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VJC Big Band feat. Alexis Cole

December 1, 2023 @ 7:30 pm

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The VJC Big Band performs danceable tunes with New York-based vocalist Alexis Cole, who, according to Jazz Times magazine, conveys “an easy sense of swing, strongly reminiscent of Sarah Vaughan.”  The VJC Big Band, under the leadership of musical director Rob Freeberg, is made up of area professional musicians who come together to enjoy the rewards of playing invigorating, challenging and historically significant repertoire while raising money for the VJC’s Scholarship Fund.

This year the band will feature vocalist Alexis Cole, a singer who has performed at celebrated venues including The Carlyle, Carnegie Hall, Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Blue Note. She has also sung as a soloist with the Boston Pops and the Detroit Symphony. For six years, Ms. Cole served in the US Army as the lead singer for the West Point Band’s Jazz Knights. She will be singing the arrangements that were prepared for her by Scott Arcangel, the Knight’s pianist and arranger during her deployment. A few classics that Cole will be singing with the big band include swing tunes like “Our Love is Here to Stay,” “You Make Me Feel So Young,” “Beyond the Sea” and “Social Call” and Jobim bossa novas such as “Corcovado” and “Triste.” Alexis Cole has recorded a dozen albums as a leader with such luminaries as pianist Harry Pickens and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli.

Past headliners of this big band gala have included Evan Arntzen, Amanda Carr, Houston Person, Dave Stryker, Samirah Evans, Rich Greenblatt, Mark Anagnostopulos, Rebecca Holtz, Kevin Mahogany, Miles Griffith, Peter Eldridge, Wanda Houston and timbalero Eguie Castrillo.

The members of the 2023 VJC Big Band include trumpeters Don Anderson, Rick Anderson, Haneef Nelson, Joe Conti and Rob Freeberg; woodwind players Michael Zsoldos, Sherm Fox, Matt Steckler, Carl Clements, and Donna Morse; trombonists Tim Atherton, Priyana Magavi, Dave Sporny and Amaranth Cole; and rhythm section members Eugene Uman (piano), Wes Brown (bass), and Steve Rice (drums).

Cole…displays an exuberant personality, outstanding diction, flawless pitch, and inspired scat technique, all qualities that should place her in the highest echelon of contemporary jazz singers…

—Jazz History Online

Trumpet: Don Anderson, Rick Anderson, Haneef Nelson, Joe Conti, Rob Freeberg
Woodwinds: Michael Zsoldos, Sherm Fox, Matt Steckler, Carl Clements, Donna Morse
Trombone: Tim Atherton, Priyana Magavi, Dave Sporny, Amaranth Cole
Rhythm Section: Eugene Uman (piano), Wes Brown (bass), Steve Rice (drums)




 

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