I haven't done a late gig like that for several years but it went very well. I don't quite understand the physical aspects but the longer I played the stronger I seemed to be. And that's a good thing since I don't get an opportunity to play every day.

The RECREATION LEAGUE OF CLEVELAND, a private, invitational organization representing many of Cleveland's "founding families," was formed in 1927 by a group of parents who wanted "to provide supervised recreation and wholesome entertainment" for their sons and daughters. A constitution was adopted, and FRANCES P. BOLTON was elected as first president. In its early years the league sponsored coasting parties, afternoon tea dances, and other entertainment for the children (juniors, ages 14-16, seniors, 16-18). In Dec. 1937 the league held its first Assembly Ball for the members' college-freshmen daughters, patterned after the Philadelphia Assembly Ball (1748). The Christmas holiday festivity, in which approx. 50 young ladies are formally introduced to Cleveland society, has been described as a "family affair," as the debutantes ("hostesses") are led down the UNION CLUB OF CLEVELAND staircase (the usual setting for this annual event) by their fathers in the traditional Grand March, greet their families and friends at a formal reception, and conclude the evening with a dinner and dance with their escorts. For several years, I have played the Grand March and the background music for the formal reception along with Don Day, bass; Bob McKee, drums; and Dr. John Petrone, piano. The event was held on Dec. 28th at the Union Club.

Menorah Park Retirement Home in Beachwood had a birthday party concert by the Cleveland TOPS Swingband on Thursday, Dec. 27th. from 2:45 to 3:45. They celebrated November and December birthdays with cake and ice cream, and the Tough Old ProS.

On Christmas Eve at the 11:00 p.m. service in Columbia United Methodist Church, I put a brass group together to play carols prior to the start of the service. Joining me on trumpet were Doug Painting and William Bailey, Ann Painting on French Horn, David Painting on trombone (his first public performance other than school bands), and Nathan Byrne on tuba. My friend, Frank Pendergrass of Seminole, Florida provided the arrangements. I'll see if I can post some of the video when I get a copy.

The Don Disantis Band finally got to play their Holiday repertoire at D'Agnese's in Akron on Saturday, Dec. 22nd. It was nice to have Reinhold and Joyce Toerek there that night.

Sunday, Dec. 16th was the Strongsville Community Band Holiday Concert at the Ehrnfelt Senior Center. 400 programs were printed and they RAN OUT!

A band I haven't played with for some time called me to sub on Saturday, Dec. 15th at the Vermillion Boat Club. I really enjoy this band, they have an excellent library of tunes and the singers are well rehearsed and sound great. It was nice to see everyone again. Bandleader Terry Kitchen even put several of my arrangements in the playlist. Thanks, Terry.

The Guys and Dolls Dance Club held their annual winter dinner dance at Weymouth Country Club in Medina on Friday, Dec.14th with the Don Disantis Band providing the music.

Wednesday, Dec. 12th (12.12.12) found the Cleveland TOPS Swingband in Mentor playing a concert for our former band mate Ray Rinaldi and his friends at Mentor-Way Rehab Center.

Raintree Country Club in Uniontown (south of Akron) was the site of the Akron Italian-American Businessmen's Club Annual Christmas Party on Saturday, Dec. 8th. Thank you to the nice folks for including us for dinner.

The Don Disantis Band again provided the entertainment for the Summit Tax Group Christmas Party. This year it was held at the Ramada Inn-Akron on Friday, Dec. 7th.

I had a unique opportunity on Sunday, Dec. 2nd... Strongsville United Church of Christ hosted "A Swinging Christmas" from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. The Strongsville City Jazz Big Band played a whole concert of big band style Christmas music. I'd never done that before. Proceeds of over $1,000.00 went to the church's organ restoration fund. Thanks to Terry Brlas of the Strongsville Post for the nice article. Read it here.

Wednesday, Nov. 28th found the Cleveland TOPS Swingband at Trinity Cathedral for their annual appearance at the noontime Brown Bag Concert Series. Our concert had an audience of 220, one of the largest for Trinity I'm told.

The BW Alumni Brass Collective performed a one hour concert of Christmas brass music at Cleveland's I-X Center on Sunday afertnoon Nov. 18th. The event was the annual Christmas Boutique and Fair.

D'Agnese's Ristorante in Akron had the Don Disantis group in for their monthly appearance on Saturday, Nov. 17th.

Friday, Nov. 16 - I was honored to again play "Taps" for the Veterans' Day program at Copopa Elementary School in Columbia Station on Monday, Nov. 12th.

The Columbia Foundation held their annual fundraiser gala dinner dance on Saturday, Nov. 3rd. at the Columbia Hills Country Club in Columbia Station. The Don Disantis band entertained, and Marcia was honored for being selected Columbia "Citizen of the Year-2012." She brought our daughter Jennie as her guest since I was already going to be there in the band. It's always nice to see so many friends who don't often get to hear me play.

Hamlet Hills Retirement Community in Chagrin Falls had the TOPS Band at their annual Halloween Party on Wed., Oct. 31st. It was fun to see all the costumes.

The national organization Grantmakers in Aging was in Cleveland for a week-long seminar the week of Oct. 22nd. The Cleveland TOPS Swingband entertained at a reception that was held at the Cleveland Public Library's new Stokes Wing in downtown Cleveland on Thursday, Oct. 25th. from 6:30-7:45 p.m. The band was very well received and the audience even applauded the instrumental soloists. Besides paying us, they gave us a donation of $500.00 towards our mission of bringing Classic Big Band music to northeast Ohio Seniors, particularly those confined to nursing homes.

On Saturday, Oct. 20th, at the monthly D'Agnese's gig in Akron, friends and family came down to help celebrate my birthday and everybody had a great time.

The Guys & Dolls Dance Club held their annual fall dinner dance at the Westwood Country Club on Friday, Oct. 19th from 8-11 p.m. Once again, the Don Disantis Orchestra (all 5 of us) provided the musical entertainment.

Dino's of Solon had the Don Disantis group in for a Friday night club date - a first for us at this venue - on Oct. 12th. I wasn't really fond of lugging the equipment up an outside fire escape to the second floor.

Monday, Oct. 8 - The B-W Alumni Brass Collective played a one hour program at the Strongsville Historical Society's Harvest Days on Sunday, Sept. 30th. This has become a yearly event for us.

Juliette Regnier's Cabaret Show, "Elsewhere" at the Broadview Heights Cultural Center played to a sold-out house both nights---September 28th & 29th. The small, intimate (40 seats) theater was perfect for the ambiance Juliette brings to her shows. In the program notes it states that "her eclectic style, mixing music genres in a diverse array of vocal and scenic settings, evokes deeply moving, often quirky and almost always unexpected moments in time....her vocal quality is sweet and rich, soulful and bawdy; her choices and combinations of material are often unusal and delightfully surprising." I played trumpet and was able to contribute strings, accordion, and clarinet parts with my keyboard synthesizer and even sang backup vocal. Doug Day created the outstanding musical arrangements. These shows were one of the highlights of 2012 for me. I hope we can perform it again.

Shaker Country Club in Shaker Heights was the venue for a company party that the Don Disantis Band provided music for on Saturday, Sept. 22nd from 9:00 until midnight. It has been a while since I played that late into the evening.

Doc McDonald, a retired dentist from Elyria, lives in Florida most of the winter but still has one gig a year with his big band. Much of the library is from the Biz Grove Orchestra, a staple of the Elyria-Lorain music scene back in the 1960s. We played a dance at DeLuca's in the Park in Lorain on Wednesday, Sept. 19th from 7-10 p.m. The band sounded great for only getting together once a year.

Wesleyan Village Senior Living in Elyria hosted the TOPS Band for a concert on Tuesday, Sept. 18th from 4-5 p.m. A small but appreciative audience enjoyed the band and some couples even danced a bit.

The Cleveland TOPS Swingband's annual appearance at the Strongsville Metropark Chalet was Sunday, Sept. 16th. The 12:30 performance kicked off the Arts in Strongsville group presentation "A Day at the Chalet." Always a fun time.

The Tough Old ProS returned to the Jennings Center for Older Adults in Garfield Hts. on Thursday, Sept. 13th from 7-8 p.m. Thank you to Mike Elkins (piano) and Dave Day (bass) for filling in. Great job!

A.M. McGregor Home in Cleveland Heights hosted the Cleveland TOPS Swingband on Wednesday, Sept. 12th from 7-8 p.m. A VERY enthusiastic audience of 85 (one of the largest here) made the evening a lot of fun.

The Cleveland TOPS Swingband was scheduled to play in the parking lot (tent) at the Altenheim in Strongsville on Sunday, Sept. 9th but the rain forced us inside the Altenheim Community Center. We played dance music from 2-3:30 for a nice mix of residents and invited senoirs.

I am starting a string of EIGHT performances over the next FIFTEEN days---Quail Hollow Country Club in Concord was the scene of the Don Disantis band's appearance for a club party on Saturday, Sept. 8th. The weather was pleasant and we were able to perform on the back patio (covered). It was a surprise to see John and Beth Klayman who were riding a golf cart back to the clubhouse after a round of golf as I arrived to unload equipment.

Saturday, Sept. 1st found the Don Disantis band at D'Agnese's in Akron for our monthly appearance. Dave Day is doing an excellent job filling in on piano while his brother Doug is on vacation.

Columbia (Station) United Methodist Church hosted the BW Alumni Brass Collective for the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday, August 26th. We provided all the music for the service as is our custom at this church. Highlights were the Prelude: The Rejoicing, from Handel's Water Music, and the Postlude: the Canadian Brass version of "Battle Hymn of the Republic," Glory, Look Away. The worship committee hosted a nice coffee hour following the service. Thank you.

The Cleveland TOPS Swingband played a lunchtime program for the North Olmsted Senior Center on Thursday, August 23rd. A very enthusiastic audience this time around.

Sunday, August 19 - Conneaut, Ohio holds an annual event in August each year celebrating patriotism with a tribute to D-Day. The Don Disantis Orchestra's annual gig on Friday, August 17th kicked off a weekend patriotic celebration, complete with World War II aircraft, amphibious vehicles, and uniformed re-enactors recreating the D-Day landing. Beautiful evening, great view of Lake Erie. Looking forward to next year again.


Sunday, August 12, the BW Alumni Brass Collective played for the 9:30 a.m. service at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Lakewood this morning. In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to play with the "Night Owls" hot jazz orchestra at McGregor Home in Cleveland Heights. Al Couch needed me to sub and I was happy to oblige. Tuba, banjo, piano, drums, 2 trumpets, trombone, 3 saxes...great fun. Good seeing (and hearing) George Foley on piano...he is an absolute keyboard wizard with this genre of music.

Eliza Bryant Village (nursing home) in Cleveland hosted the TOPS Band for a concert on Thursday, August 9th from 1:30-2:30 p.m. The audience was very enthusiastic this time.

The annual Strongsville City Jazz Big Band concert was held on Friday, August 3rd in the Ehrnfelt Senior Center from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Larry Patch (from the TOPS Band) came and filled in as vocalist in place of Kim Wasielewski who suffered a house fire on July 25. She and the family are ok but she wasn't ready to perform in public just yet. Larry did a fine job.

The month of August began with a Don Disantis concert at the Painesville Gazebo on Aug. 1st from 6-8 p.m. I always enjoy these little shows...two hours, fresh air...nice.

Lakeside, Ohio, the Chautauqua on Lake Erie, was the venue for the Strongsville Community Band concert at the bandstand by the lake. The band played well and Marcia & I were able to go up a day early and catch the John Tesh Show at Hoover Auditorium. He's touring with a 12-pice big band doing the Great American Songbook as well as some of his original music. Great band, nice show.

The Don Disantis group was all set to play their annual outdoor concert at Coe Lake in Berea on Friday, July 27th but it was rained out.

The Cleveland TOPS Swingband played a concert for residents of Southwest Commons senior living in Strongsville on Tuesday, July 24th from 7-8 p.m. It was the first performance under my direction as Music Director. I have fronted the band many times including the time Dick Wooley broke his hip a thte recordding studio and I led the band for about four months.

Saturday, July 21 - tonight's performance of "9 to 5", the Dolly Parton musical will be the last of three. This is my second summer with the Sandstone Summer Theater in Amherst.

The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritrage in Beachwood was the venue for a one hour concert of American Popular Music by Jewish Composers: Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, etc. Wednesday, July 18th, five members of the TOPS Band performed for a sold out house. The museum is quite impressive. Make plans to go, it's well worth your time.

Sunday, July 15, 2012 - It finally arrived...the date I've been looking (and working) towards for about six months. The Akron Italian-American Festival booked the Don Disantis Big Band for the Lock 3 Park Stage from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. This is an outdoor venue right next to the Akron Civic Theater. I wrote 24 arrangements for the show and Doug Day helped with four more. We were given access to the Civic dressing rooms (air conditioned) and the stage crew helped by moving our equipment to the stage, helping with set-up and tear-down, and moving equipment back to load our vehicles. Cold, bottled water on stage, great sound system. On-stage monitors (with sound man just for monitors), sound man for Front Of House system. We were able to relax and give a good performance. Now that we have a small library, I hope Don can book this group somewhere again.

D'Agnese's Ristorante in Akron hosted the Don Disantis group on Saturday, July 14th. The crowd was smaller than usual due (perhaps) to the Akron Italian-American Festival going on all weekend long.

Another good crowd enjoyed the Don Disantis group at the Willoughby Gazebo on Thursday, July 12th. from 7-8:30. This has become an annual event. Bob Gref joined us on sax.

Tuesday, July 10th found the Cleveland TOPS Swingband at Night Town Jazz Club in Cleveland Heights for a fundraiser. It was nice to play for a packed house. Music Director and co-founder, Dick Wooley, announced it would be his last time fronting the band as he was stepping down and turning directorship over to me. Dick & his wife Nora were presented with plaques to commemorate their seven years of contributions to the success of the band.

The B-W Alumni Brass Collective (quintet) played the 9:25 service at Strongsville United Methodist Church on July 8th. They have three services every Sunday and average over 500 attending and it seems to be growing. Good for them.

Friday, July 6th - tonight's Strongsville Community Band Concert has been moved indoors to the Ehrnfelt Senior/Event Center. Stay COOL.

Madison, Ohio has a nice gazebo right in the middle of town. Concrete floor, solid roof, nice and breezy. Don Disantis and the band (with Bob Gref joining us on sax) played to an appreciative crowd Thursday night, July 5th. They had to be really uncomfortable in the heat as it wasq 93º at the 7:00 p.m. start time. Glad I brought my box fan.

The Little Sousa Band, as we did last year, provided upbeat march music for the RTA Family Funfest at Settler's Landing on the East Bank of the Cleveland Flats on July 4th. We survived the 97º heat with a white tent and bottled water provided by RTA. I didn't stay for the fireworks this year. Too hot.

It's OFFICIAL - beginning July 1st, Baldwin-Wallace College (my alma mater) is now known as Baldwin Wallace University. The hyphen is gone, and the college is now a university. I'm told removing the hyphen makes it easier to find on the internet. And, a UNIVERSITY attracts more students from countries outside the United States than a college.

Sunday, July 1st. turned out to be a long day for me. I had an 8:30 a.m. rehearsal and 9:25 performance at Strongsville United Methodist Church. Two trumpets, piccolo, snare drum, piano, large choir - the main selection being Battle Hymn of the Republic. Then I went home to grab some lunch. The Liberty Singers performance was scheduled for 4:30 but didn't start until 5:10. The Liberty performance was outstanding, it sounded like a recording. Guy DiNillo, the sound engineer, has done this for 13 years and this year had to be the best. He was using some new microphones and he really knows how to make it sound fabulous. Kudos, Guy. I was worried that I would miss the start of the Strongsville Community Band's performance at the Hudson Bandstand at 7:00. Ann Painting, who plays 1st horn in the SC Band decided to sing in Liberty this year and rode with me to Hudson. We left Columbia at 6:00 p.m. and, thanks to Ann's husband, Doug (who plays trumpet with me in the SCB), we got word that a storm was coming and the concert had been moved to Hudson High School. We arrived on time and the concert began at 7:10. The audience loved the band. After stopping for some dinner, I finally got home at 10:30.

I am pleased to announce that Marcia was honored by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Historical Society as Columbia "Citizen of the Year" for 2012. She was presented with a plaque at the opening ceremony of the Homecomming weekend on Friday, June 29th. And boy, was she surprised. It is a well deserved honor for bringing the "Liberty" performance of patriotic music to Columbia for 20 YEARS. Following the presentation, I left for the Strongsville Community Band concert at the Gazebo but it was rained out.

Menorah Park in Beachwood hosted a birthday concert by the Cleveland TOPS Swingband on Wednesday, June 27th. That evening, the Strongsville Community Band played a concert for the Music Clinic students at Baldwin-Wallace College. The band was really "on" that night. Loras John Schissel guest conducted part of the program.

Monday, June 25th began "Liberty" week leading up to Sunday's performance. Since Columbia United Methodist Church was hosting the community vacation bible school, rehearsals are at the Baptist church. We have only three rehearsals since most participants have done this in other years. It was hot but the church was comfortable even with no A/C. When I arrived at the other rehearsals, the temperature ranged from 90 to 95 degrees but we survived.

The B-W Alumni Brass Collective provided all the music for St. Andrews Presbyterian Church's (Olmsted Falls) annual picnic church service on Sunday, June 24th. I love this one...it's a mile from my house, and the pot luck picnic food is always a treat.

Harvard Community/Senior Center was presented with a Cleveland TOPS Swingband concert on Wednesday, June 20th. from 1-2 p.m.

Saturday, June 16 found the Don Disantis Band at D'Agnese's in Akron for the monthly club date. Dave Day moved from bass to piano while brother Doug was on vacation and Brian Door came in and did a fine job on bass. Dave's first effort on piano with the whole band went well and nerves aside, he did a GREAT job.

The Strongsville Community Band kicked off their summer concert series on Friday, June 15th. The new sponsor is Pat Catan's and we have new "popsicle green" golf shirts for this season.

Stratford Commons, a senior living facility in Glenwillow, hosted the Cleveland TOPS Swingband for a concert at 2:30 on Thursday, June 14th.

The Rat Pack Revue Tour began Tuesday, June 5th with a rehearsal at the Croatian Lodge in Eastlake at 4:30 p.m. The first show was the next day at 1:30 at the same venue. On Friday, June 8th we played two sold out shows at Carrie Cerino's in North Royalton - a luncheon show at 1:30 and a dinner show at 8:00. Monday, June 11th found us back at Carrie Cerino's for two more sold out shows. The tour ended Tuesday, June 12th with a luncheon show at the Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio. The band was trumpet, sax, trombone, piano, bass, guitar, and drums. Tom Fries was the bandleader and did his usual excellent job.

June 3, 2012 - The Don Disantis Orchestra played a club date at Quail Hollow Country Club in Concord last night. It was too cold to be on the patio as planned, so we spread out between the bar and the dining room. We'll return on Saturday, Sept. 8th for a club party.

My band, JW & Company, again provided background jazz music for the patrons of the Strongsville Seniors Art Show at the Ehrnfelt Senior Center on Friday June 1st from 6-8 p.m. Independence Village in Avon Lake invited the Don Disantis Band in for a concert Thursday, May 24th. Nice folks there, I hope we can play more dates for them. For once, Doug Day had a six mile round trip to the gig instead of 90+ miles.

Senior Day in Strongsville found the Strongsville City Jazz big band playing a concert at the Ehrnfelt Senior Center on Wednesday, May 23rd while the seniors enjoyed a free lunch.

Montifiore Home in Beachwood hosted the Cleveland TOPS Swingband for a concert for the residents on Tuesday, May 22nd.

"PLAY BALL" yelled umpire Terry Brlas at the start of the Strongsville Community Band's Spring Concert. The Sunday, May 20 concert capped a busy week for me - six dates over eight days. Director Ken Mehalko, a huge Cleveland Indians fan, came up with the idea of a baseball-themed concert. We opened with the National Anthem followed by an introduction of the "players." Each band member stood as their name was called. There were nine selections (innings?) for this concert beginning with Aaron Copeland's Outdoor Overture. Also included was Casey at the Bat, narrated by Euphonium player Chris Donze (a former student of mine and Ken's), George Gershwin's Summertime from Porgy and Bess, and a march by John Phillip Sousa: The American Pastime, written as a salute to baseball.

Saturday, May 19 found the Don Disantis Band at D'Agnese's in Akron for the monthly club date.

Guys and Dolls Ballroom Dance Club held their annual dinner dance at Weymouth Country Club in Medina on Friday, May 18. The Don Disantis Band provided the music and we will see them again on Friday, October 19th.

Public Hall in Cleveland was the venue for the City of Cleveland's Senior Day on Wednesday, May 16. It's an all day event with seniors bussed in from all over the city. The Cleveland TOPS Swingband again kicked off the event with a one hour performance from 10-11 a.m. Master of Ceremonies, Dick Russ from WKYC-TV3 paid the band some nice compliments.

The Senior's Prom at Montifiore Home in Beachwood has become a yearly event for the Don Disantis Orchestra. With the addition of Bob Gref on sax and clarinet, we provided a chance for the high school volunteers to swing the weelchair-bound residents around the dance floor on Tuesday, May 15. Very cool.

Nido Italia in Little Italy was very busy on Sunday, May 13th for Mother's Day. The Don Disantis Band played from 2:30-5:30 for a packed house.

May 9, 2012 - The Cleveland TOPS Swingband played a concert at Fairfax Place in Cleveland yesterday from 2-3 p.m. It was nice to have Ralph Joseph back from Florida safe and sound.

Monday, April 30th found the B-W Alumni Brass Collective (brass quintet) resuming rehearsals following a seven week hiatus for my surgery recovery. All is well and the group has scheduled performances at several churches for the near future. We will be at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Olmsted Falls on Sunday, June 24th for the annual church service-picnic, followed by Strongsville United Methodist Church on Sunday, July 8th for morning worship. Sunday, August 26th we will provide ALL the music for morning worship at Columbia United Methodist Church including the Prelude, Offertory, Prayer Response, Postlude, and all the hymns. The church organist has that Sunday off. Keep an eye on the list of performances at the right of this page for addresses and times. I'll post them soon.

April 29, 2012 - The Strongsville City Jazz Big Band concert at Strongsville Evangelical Lutheran Church raised about $1,200.00 for the youth mission trip to New Orleans. I enjoyed playing there as the acoustics of the sanctuary were kind to the size of our band.

April 26, 2012 - Over a month has passed since I updated this site...my apologies. I am back playing all my gigs and looking forward to a very busy Spring and Summer. "Puttin' On The Glitz" was a blast once again (the 11th year). It's a great feeling to write music and have it performed by good musicians in front of a live audience. Terry Brlas from the Strongsville Post wrote a nice review of the show.

Famico's Senior Living in Cleveland was the scene of the TOPS Swingband concert on Wednesday, April 25th. The three-story brick building on Ansel Rd. just off E. 105th is the former Notre Dame High School for Girls. They did a nice job turning the building into senior apartments. The band performed in the old gymnasium on the second floor. I had to turn the reverb off on our sound system because of the natural echo in the room.

I hope to sse you at the Strongsville Lutheran Church on Sunday, April 29th for a benefit Big Band Concert. The free will offering goes to support the youth mission trip to New Orleans.

D'Agnese's in Akron again showcased the Don Disantis group on Saturday, April 24th. Doug Day and George Judy were off and the subs, Matt and Tom, did a nice job.

"Puttin' On The Glitz" ran three performances - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - capped off by a nice cast party at the Ehrnfelt Event Center on Sunday afternoon. I was pleased with the show, in spite of minor glitches from show to show. I'm glad the show is behind me but I am already looking forward to next year.

Thursday, April 12 found the "Glitz" cast and crew together again for dress rehearsal and photo-op night. The Disney costumes are amazing.

The Cleveland TOPS Swingband played a concert at McGregor Home in Cleveland Hts. on Wednesday night, April 11th. I'm glad it was only a one hour event.

I managed to get through two Glitz Band rehearsals (March 26 and April 2) without any "damage."We needed to rehearse with the vocal soloists. Glitz week began Monday, April 9th with nightly rehearsals with cast & crew. The band had Wednesday off to accomodate a TOPS concert at McGregor Home.

My first gig since the March 8th surgery was with the Don Disantis Band on Saturday, March 24th at D'Agnese's in Akron. Marcia celebrated her birthday by joining four girlfriends for dinner and to hear the band. My sister, who lives around the corner (since her move up from Georgia) surprised us all with a visit.

March 11 , 2012 - Now that I am home recovering from surgery, I should have plenty of time to finish the arrangements for the 11th annual Strongville senior citizen variety show "Puttin' On The Glitz." The theme is Glitz Goes to the Oscars. I won't be with the TOPS band at Beachwood Sr. Center but I hope to play at D'Agnese's on March 24th...just not much trumpet - and no high notes. My surgery went well and now I get to stay home and rehab. No heavy lifting, nothing over ten pounds. I wonder what an "F" above "high C" weighs.

Mentor-Way Rehab Facility hosted the Cleveland TOPS Swingband on Wednesday, March 7th for a return visit. Ray Rinaldi is still there and was very glad to see us. I made sure we played my two new arrangements for him and his wife Donna gave me the biggest hug. Ray hadn't stopped talking about the band since the last time we played there.

Monday, Feb. 27th found me at Southwest General Health Center for pre-admission testing. My hernia repair surgery is scheduled for March 8th.

The 28th annual B-W Alumni Jazz Orchestra concert wes held in Gamble Auditorium on Sunday night, Feb. 26th. In spite of (again) competing with Hollywood's Academy Awards Night, a decent crowd was on hand for the show. My sisters, Margaret (Akron) & Joyce (Columbus) were in attendance as were daughter Jennie and her husband Al Papesh. Hard to believe it has been twenty-eight years!

Falling Waters Health Care Center in Strongsville invited the Cleveland TOPS Swingband back for a return engagement on Thursday, Feb. 23rd. I love the gigs that are ten minutes from home.

The Strongsville Community Band presented their annual winter concert on Sunday, Feb. 19th at the Ehrnfelt Event Center. I can't remember playing a concert with so many notes...a real challenge for sure. B-W Alumni Jazz Orchestra's second rehearsal in preparation for the Feb. 26th concert was that night.

BIG NEWS! The monthly gig at D'Agnese's in Akron as been extended through the end of the year. We've been bringing in a lot of business to the venue and making new friends as well. Saturday, Feb. 18th was no exception. A big crowd and big fun too.

February 16, 2012 - Usually, the Cleveland TOPS Swingband does not play back to back dates but that's exactly what we did as yesterday (the day afer Valentine's day) found the band at Shaker Gardens senior living facility, the former Somerset Motor Inn at the intersection of Warrensville and Northfield Rds. The small but enthusiastic audience enjoyed the performance and even sang along with some of our offerings.

Valentine's Day found the TOPS Swingband at Altenheim Community Center playing for a senior's dance. We did this last year, too. I hope we can continue to partner with the nice folks at Altenheim to bring big band music to senior audiences in the southwest Cleveland suburbs. We have three more dance dates scheduled there for 2012 including New Year's Eve afternoon.

B-W Alumni Jazz Orchestra rehearsals have begun for the Feb. 26th concert. Most of the regulars are back with two new tenor sax players and a new bass player. It's great to see everyone again. We met on Sunday, Feb. 12th and will have another on the 19th. then the concert at 7:30 p.m. in the usual place. I hope confusion is minimal... since the renovation was completed, the space created in the old Congregational church sanctuary is now called Kulas Hall and the stage where we have always played is Gamble Auditorium.

The Cleveland TOPS Swingband has developed several repeat venues that like having us back again and again. Marymount Hospital's senior living facility celebrated five years with a concert for the residents on Thursday, February 9th. The birthday cake was good, too.

McGregor Home in Cleveland Hts. was the site of the Cleveland TOPS Swingband concert for residents on Tuesday, January 31st. I really enjoyed having my two arrangements performed, particularly Make Someone Happy. Ruth Griebel did a great job "selling" the song to the audience.

The Arts in Strongsville gig went well on Saturday, January 28th. Ken Mehalko and I had a sextet that played two sets of background music for the fundraiser during the wine tasting segment that also included the silent auction. AIS has revamped the event format, dropping the "Cabaret" show in favor of dance music by a very good Detroit sound Motown Band that kept dancers on the floor all night.

January 22, 2012 - Only 10 days since my last update... quite an improvement over the 50 DAYS and 56 DAYS leading up to the previous two. I got a call this week from Arizona about playing a tour of Ohio with a group of four singers (3 males, one female) that re-create the sounds of the Rat Pack: Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. and featuring a Liza Minelli look-alike. I hope she sounds like her too. Mid-June for those.Last night, January 21st, the Don Disantis Orchestra played to a packed house at D'Agnese's in Akron. Daughter Jennie and her husband Al Papesh brought Al's parents, John and Marianne for dinner and stayed the whole evening. Also in attendance were Doug and Ann Painting, fellow members of the Strongsville Community Band. Thanks for coming in everyone. I also met Patrick, a fireman from Kent, who was in celebrating his birthday with friends.

On Wednesday, January 18th at the regular weekly rehearsal of the Cleveland TOPS Swingband, I delivered two of my latest arrangements. "Make Someone Happy" was written for Ruth Griebel to sing and Larry Patch got "I've Heard That Song Before." With a few adjustments, both selections are now ready for performance and I'm looking forward to their world premiere at McGregor Home on the 31st, our next gig.

The Bethel Lutheran Church Brass Choir concert was held on Sunday, January 15th. The free will offering brought in over $4,000 for the church's Early Childhood Education Program. The money is used for scholarships for special needs children. The highlight of the concert (for me) was the Vivaldi Concerto for Two Trumpets with Jack Brndiar and Gerald Kleman as soloists. I got an opportunity to play a flugelhorn solo on a Jayne Cool transcription of Ashoken Farewell. I remember hearing a version of this on the soundtrack of the Ken Burns documentary, "The Civil War" on PBS.

Montifiore Home in Beachwood was the site of the annual "Snowball Dance" with music by the Don Disantis Orchestra. Bob Gref joined us on clarinet and sax for a delightful evening of dance music for the residents. Those that chose to participate were wheeled down from their rooms and the wheelchairs were arranged in a circle around the room. High school volunteers then were able to guide the wheelchairs around the dance floor to the music. This is a great way for the residents to interact and participate. We'll be back in May for the Montifiore "Seniors Prom."

January 12, 2012- Only 50 days since my last update but but not much improvement over the 56 DAYS leading up to the previous one on November 20th. The holidays are past and we've turned the page on another year. I hope 2012 allows you all to be happier, wealthier, and wiser. Would you settle for two out of three? Performances have slowed some but now I have several writing projects going. Still busy, that's a good thing.

Wednesday, January 11th found the Cleveland TOPS Swingband at Eliza Bryant Village for a return engagement to play a concert for the residents. A big THANK YOU to Dave Sterner for coming in to sub on lead alto.