The Third Time is a Charm !!!
This is the third CD from Northern California's Straight Ahead Big Band, and it's packed with great music. There are nineteen tunes, with enough variety to offer something for every music lover out there. Fans of old theaters are buying this because of the fabulous cover photo of the historic Cascade Theatre. And the music is great !!! So either way you get a bonus. Buy it for the music; get the photo -- or vice-versa.
The third CD starts off like our second, in a patriotic vein, with a nice instrumental arrangement of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A. We appreciate the freedoms and opportunities that we all enjoy so much. It's great to know that we can do something like this if we just want to do it.
At #2 is the great Bob Haggart, Ray Bauduc favorite, "South Rampart Street Parade". A superb big band adaptation, this one never fails to get the ladies up and parading with their umbrellas.
"When I Fall In Love," #3 on the play list, is the first of eight vocals featuring Nancy Fischer. (The president of the local jazz society travels to dozens of festivals all over the country every year, and told us there isn't another female singer out there any better than Nancy. I believe him.) We've been fortunate to play this at several weddings, including for each of the two ladies playing bari sax on this CD. Listen to this with somebody you love.
Track number 4 is "Over the Rainbow," recently selected as the best movie song of all time, and this version should show you why. It starts with the little known verse and really showcases Nancy's voice.
Number 5 is "Cherry Pink." This cha cha is a nice setting for George Goehner's sweet trumpet and Dave Barnett's multifaceted drumming talents.
Then we put a waltz in on the 6th track. "Jean" is from the movie "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," and it features the sweet sax sound of Steve Fischer's alto on a song dedicated to Nancy's late mother.
Number 7 is "The Girl from Ipanema," with Nancy again on the vocal of the Jobim bossa nova favorite.
If you only have time to pick just one song to listen to on this CD, start with track #8, "Summertime." There's nice alto and bari work, and a great trumpet solo by Bob Sage, but this is obviously from all of Nancy's heart. She's had this ending in the back of her mind for years, and we finally gave her the chance to do it her way. Wow!
The 9th tune, "Let's Do It," is an instrumental version. For a big band, a Cole Porter tune arranged by Sammy Nestico is about as much fun as it gets.
Tune 10, "Trumpet Nocturne," features another of our talented trumpeters, Dick Morris, on a lovely ballad in the Kenton mold by Lennie Niehaus.
The 11th tune is "All of Me." We've done this tune since the band started, in several slightly different versions, and are still having fun with it. We open up for solos by John Schlenz on trombone, Steve on alto, and then a sort of soft shout trad styled segment featuring John, Dick Morris, and Craig Williams on tenor sax.
"I Can't Stop Loving You" is the 12th track, and I'd like to dedicate this tune to the memory of Mr. Ray Charles Robinson, who passed away shortly after we finished this CD. The music world won't be the same without Brother Ray.
From the Woody Herman band comes track #13, "Things Ain't What They Used To Be." The great piano intro rolls off the talented hands of Bob Hansen, Mitch Hawley really gets into the groove on tenor, and Steve switches to soprano as the band kicks into high gear. Go Dave!
Then back to vocals. Number 14 is "Teach Me Tonight." Such a sultry song; I'm glad we got this for Nancy. Nice tenor by Mitch.
Number 15, "A Foggy Day," is a Dave Wolpe chart of the Gershwin tune that I stumbled onto in a dusty bin of an old music store in San Francisco. A good find.
The arrangement of "Kansas City" at #16 is a real "oldie but a goodie" that's easy to open up in the middle for solos. This version features Craig Williams on tenor, Carlo Fazio on Trumpet, Bruce Gerard on trombone, and our "new guy," Lou Polcari, on alto.
Tune number 17 is "Reuben's Blues." I was thrilled to find this chart, which I have on an old Kenton album, and I always loved it. From Tom Andrews' bass intro through the trombone section work and Mitch's soprano solo, this is just cool all the way.
The last vocal, track 18, is "My Funny Valentine." Nancy has always sung this with our combo (that's a plug; see our "Book Six"). I put together this version, mostly keeping the band out of her way, just letting her sing it, and letting Ron Largent display his tone & talent on the trombone solo. Add Bob Hansen's inventive piano intro and Dick Morris's tasty muted trumpet, and you have over five minutes of pure mood.
To end this CD at #19 is "Two O'clock Jump." What a way to go! Bob on the piano, trumpet and tenor solos by Dick and Mitch, Dave's driving drumming, and solid section work all around take us home in fine style.
This band is as much a pleasure to work with and as much fun to listen to as any most of us have ever been with. We hope you'll buy our CDs (Kids! Buy all 3!!! Check out the combo CD!!!), spread the word, and we'll keep playing this great music for the listening public. Please visit our web site at www.straightaheadbigband.com, and feel free to drop us a note telling us what you think. We think the third time's the charm.
ABOUT THE THEATRE
The old theater built in 1935, was a masterpiece, a superb example of Art Deco in northern California, complete with gold and silver gilded walls, ornate plasterwork, a grand neon marquee, and intricate decorative painting. Other significant architectural elements include a detailed cast concrete frieze at its parapet, an original painted WPA-style mural depicting north state industry, magnificent chandeliers, ornate cast iron seat end standards, and period balustrades. For six decades, the Cascade Theatre was a staple attraction for Redding's downtown, drawing people in to see motion pictures, vaudeville acts, and music performances. But like many downtown theaters of its era, the Cascade struggled with the rise of eight and ten screen multiplex cinemas. Dwindling audiences in the 1970s led to the insult and injury of turning the Cascade into a four-screen multiplex, but it still struggled. The Cascade finally closed in 1997. But now there's a revival going on in Redding to bring the Cascade Theatre back to life! With the help of the community, the theatre is being restored into a multi-use performing arts venue for north state residents. Financed through a combination of private and public funding, including Southern Oregon University's Jefferson Public Radio (who purchased the building in June of 1999), the JPR Foundation (the private non-profit organization that supports Jefferson Public Radio's activities) and the Cascade Theatre Restoration Committee -a broad-based local group comprising community leaders, downtown advocates, and local business owners, working to plan and raise funds for the project - the Cascade Theatre Restoration Project is targeted for completion in August of 2004 (for more information, visit www.cascadetheatre.org). For the Cascade Theater, this is a third incarnation, one that the Straight Ahead Big Band is delighted to support. We look forward to bringing live music back to the stage of this beautiful theater, and hope to see you there. The third time is a charm, indeed.
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