Jazz, big band on tap at Deer Creek June 27
From our weekly issue dated June 16, 2010
The Selma hills will be alive with the sounds of music from the Deer Creek Center when a Big Band & Jazz Extravaganza takes the stage on Sunday, June 27.
The line-up will consist of the Southern Oregon Jazz Orchestra, Oregon Little Big Band and Illinois Valley newcomer Gary Eby presenting a solo set on the marimba during the 4 to 7 p.m. open-air concert.
A special juried Art Fair also will take place during the afternoon, offering regionally renowned artists and other members of Kerby-based Southern Oregon Guild.
Southern Oregon Jazz Orchestra (SOJO) has in its repertoire a mix of highly danceable swing, Latin and classic big band arrangements. The band was formed in spring 2008 by trumpeter Corren Hileman and is already highly successful.
It has played in a variety of locations including the Bear Creek Summer Concert Series in Medford, and Rogue Valley Manor, as well as monthly at the Bellview Grange Hall in Ashland, the Avalon Bar & Grill in Talent, and the Evergreen Ballroom in Central Point.
SOJO also was invited to the Medford Jazz Jubilee in 2009 with an encore performance scheduled this year.
The band is an exciting mix of area musicians, former members of the Jefferson State Jazz Orchestra, and up-and-coming younger players.
Soloists are Alan Berman, featured male vocalist who also plays piano; and Dianne Strong, female vocalist. Instrumental soloists are baritone saxophonist Michael Vannice, Frank Hunnicutt on tenor saxophone, alto saxophonist Joe Chankin, and Pat DeBellis on trumpet.
Oregon Little Big Band is well-known to Grants Pass audiences, playing every other week at the G Street Supper Club as well as monthly at a special Jazz Vespers service at Newman United Methodist Church. Also, many recent fund-raisers including benefits for the Boys & Girls Club and Lovejoy Hospice.
A gathering of versatile musicians, the group performs Jazz classics ranging from Frank Sinatra“s stylized swing and the straight-ahead Jazz of such well-known composers as Thelonious Monk, to lively Jump-Swing for ballroom dancers and syncopated and sophisticated Latin Jazz by singer/composer Antonio Carlos Jobim.
The group also plays Modern Pop Jazz (The Crusaders, Grover Washington) as well as Jazz-Blues standards from Ray Charles and others. Michelle Le Comte and Tim Wallace are singers and instrumental soloists in the group.
River Valley Restaurant“s Cruisin“ Cafe, a converted 1949 Mercury, will be on-site offering barbecued chicken or vegetable kabob dinners for the event. And concert sponsor Illinois River Valley Arts Council will have beverages and desserts to benefit Learning Through Art.
Admission is $5 at the gate. Advance tickets are available at Cabin Chemistry in Cave Junction. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own seating and a picnic. Gates will open at 3 p.m., and guests are welcome to tour the grounds and experience the Art Fair before the concert begins.
Deer Creek Center is located at 1241 Illinois River Road, 1.3 miles west of the Selma Post Office. For further information visit www.irvac.com or phone 541-592-4444.
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