This has quickly become one of our favorite places to perform and it’s not hard to see why.  The atmosphere is so relaxed that it’s just really easy to lay back and enjoy playing.  There has always been a great turn-out at Jefferson Pointe (approx. 600 in 2009) which increases the energy level significantly during the show.  For all those reasons (plus the restaurants in the immediate area) I must say that if I were not in the band this would be the performance that I would most likely come to.

As always, we’ll be playing a great variety of tunes.  Some will come from the tunes that we’ve been featuring all summer like an excellent Tom Kubis arrangement of “When You’re Smilin’” which has become one of our favorite numbers this year as well as a Basie-style tune called “Queen Bee” composed by Sammy Nestico.  Dawn will be singing a really nice mix charts covering everything from Latin (“Gentle Rain”), jazz (“Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”), blues (“Every Day I Have The Blues”) and R&B (“Fever”).

But for Jefferson Pointe we like to make sure to throw in some charts that are especially fun to listen to (pop, rock, etc).  For example, we’ll be playing a rousing version of “Dance to the Music” to make sure things didn’t get too serious.

We hope to see you there!

We had a really nice mix of classic big band (I’ve Got You  Under My Skin), some great blues charts (Every Day I Have The Blues), Latin (The Gentle Rain) and a few pop tunes (Dance to the Music) thrown in for good measure.  We continued to play some of the great tunes that we used in 2010 like Cole Porter’s “You Do Something To Me” and an up-tempo version of “Till You Come Back To Me”.

The News Banner – Aug 2, 2010 pg 2

We were thrilled to have perform in Bluffton for the first time at a really nice outdoor facility – the Kehoe Park.  This performance was a part of the Kehoe Park Summer Concert Series.

We be used a lot of the same tunes as in the Foellinger concert but there were some differences.  We opened up the concert with a simple blues tune called “One More Blues” and opened it up so nearly everyone in the band took a couple choruses of blues solos, which was really fun.  We played an excellent Tom Kubis arrangement of “When You’re Smilin’” which has become one of our favorite numbers this year as well as a Basie-style tune called “Queen Bee” composed by Sammy Nestico. 

Dawn sang a really nice mix charts covering everything from Latin (“Gentle Rain”), jazz (“Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”), blues (“Every Day I Have The Blues”) and R&B (“Fever”).  Most of these tunes are new for that band this year. 

In addition to these new tunes, we pulled out some great tunes that we haven’t played for several years like a fun New Orleans style arrangement of “Just A Closer Walk”.  And for the big band purists out there, we played the original version of “Sing Sing Sing” featuring our drummer, Kevin Haydl, as well as a few other big band classics.

Finally, one really cool thing during this concert was that the audience was able to get their hands on some maracas (a Latin percussion instrument) and shake them furiously during a couple Latin tunes that the band played.  We love audience participation!

We did some additional preparation for this event and had a 100% new line-up of tunes from last year…not a single repeat!  So we had plenty of new and fun tunes for eveyone .  We played an excellent Tom Kubis arrangement of “When You’re Smilin’” which has become one of our favorite numbers this year as well as a Basie-style tune called “Queen Bee” composed by Sammy Nestico.  And, the band always enjoys playing at least one upbeat pop tunes so we threw in a rousing version of “Dance to the Music” to make sure things didn’t get too serious. 

Dawn sang a really nice mix charts covering everything from Latin (“Gentle Rain”), jazz (“Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”), blues (“Every Day I Have The Blues”) and R&B (“Fever”). 

In addition to these new tunes, however, we pulled out some great tunes that we hadn’t played for several years like a fun New Orleans style arrangement of “Just A Closer Walk” and we performed the classic ballad “God Bless The Child” which featured Dr. Paul Worfel on trombone.  For the big band purists in the crowd we played the original versions of “Sing Sing Sing” and Earl Hines’ excellent alto sax feature “Harlem Nocture” which featured our lead alto, Mark Fritz.

Performing at Foellinger always seems to inject an extra boost of energy into the band…and this year was no exception!  We all had a great time and I think the crowd did, too.  Below is a picture from our appearance at Foellinger in 2009.

Unfortunately we did run into a bit of weather…the band was only able to perform from 8 until almost 9pm, cut a half hour short by a storm coming in complete with a tornado warning! But at least we got an hour or so in and had a good time. Thanks to Old Settler’s for having us.

See the website for more information - http://fortwaynebigbandjazzfest.com/.  See below for a poster.

There were 4 big bands performing for this event, each playing a 50 minute set starting on the hour beginning at noon.  The Blue River Big Band’s set was from 2:00 – 2:50pm.  There was also an “All Star Band” playing from 4:30 – 5:30 made up of players from the 4 big bands and several BRBB players participated in that as well.

The event was outside at the public library in downtown Fort Wayne - click here for Google Maps.

Hello.  I want to personally invite you to a special combined Benefit Concert for Crossroad Children’s Home presented by the Blue River Big Band www.blueriverbigband.com and the CHORDS Vocal Ensemble. www.ChordsMusic.org I encourage you to attend this program because, firstly, it is for a really good cause – www.crossroad-fwch.org – and secondly because I selfishly want you to hear two music ensembles that are very dear to my heart.  I have been playing in the Blue River Big Band since very near its beginning in 2001 and singing in the CHORDS Vocal Ensemble since 1989.  Both these music groups are excited about performing together — I sincerely hope you will call 484-4153 x 2002 and purchase tickets for you and your friends — tickets are only $10.00 each, tax-deductible, and I GUARANTEE you will receive every penny back and more of fun entertainment at Sweetwater Auditorium on Thursday, July 8th, at 7:30pm.  Both the event poster and the entire program are attached to this email.  Also look for an article about this concert in the News-Sentinel on Thursday, June 24th!  Bring some friends and enjoy a wonderful evening of music in a BEAUTIFUL new auditorium!  Thank you!  JPZ

Blue River Big Band and CHORDS Vocal Ensemble

I’ve Got You Under My Skin

Back Home Again In Indiana

Sway - Dawn Ward, Vocal Soloist

Route 66 - Dawn Ward, Vocal Soloist

La Rubia - Mark Fritz, Saxophone Soloist

Battle Hymn Of The Republic

America The Beautiful - Dawn Ward, Vocal Soloist

• Blue River Big Band •

Star-Spangled Banner

To The Flag An American Trilogy - James Zanker, Soloist

If God Be For Us

Since Jesus Passed By - Shawn Westbrook, Soloist

From The First Hallelujah To The Last Amen!

• CHORDS Vocal Ensemble •

TEN-MINUTE INTERMISSION

How Great Thou Art / Majesty

I’m Feelin’ Fine! Operator - Dawn Ward, Vocal Soloist

• CHORDS Vocal Ensemble •

I’m A Believer

Come In From The Rain - Dawn Ward, Vocal Soloist

Trombone Boogie

When You Wish Upon A Star - James Zanker, Trumpet Soloist

Respect - Dawn Ward, Vocal Soloist

• Blue River Big Band •

Then Came The Morning

In God We Still Trust - Shawn Westbrook, Soloist

Hallelujah To His Wonderful Name

• CHORDS Vocal Ensemble •

Standing On The Promises

This time, though, was a little different – our vocalist, Dawn Ward, joined us to sing on quite a few tunes.  We played tunes that we had not performed much in public including “How High the Moon”, “Night and Day”, “I Get a Kick Out of You” and lots of others.  We also had a guest drummer with us – Brandon Ford from Fort Wayne, and a guest keyboardist - Tim Reed from Manchester College.  As we like to say…a good time was had by all!

We debuted several songs that we’ll be featuring throughout the year including “You Do Something To Me”, “Every Day I Have the Blues”, “When You’re Smilin’”, “Deed I Do”, “Fever” and quite a few more.

The weather was a bit of a concern that day but the forecast was not very definitive so the concert was still held outside.  Quite a few people showed up despite the chance of rain and we did okay for awhile but about 30-45 minutes into it I noticed all of the umbrellas come up at once!  A handful of people did leave but many brave souls endured – some stayed under their umbrellas while some came and joined the band underneath the pavillion.  We were all one big happy family!  It was a lot of fun.

Jazz is an art form that is truly meant to be enjoyed live and, in my opinion, in a casual, intimate setting like this one.  We featured several members of the band and had a new keyboardist from Warsaw join us – Jim Pattison.  This was a really enjoyable evening - thanks to all who braved the cold and joined us!

Brewha Coffee House is located at 120 N. Main Street in Columbia City, IN and can be reached at 260-248-4111.  Visit www.brewhacoffeehouse.com for more information about Brew’ha.

Here’s a pic from our November performance at Brew’ha.

Here is a sneak peak from the new album.  This song is called Sway and has become a fan favorite!  See the Video tab under the Media Gallery for a full clip of this tune. 

The free-will offering taken up to benefit the Delts, a women’s organization that supports a variety of local charities, raised nearly $1,700!  We thank everyone who gave to this excellent organization that does a lot of good in the community.

The video below is from 2008 but will give you a taste of how much fun The Blue River Big Band has playing Christmas music!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=__OxcXir564

The Blue River Big Band prides itself on providing great music for ballroom dances and at the right tempo, which is of utmost importance for dancers!  We use the official NDCA (National Dance Council of America) tempo chart to be sure that we don’t play a tune too slow or too fast.

The event was held on December 12, 2009 from 7:30-10:30pm at the North Webster Community Center (State Road 13, 301 N. Main Street, North Webster, IN). 

If you’re interested in the Warsaw Ballroom Dance Association, contact Ray and Barbara Gsell at (574) 269-2287 or email them at rg0328@comcast.net.

Here’s a picture from when we performed at a 2008 Warsaw Ballroom Dance Association event.

We had the full group there although Dawn (vocalist) couldn’t be there and Carolyn (keyboards) was at the Columbia City High School musical production that evening so we asked Nick Bobay, IPFW student from Fort Wayne to come and join us.  Nick is a Percussion Performance major at IPFW but is also a very gifted piano player!  This was Nick’s first time with any of the Blue River bands.  It was a pleasure to have him with us…always fun to meet new musicians in the area.

Brew’ha is really an excellent place to enjoy live music.  We had a nice crowd show up…we even heard a comment that this was one of the busiest Tuesday nights in recent history!  Thanks to everyone who came out to enjoy the evening with us.

Here’s a picture from the event.

Brewha Coffee House is located at 120 N. Main Street in Columbia City, IN and can be reached at 260-248-4111.  Visit www.brewhacoffeehouse.com for more information about Brewha.

One thing we really enjoyed was to have Akira Murotani, a trumpet player in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, join us as a special guest.  Akira had played with us the previous summer during a concert in Columbia City and had wowed the audience with an amazing slow blues solo, so we requested Akira to perform a flugelhorn feature with us – the tune was the 50′s favorite “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”.  It was a lot of fun to work with him and, despite having been kicked in the mouth by his daughter earlier that day (which makes it difficult to play a brass instrument!) Akira nailed that tune.

This was a truly excellent event – everyone in the band stayed to listen to the fantastic music of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.  Hearing then live reminded me that I need to get in and listen to the Philharmonic much more often!  The Blue River Big Band would like to thank everyone who helped to make this event possible.

Click the link below to see the program from that evening.

Fanfare Concert Program from 9-5-09

This concert truly had a little of everything.  We had some classic big band with Duke Ellington (Harlem Nocturne featuring  Mark Fritz on alto sax and Do Nothin’ Til you Hear from Me with Dawn on vocals), Count Basie (I’ve Got You Under My Skin and Moten Swing), and Glenn Miller (Leap Frog), we had some pop/rock with two Beatles tunes ( Ticket to Ride arranged by our trumpeter James Zanker and Yesterday) and Respect, Dawn sang a patriotic number (America the Beautiful) and the band had fun singing in Cab Calloway’s classic slow blues tune Minnie the Moocher – plus a lot more!  We really had a good time playing at Jefferson Pointe…and I think the audience did, too.

Here are a couple pictures from the performance (click on each for a larger image).