Review: Hotel Paradise Roof Garden Orchestra, Sept. 9, 2018
Picture this—a band of twelve musicians decked out in white busboy jackets with red carnations and a female singer in 1920s flapper-style dress, necklace and headband. Aside from the typical jazz band instrumentation of saxes, brass, piano and drums, the band features banjo, tuba and violin. | Read more>>
Big Band of the Week – Touch of Class
Today’s installment is the last in our 33-part Big Band of the Week series. Who would have thought at the outset that there were so many big bands in the Baltimore metro area or such a wide variety? if you haven’t read previous profiles we encourage you to do so; and to check out some of the area’s big bands as you see them listed on our calendar. | Read more>>
Big Band of the Week – Thom Roland Dance Band
Drummer Tom Schwartz took over trombonist George Quinan’s Hunt Valley Jazz Band in 2000, purchased its library and changed the name to Thom Roland Dance Band. He says that the band’s book of charts from the 1940s – ‘70s is patterned after Shades of Blue’s: i.e., all recognizable dance tunes. | Read more>>
Big Band of the Week – Sunday Night Big Band
What do you do if you want to return to big band jazz after not playing your horn for years, but you cannot find a band in your area? Well, if you’re Bob Luce, you start your own. That’s what the computer scientist/tenor saxophonist/vocalist did in January, 2014. | Read more>>
Big Band of the Week – Sentimental Journey Orchestra
With a name taken from a hit song of 1944, you might expect Baltimore’s Sentimental Journey Orchestra (SJO) to stick to tunes from the Swing Era. That was true when Don Steinwig, veteran of the Swing Era’s Jan Savitt and his Top Hatters big band, formed SJO in 1977, but the band has since expanded its repertoire. | Read more>>