PREVIEW
It’s a Big Band Christmas II (Sequel)
Mission Hill Brass
With special guests Capital City Big Band
Sunday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.
St. Albert United Church
20 Green Grove Dr.
Tickets: $20 at door; children under 12, free
Swing and sway, jump and jive. Big band music is alive and roaring.
One big band is great. Two big bands playing a concert has a way of bringing the house down.
For its annual holiday concert, Mission Hill Brass once again plans to light up the stage with a return visit from the illustrious Capital City Big Band.
It’s a Big Band Christmas II (The Sequel) takes place Sunday, Dec. 16, at St. Albert United Church.
St. Albert’s 30-piece British-style brass band trots out their Christmas mix of traditional classics and contemporary grooves in partnership with Capital City’s jazzier, more improvised standards.
Under the direction of Daniel Skepple, Mission Hill Brass has ramped up its musicianship with tunes such as Winter Wonderland, the theme from the animated movie, The Snowman, and Christmas Joy, a classic Christmas march played by bands worldwide.
The year 2018 marks the 200th anniversary of Stille Nacht (Silent Night), and Skepple also features Lorraine Conley singing the hymn. Its beautiful lyrics and emotional melody convey the essence of peace and love and will be a concert highlight.
Jean-Francois Picard, conductor for Capital City, varies the evening with three jazz charts and three jazz-flavoured seasonal tunes including Jingle Bells, A White Christmas and A Big Band Christmas Medley.
Groovin’ Hard, a classic Don Menza chart composed for the Buddy Rich Big Band, is a solid hard swing piece with some tasty sax sections. Although originally written with no solos, Picard opted to showcase Marc Demontigny with a tenor sax solo.
“Marc is a very intense player and it suits him well,” said Picard.
Capital City also introduces Gordon Goodwin’s Jazz Police first played by Big Phat Band. This selection features guitarist Archer Milan on solo.
“It has a rock feel. It’s written in a diverse style and the rock feel suits the guitar.”
Capital City’s third jazz standard veers towards blues with Woody Herman’s 1939 signature work, Woodchopper’s Ball. The piece demands four horn solos and Picard has nabbed one of them. Yes, he’ll be featured on clarinet, one of three instruments he plays including saxophone and flute.
As Picard noted, “Come and see this new band. They are eager. They want to sound good and they are committed to achieving a high level of musicianship. It’s something not to be missed.”
