The University of Delaware Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Professor Tom Palmer brings the energy and excitement of big band jazz to the Mainstay in Rock Hall, Maryland with guest soloist Tony Ventura on guitar on Sunday May 3 at 4:00 p.m. Admission is $15.
For information and reservations call 410-639-9133. Information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
The University of Delaware Jazz Ensemble has played the Mainstay many times as part of their Spring schedule, each year bringing an outstanding group of 18 to 20 musicians and a vocalist or two to capture the energy and excitement of big band jazz. Instrumentation includes saxophone, trombone, trumpet, wind and rhythm sections as well as the vocalists.
Each year they bring a seasoned jazz soloist to perform with them. Their guest soloist this year will be University of Delaware faculty member Tony Ventura on guitar. Ventura has a degree in classical Guitar Performance from the Philadelphia Musical Academy (now University of the Arts.) He has worked with such artists as Sammy Davis Jr., Melba Moore, Jimmy Darrin and Mitzi Gaynor, including television appearances on the Johnny Carson Show, as well as with legendary talk-show hosts Phil Donahue, Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin. For nine years, he toured extensively as a guitarist, singer and composer with Broadway entertainer Ben Vereen.
The Jazz Ensemble’s repertoire is steeped in the sounds of the big bands such as Count Basie and Buddy Rich and will feature a number of big band favorites and standards from the Great American Songbook. The group also will be playing some vocal and guitar numbers by Antonio Carlos Jobim to honor the memory of Charlie Byrd who in addition to introducing the sounds of Bossa Nova and composers like Jobim to the United States, was an early mentor to The Mainstay.
The Mainstay (Home of Musical Magic) is the friendly informal storefront performing arts center on Rock Hall’s old time Main Street. For information and reservations call the Mainstay at 410-639-9133. More information is also available at the Mainstay’s website https://www.mainstayrockhall.org.
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