Big Band Jazz & Swing Concert

SOUNDS OF SWING BIG BAND

www.sosbigband.net

Director – Dave Coccia

508-254-0134

davecoccia@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  3/14/2022

Remember “Juke Box Saturday Night?” Experience it again when the exciting sound of Big Band Jazz and Swing comes to the Assembly Theater, 26 East Avenue Harrisville, RI, Saturday night the 26th at 7:30 p.m.. Top musicians and vocalists from both Rhode Island, and Mass. will fill the theater with that rich sound not often heard in these days of “techno,” digitally created music. Tickets are $15 per person at the door, or online at https://www.assemblytheatre.org/events.

For the concert on the 26th, the Band blends a bit of nostalgia with songs from the Great American Songbook, showcasing music from the greats including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Quincy Jones, and George Gershwin, with iconic songs made famous by the great vocalists including Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. Among the tunes will be, “Take The A Train,” “Come Fly With Me,” ”Almost Like Being In Love.” “It Had to Be You,” “Orange Colored Sky” and “Caravan.”

Arrangements in their “book” come from the very best of their day, and today’s classic “pop” from the likes of Chicago, and The Beatles. The SOS Big Band rehearses each Wednesday night in Cumberland RI, and has been preparing for this concert since January.

Some of the musicians and vocalists are driving over 100 miles each week to work with others  who love to produce this unique sound. For example, Singer Melinda Edge comes all the way from Weymouth, MA; drummer Michael Gross, from Mashpee on the Cape, and keyboardist/Band Manager Eric Hirsch comes up from Scituate, RI. Vocalist John Walmsley, well known to regional audiences, is night next door in Cumberland, RI.

Typically, the Band consists of five saxophones, four trombones, and four trumpets, with a full rhythm section of piano, guitar, bass, and drums, plus male and female vocalists. It has been together for over 20 years, playing concerts and benefits at outdoor summer venues, to formal programs with the Choral Arts Society of the South Shore, for example.

For more information about the Band, its performances, or to book the Band for a special event, please contact Eric Hirsch, Band Manager at 401-727-8826 or its Director, Dave Coccia at 508-254-0134.

Next, the SOS Band will support Homeless RI and the Attleboro Massachusetts Homeless Coalition with benefit concerts April 29th  and 30th at the Faith Alliance Church, 833 Pleasant Street Attleboro, and May 5th & 6th again at the Assembly Theater in Harrisville, RI. This time the Band with choir, soloists, and a tap dancer! presents a rarely performed concert of Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music, premiered at the New York Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on Dec. 26th 1965.  This will be a unique experience for both the jazz and sacred music lover. All concerts are at 7:30 p.m.

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