Presented by the Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz (CPFJ) on Sunday, April 26th.
All concerts held at 6p.m. at The Hilton Harrisburg located at 1 North 2nd Street, Harrisburg PA 17101. Phone: 717-233-6000
The Mike Vax Big Band-Featuring Alumni of the Stan Kenton Orchestra Opening at 5pm: The NorthernHigh School Jazz Band, Joe Nebistinsky, Director. Tickets for this event are $28 for General Adult Admission and $25 for all other tickets.
About the Mike Vax Big Band
Alumni from the 1956-1978 Stan Kenton Orchestras come together to perform for festivals, clinics, concerts, cruises and dances. The band makes tours around the United States every year, and does jazz cruises and festivals. We perform some of the well-known music of the Stan Kenton Orchestra; plus in keeping with Stan’s insistence on not just performing nostalgia type music, we also perform fresh new material written in the Kenton style, as well as original material written by members of the Band. We are NOT trying to be the “Stan Kenton Orchestra,” but we are carrying on his tradition of dedication to creative music and to jazz education.
Leader Mike Vax is a product of the City of Oakland, CA, and the Oakland Public Schools, having graduated from Oakland High School in 1960. He has led a big band off and on since his days at College of the Pacific over 45 years ago. A few of his credits include being first trumpet, soloist and road manager of the Stan Kenton Orchestra, as well as being co-leader while Mr. Kenton was recovering from surgery; leading the Dukes of Dixieland in New Orleans; producing and/or music directing for over 30 jazz festivals; and performing workshops for more than 2000 high schools, colleges and universities all over the world. He is an International Artist for the Getzen Company.
The goals of the big band are to perform meaningful music, talk about the importance of the jazz heritage in America, bring jazz music to young people, and to offer our audiences a relaxed, entertaining atmosphere.
Friends of Big band Jazz is the support group for The Mike Vax Big Band. This nonprofit corporation sends students to summer jazz camps on scholarships, donates funds to high school music programs and youth orchestras, and raises money for many good causes that have to do with music and education. Recently a donation was made to the Habitat for Humanity Musicians Village in New Orleans. They also sponsor the Kenton Alumni Tours and the Prescott Jazz Summit, which brings students and professional musicians together for performances and workshops.
About Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz (CPFJ)
Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz is dedicated to preserving, promoting and presenting JAZZ, America?s original art form. We produce seven monthly concerts, an annual festival, an annual picnic and a jazz camp for youth. CPFJ is a non-profit, all-volunteer, membership organization formed in 1980 to serve a diverse community of jazz lovers in south central Pennsylvania.
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Our monthly concerts are held on Sunday evenings in Jan., Feb., March, April, Sept., Oct. & Nov. at The Hilton Harrisburg located at 1 North 2nd Street, Harrisburg PA 17101. Phone: 717-233-6000
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