By Steve Gilliam, University Relations
If the names Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie make you want to get up and dance, then you won’t want to miss “A Tribute to the Big Bands” on Sept. 29.
The concert will be at 7:30 p.m. in the School of Music Recital Hall at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students with valid ID. They will be available at the door, or in advance through the UNCG Box Office (334-4849).
Haines, who has been director of the Miles Davis Jazz Studies Program at UNCG since August 2000, said he expects all 350 seats in the recital hall to be filled for the popular event, and that people as young as 12 and as old as 85 will be there.
For added appeal, the Piedmont Swing Dancers will perform along with the music, Haines said.
Ann Fitzmaurice-Russ, president of the UNCG Alumni Association, said members of her board of directors and other alumni volunteers will dress in “Big Band-era” clothing and host a champagne intermission during the concert.
“We’ll help Steve Haines in setting the whole tone of the event,” Fitzmaurice-Russ said. “He’s getting a spotlight and some vintage cars from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and that will be really neat. It will just set the tone for that era.”
Of course, so will the music.
Among works to be performed by the UNCG Jazz Band are: “Nice and Easy,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “April in Paris,” “Opus One,” “Stardust,” “Begin the Beguine,” “String of Pearls,” “Pennsylvania 6-5000” and “In the Mood.”
The UNCG Jazz Ensemble set will include: “Intermission Riff,” “Down South Camp Meeting,” “Opus de Funk,” “Woodchopper’s Ball,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Satin Doll,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing),” “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Almost like Being in Love.”
Gregg Gelb, director of the UNCG Jazz Band, is also a saxophonist, clarinetist and arranger. He will play the clarinet on a few tunes during the concert. Gelb, founder and director of the Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Society, is also co-founder of and a member of the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra. His quartet plays regularly at Bogart’s in Raleigh.
Haines, who plays the double bass, teaches jazz composition and arranging, jazz ensemble, jazz pedagogy, jazz ear training and jazz piano skills at UNCG. He also coaches small jazz groups. He has been at UNCG since the fall of 1999.
Fitzmaurice-Russ said she’s excited about the concert. “Steve Haines has been so energetic and so enthusiastic. We’re very fortunate to have him here at UNCG. People should come to this concert. It should really be a fantastic event.”
