New Year's Eve big band gala returning to USS Hornet
New Year's Eve celebrations have a tendency to become traditions. In New York City, a giant ball has been dropping from a tower at Times Square. In Spain, a tradition is to eat exactly 12 grapes at midnight to ward off bad luck in the coming year.
Not to be outdone, for the past 16 years Alameda has gone back to its naval roots with one of its celebrations: the swing band gala aboard the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum.
A staple of the historic ship-turned-museum's yearend party since 2008, Gus Wedemeyer and his group, the Three O'Clock Jump Big Band (3oclockjump.com), will once again headline the event, the USS Hornet's New Year's Eve Big Band Gala 2023.
Alternating with the group in the nonstop swing tag team concert will be longtime San Francisco-based guitarist and bandleader Nick Rossi's (nickrossiarts.com) big band, Swing Six. Together they'll provide five hours of continuous big band-era swing action.
“There'll be no downtime for the entertainment. We'll be on, then they'll be on. It's back and forth, like tennis.
This is going to be a fun year,” Wedemeyer, 74, said.
The Alameda musician said he loves playing the gig because of the vibe he and his bandmates get from the audience.
“The crowds are fantastic. They're actually paying attention to what you're doing,” he said.
This gala's not for wallflowers as audience members are known to show up in their boogie shoes and cut a collective rug.
“The dancers are really responsive. They get out and dance, and they really have a great time,” he said.
Because the event takes place on a former World War II ship, some attendees have been known to cosplay and dress up in 1940s garb. This includes men in period-correct military uniforms, women gussied up as World War II nurses and slick dudes in Zoot suits.
“I expect to see some Zoot suits out there this year,” Wedemeyer sayssaid
Taking place on a floating museum, there will be plenty of diversions besides the music.
“There's a lot of stuff. It's not just a big empty room with a band,” Wedemeyer said.
One of the more intriguing exhibits on display near the three dance floors is one commemorating the 1969 landing at sea of Apollo 11, the NASA space voyage in which humans first set foot on the moon. The Hornet picked up those first three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
As a big band, Three O'Clock Jump definitely lives up to the name, not to mention the tour bus. Its 18 members include five saxophone players, four trombonists, four trumpeters, a drummer, a bassist, a pianist who also sings and another pianist: Wedemeyer's wife, Laura Brady, who provides vocals, too.
While Wedemeyer and Rossi's bands play swing music and standards, “we're unique enough between the two of us that there's a distinction,” Wedemeyer said. “We're not trying to do the same thing. We've got a male singer who plays the accordion — that's kind of a specialty thing. My wife sings a lot of the standards (including Ella Fitzgerald).”
The other accordionist/pianist singer, Len Rogers, also loves to sing Frank Sinatra tunes. Wedemeyer describes him as a Sinatra aficionado, not an impersonator.
“He's not trying to imitate Frank; he just likes to sing those songs,” he said.
Sinatra tunes Rogers has lined up for New Year's Eve include “I've Got You Under My Skin,” “Luck Be a Lady” and one of the favorites for Ol' Blue Eyes fans, “That's Life.”
Rossi's band, Swing Six, specializes in classic jazz from the 1920s to the 1960s. They put their own stamp on the great American songbook and modern jazz.
“We have planned three sets of highly danceable swing era-inspired jazz” Rossi said.
Swing Six features the reed stylings of Antioch's Kamrin Ortiz, whose tenor sax and clarinet play, Rossi said, is “earthy, exciting and swings like mad!”
Can you dig it? In addition to the swinging good times, the gala is an opportunity to support the 80-year-old warship's upkeep and education programs.
“We offer a pretty good selection of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs,” says Russell Moore, the USS Hornet's events and outreach director. “The ship is the backdrop for that. The inner workings allow kids to see and understand how technology works behind the scenes.”
The event begins at 7:15 p.m. with advance tickets starting at $69. General admission tickets are $75 on Monday.
For tickets and details, go to uss-hornet.org/calendar/ new-years-eve-big-bandgala-2023.