free for persons under 18 years or with student ID
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Get ready for a concert worthy of the jazz greats as Andrew Cleaver and the Space Coast Symphony JAZZ Orchestra present Big Band Favorites. You can catch the performance on Saturday, August 31 at 7 p.m. at the Satellite High School Performing Arts Center, 300 Scorpion Court in Satellite Beach.
The swinging autumn program includes music from the big band era, including music by Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Count Basie.
Audiences will also hear modern pieces from artists such as Peter Ellman, Sammy Nestico and Maynard Ferguson. Featuring outstanding jazz musicians from near and far, the SCSJO will take you back in time with “American Patrol,” “Tuxedo Junction” and “Sing, Sing, Sing,” while also introducing you to big band jazz favorites from the ’70s, including “Maria” and “Besame Mucho.”
Bandleader and saxophonist Andrew Cleaver will pay tribute to the late Charlie Almeida with “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most.” Almeida was a founding member of the U.S. Air Force’s elite jazz ensemble, Airman of Note, and a member of the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors.
The program also includes a dedication to Marshall Frank, author/musician and founder of Brevard’s Creative Arts Foundation, known for its support of young artists’ development. The jazz musicians will be accompanied this evening by sultry singer Chase Shelleé from Orlando.
Originally from the Philippines, Shelleé is currently working on her second album and is the frontwoman of the vintage band Underground Retro.
Tickets for Big Band Favorites are $35 in advance for adults and are available through the orchestra’s website at SpaceCoastSymphony.org or at Marine Bank & Trust in Suntree.
Big Band Favorites is free for anyone under 18 or with a student ID.
The conductor of the Space Coast Symphony JAZZ Orchestra, Andrew Cleaver, is no newcomer to jazz. During his time in the United States Air Force, the bandleader played with the renowned jazz band Airmen of Note.
He has toured the world and was the lead saxophonist with the Air Force’s Glenn Miller Band. For Big Band Favorites, he has assembled a cadre of jazz musicians of the highest caliber.
“There are some stars coming to this concert from Orlando and Detroit,” said Cleaver.
“Mike Williams played first trumpet with the Count Basie Orchestra for 25 years, Joe Eckert was first alto saxophonist with the Air Force’s Airmen of Note for 20 years, and the famous Daniel Jordan on first tenor saxophone has played with Maynard Ferguson, among others. These are not ordinary musicians. Jazz fans should prepare themselves for an experience they will not soon forget.”
Concertgoers ages 18 and under, or with a student ID, are admitted free to any SCSO concert.
For more information about the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra and the Space Coast Symphony JAZZ Orchestra in the 2024–25 season, visit SpaceCoastSymphony.org or call toll-free 855-252-7276.
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