Saxophonist Craig Roselieb performs with Little Big Band musicians. Courtesy photo

Chicago-based saxophonist Craig Roselieb will return to Maui to head up shows in Lahaina and Kihei, including a New Year’s Eve party with Sheryl Renee and a Jazz Maui Little Big Band concert at the ProArts Playhouse.

First up, a Sunset Jazz show at the Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate Factory on Sunday will feature modern jazz compositions including swing, Latin jazz and contemporary fusion performed by the Jazz Maui Modern Quintet.

The ensemble features saxophonist Roselieb, bassist Ashton Yarbrough, drummer Nolan Wren, keyboardist Jeff Hellmer, guitarist Prem Brosio and New York City-based trumpet player Jake Tadashi Thomas as a special guest.

On New Year’s Eve at the Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate Factory, a tribute show to music icons Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra features Renee backed by a seven-piece band, and guest vocalist Abra Joy. A benefit for Jazz Maui’s music education programs, festivities include party favors, a New Year’s toast by Maui Wine, the Times Square ball drop on a big screen TV and an online silent auction.

“I’ve worked to arrange all this music for a jazz combo, two horns, me and Paul January and Jeff Helmer (on piano), Howie Renser on drums and Dave Graber on bass,” said Roselieb.

A prominent player in Chicago, Roselieb performs with the Pete Ellman Big Band and Belford Hernandez Quartet in the city. The Pete Ellman Big Band’s latest album, “Live at The Venue,” features eight of Roselieb’s original big band compositions.

On Jan. 2, the Jazz Maui Little Big Band under the direction of Roselieb will celebrate Hawaii’s influence on jazz with a special concert. The evening will include Louis Armstrong’s “On A Coconut Island,” Duke Ellington’s “Swingtime in Honolulu” and tunes performed by Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, Guy Lombardo, Tommy Dorsey and Nat King Cole.

“It’s a show we’re calling, ‘jazz masters in Hawaii,'” Roselieb said. “We’ve got a combination of instrumental and vocal stuff. We have several island-related tunes, and some Ellington things that feature the culture of island life like ‘Sultry Sunset.’ We have ‘Pagan Love Song’ (by Glenn Miller) and ‘Orange Colored Sky’ (by Nat King Cole). Then we’ve also got ‘Red Sails in the Sunset,’ a famous island tune.”

In addition, former King Kekaulike High School student Tadashi Thomas will perform classic Louis Armstrong trumpet solos and the famous Ziggy Ellman solo from Tommy Dorsey’s arrangement of the “Hawaiian War Chant.”

Hawaii inspired artists like Ellington and Armstrong to create songs with island themes and melodies, and jazz bands added Hawaiian steel guitar and ukulele. “On a Coconut Island” featured Armstrong with his group The Polynesians, including Lionel Hampton on drums. Recorded by the jazz legend in 1936, it’s highlighted by tropical-themed lyrics and arrangements. The Polynesians included Hawaiian musician Sam Koki on steel guitar.

With lyrics about hula and “aloha i ka pua,” Ellington’s “Swingtime in Honolulu” debuted as a feature number for the three Peters Sisters vocal and dance trio at a Cotton Club revue show in 1938.

The Jazz Maui Little Big Band features three vocalists — Abra Joy, Paul January and Joy Belt-Roselieb. Instrumentalists include Roselieb, Nathan Shaw and John Zangrando on saxophones; Paul January and Cody Sarimento on trumpets; Henry Arroyo on trombone; Jeff Helmer on piano; Prem Brozio on guitar; Ashton Yarbrough on bass; and Nolan Wren on drums.

Looking forward to the show, Roselieb said, “We’re going to do basically the same thing we did last summer with the big band. It kind of tells the narrative of some of these artists and what they created in the time period they created them.”

The Sunset Jazz show at the Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate Factory starts at 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $30. The New Year’s Eve at the Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate Factory begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $100. The Jazz Maui Little Big Band performs at the ProArts Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2. Tickets range from $21 to $42.