Big Band readies for Valentine’s Day dance at Riordan Hall
For 27 years, the Bella Vista Big Band has been celebrating Valentine’s Day in Riordan Hall. This year, the tradition continues.
“We’re a real big band,” said member Loren Wagner. It’s a 15-piece band that includes five saxes, three trumpets and three trombones, as well as vocals.
Several members retired from musical careers including the band’s drummer, who played with Les Brown, member Charlie Danielson said. The band played at two presidential inaugurations, he added.
“We’re blessed with a lot of talent in the neighborhood,” he said.
They share some members with the other band in Bella Vista, the JM Band, formerly known as the Jack Mitchell band, but there are some differences, Wagner said.
Years ago Jack Mitchell split his band off from the Bella Vista Big Band because he liked the more up-tempo music. The Big Band concentrates on music that can be danced to, Wagner said.
“We still play the standards,” Danielson said. “The good standards from back in the war days and the people still like that. We play some new Latin music and a little rock for the young kids, but it’s always big-band style. It’s the stuff you can go away humming and tapping your toe to.”
Riordan Hall has been a good venue for the band.
“They’ll put tables out with tablecloths and candles. There are special lights in the ceiling that make it look more like a ballroom. It fits the music we are doing,” Wagner said. There are often a few couples who arrive dressed for the era when Big Bands were king.
In recent years, there’s also been a lot of college students who arrive dressed in jeans. They like the dancing, he said. He usually puts up flyers around the University of Arkansas Music Department. There’s a ballroom dance class at UA, he explained.
There’s also a ballroom dance instructor who comes to all the Big Band shows and puts on a 30-minute dance lesson before the band begins. During a break, he and his students often perform a demonstration. Riordan Hall events also feature a cash bar.
The band plays seven or eight shows a year and would play more if they had the opportunity, both Wagner and Danielson agreed. They get together and rehearse before each show because the members change constantly.
“I would (rehearse) a couple of times a month because I love it,” Danielson said, but several band members travel a long distance for each gig so they don’t want to ask them to make the drive very often.
Danielson keeps a database of about 400 people who receive information about each of the band’s gigs. That is the extent of their advertising.
“It’s a fun crowd to play for. They love it,” Danielson said. “They come in early for the dance lessons. They’ll fill that floor.”