Breaking away from tradition
Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble to perform in Summerside Feb. 15
The Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble is breaking away from tradition.
After years of exclusively performing in the capital city region, the 18-piece band is taking a road trip.
“It’s been 15 years since we’ve played in Summerside and I felt it was time,” says Doug Millington, director of the group that will be heading west to perform a show on Saturday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m. at the Silver Fox Entertainment Centre.
Millington credits band members Tristan Fox,
Bruce Lochhead and Mark Cerisano--all from Prince County--for coming up with the idea.
“I’m always looking for performance venues because it’s hard to find a place that will fit a big band,” said Millington.
So, after checking it out with the manager, he discovered the size of the room was a perfect fit for the band as well as the audience it would draw.
“It’s going to be great. There’s even a dance floor for people who want to dance.”
Since 1996 the Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble has been setting feet a-dancing with its eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary big band jazz. The band features Island musicians coming with a wide range of backgrounds, from gifted students, to music teachers and seasoned professionals.
For the show, the band will perform a varied repertoire. It includes standards like In the Mood and Spain, Chicken, a funk standard, Freddie the Freeloader by Miles Davis, Caravan by Duke Ellington, Sing, Sing, Sing, Bésame Mucho and more.
“Most of these are tunes that have been performed by one band or another for the past 30, 40, up to 50 years, in one form or another,” said Millington.
He added the Summerside show is a great way to extend the band’s reach.
“It’s a wonderful way to introduce the band’s repertoire other to music lovers.”
The show will also feature a guest performance from the Grove Company. The popular six-piece horn band specializes in original jazz and rock arrangements, often featuring mashups of different tunes.
“For example, they do Weather Reports Birdland paired with Van Morrison’s Brown-Eyed Girl,” said Millington.
There will also be solos by Dan Rowswell, curator of Island Jazz, a live music series that runs Thursday night at Baba’s Lounge in Charlottetown and Liam Payne, the group’s piano player.
“I’m feeling very positive about the night. We hope it’s the first of many we’ll take. But it depends on Summerside. If we get a good crowd, we’ll be back," said Millington.