Coming Saturday: An evening of timeless swing tunes and vocal standards
Trending
Jazz fans can enjoy an evening of timeless swing and vocal standards Saturday as "An Evening of Big Band and Vocal Jazz" showcases music by legendary bandleaders Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Glenn Miller, along with classic vocal favorites popularized by Etta James, Shirley Horn, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.
Presented by the Wave of Harmony Foundation and Jazz Maui, the concert will feature performances by the Jazz Maui Big Band and the Nā Aliʻi Big Band at The Altitude Deck in Kihei.
"We're doing the Duke Ellington classic 'It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing,' and another classic from the '30s called 'Bli-Blip,'" said Chicago-based saxophonist Craig Roselieb, who is heading the Jazz Maui Big Band.
Other Ellington big band tunes include "Sultry Sunset" and "Rockabye River."
Among other classics, Roselieb said the audience will hear Count Basie's "Moten Swing" and Sammy Nestico's arrangement of "Fly Me to the Moon" for a vocalist.
Having previously arranged a few big band concerts on Maui, Roselieb felt inspired to help produce Saturday's event after attending a performance of "Rent" at ProArts Playhouse.
"I went last March to see 'Rent' and met Vania Jerome," Roselieb explained. "I commented on how talented I thought the vocalists were in that musical. So I mentioned to Bryant Neal (of Jazz Maui), can we get Vania to get more vocalists from the island to do some vocal jazz with the big band, and that's how it all started out."
Besides Roselieb, the Jazz Maui Big Band features Casey Nagata on alto sax; John Zangrando and Nathan Shaw on tenor sax; Beth Sederstrom on baritone sax; Max Gibson, Cody Sarmiento, Julius Galanto and Paul January on trumpet; Henry Arroyo, Daniel Weirich, David Reid and Kamren Wakakuwa on trombone; Prem Brosio on guitar; Jeff Hellmer on piano; Ashton Yarbrough on bass; and Nolan Wren on drums.
"It's a traditional big band with five saxes, four trombones, four trumpets and a four-piece rhythm section, so 17 pieces," he said. "I arranged maybe a quarter of the tunes, and the rest are published and available."
Coordinated by Vania Jerome, the vocalists in the show are Nara Boone, Sheryl Renee, Tanama Colibri, Aida Rose, Ben Isaiah and Brock Ambrose.
The Etta James selections will include "Sunday Kind of Love" and "At Last."
"We're also going to add in some Aretha Franklin," he said. "'You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman' is actually Carole King's tune, but we're doing Aretha's arrangement. If you're a Lennon and McCartney fan, we're going to do 'If I Fell For You,' a vocal jazz duet with a big band."
The grand finale will feature "a vocal jazz quartet with the band, with Rodgers and Hart's 'I Could Write a Book,' with an arrangement by Darmon Meader, one of the New York Voices," said Roselieb. "He's a tenor in the vocal jazz quartet New York Voices. He writes for a vocal jazz quartet plus big band."
A retired high school band teacher, Roselieb performs weekly on alto saxophone with the Pete Ellman Big Band NFP in Naperville, Illinois. The band's latest album, "Live at The Venue," featured eight of his original jazz big band compositions.
"I have been writing original music for big band and I do a lot of arranging back home," he noted.
Helping keep classic big band music alive, he said he loves "the styles that never get played anymore."
"Duke Ellington is my absolute favorite composer for big band, and then I love Stan Kenton, and obviously Count Basie," he said. "There's a lot of great music that's been written and forgotten. So, I feel it's my job to resurrect this music and get it back in the ears of people so they can continue to enjoy it."
The Jazz Maui Big Band and the Nā Aliʻi Big Band will perform at 6 p.m. Saturday on the Altitude Deck at 650 Lipoa Parkway in Kihei. For tickets, visit waveofharmony.org. Proceeds benefit the Maui Performing Arts Education Fund.