For the ninth year, swinging Big Band music will return to Walnut Beach in 2014.
Sponsored by Ashtabula County Medical Center, Big Bands on the Beach is a monthly series of free concerts featuring local big bands four Sundays in the summer.
Bands play at the Walnut Beach concession stand, with open seating for the audience. Bring a chair and sit in the shade near the hillside, or bring a blanket and enjoy the music from the beach. Kick off your shoes and dance in the grass near the stage.
The 2014 schedule is:
- June 15 – Madison Jazz Project
- July 6 – Ed Michaels Jazz Ensemble
- July 20 – Prime Time Big Band
- August 17 – Tony Esposito Big Band
Concerts are scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m.
Ed Michaels has been a jazz staple in Northeast Ohio for years. He is a tenor saxophonist who regularly performs with top musicians of Northeast Ohio. Michaels has released a CD, entitled “Going Beyond.” His musical influences include Phil Woods, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and other jazz greats.
Michaels was recently honored by the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Prime Time Big Band formed in 1976 as the Richmond Heights Community Big Band. Through the years, members have come and gone, but several of the original band members continue to offer the same sound – now as the Prime Time Big Band.
The band’s style includes a repertoire of dance favorites including foxtrots, waltzes, polkas and more. However, the band’s roots are in big band favorites including swing music.
Madison Jazz Project has been playing in northeast Ohio since 1994. The group is a mix of men and women from high-school age to octogenarians who all share a love of swinging music. The band is a brass ensemble with drums and keyboard.
They blend a traditional jazz and big band sound, and play standards such as “Little Brown Jug”, “New York, New York,” “Over the Rainbow”, “Summertime”, and “Witchcraft” and other hits from Duke Ellington, Les Brown, Perry Como and more.
The Tony Esposito Big Band plays a variety of popular favorites from the 1930s and 1940s, and focuses on swing music that showcases Tony’s trumpet playing, as well as that of other band members.
Each concert will also feature a presentation by an ACMC medical provider, covering topics such as diabetes, blood pressure, neurological concerns and more.
Big Bands on the Beach is hosted by the City of Ashtabula, sponsored by ACMC and organized by Ashtabula resident Timothy Kalil, PhD.
The full schedule is also available by visiting the ACMC website at www.acmchealth.org and clicking on the ACMC Calendar.
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