Gateway Big Band swings into Morinville

The Gateway Big Band is a driving force on the local jazz scene. For 25 years it has performed at some of Edmonton’s pre-eminent locales including Jazz City, the Works Festival, Yardbird Suite and the Royal Alberta Museum.

On Thursday, Nov. 7 it arrives for a debut performance at the Morinville Community Cultural Centre in An Evening of Swing Music.

Music director Allen Jacobson has set his sights on creating a stellar concert and he’s selected repertoire from the all-time greats including Duke Ellington and Count Basie.

For extra light-hearted fun, he’s thrown in a generous helping of more modern charts such as Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon to Stan Getz’s bossa nova hit Girl From Ipanema.

Quite simply, the 18-piece band will charm you, encourage you to dance and sing along as well as generally brighten your mood.

“This is a chance to pay homage to history’s biggest dance numbers and to respect the traditions,” notes Jacobsen, now in his second year as the band director. He also doubles as Morinville’s community development coordinator.

For Jacobsen, who has spent the better part of his life dedicated to preserving and promoting jazz, music is the language of the heart and this concert is the continuation of a personal journey.

“There are not many opportunities to hear a band of this calibre in a phenomenal building. It’s also a chance to hear great music that not only was part of American history, but also that of Alberta.”

He refers to the long running Sylvan Lake Jazz Festival where musicians from across Canada have honed their chops and entertained enthusiastic crowds.

“It’s not about us. It’s about respect for the music and paying respect to the composer and arranger and respecting the art form.”