We put together an “all-star” big band to play for a Parramatta Rotary club function. It was at the Holiday Inn at Parramatta. Everyone in the band was a member of our combos (except for one last-minute substitute, Thanks Lee). It was a 13-piece ‘little big band’ format, playing specially arranged or adapted music. It worked really well, and sounded very good.
We don’t plan to make it a regular thing, but we will certainly to it again. Because it was all combo student, everyone was a soloist with great ears and ability to think and adapt ‘on the spot’. That made for a great, flexible and very musical group. Working title for the group is the ‘JWA Stage Band’, to differentiate it from the SYJO community big bands we sponsor.
