This weekend wasn’t just theatre — it was also jazz. Although we wanted to go to the BBVD concert in San Juan Capestrano at The Coach House Saturday night, it was (a) too far away from Escondido, and (b) we already had tickets for Young Frankenstein. But that doesn’t mean we went jazz-less, for this afternoon saw us in Carlsbad for a concert of the “Coastal Cities Jazz Band“.
CCJB is a regional jazz band consisting of 17 members who enjoy the art of playing in the style of a big band/Jazz, and who are some of the finest musicians in San Diego County. The band consists of Vern Malec, Jim Reed, Chris Klich, Scott Drechsel, and David Hayes on Saxophone; Patrick Russo, Rick Evans, Don Sharp, and Marc Brandl on Trumpet; Greg Sorcsek, Mark Lewis, Scott Kyle, and Gary Adcock (the ring leader) on Trombone; and Hans Chamberlin, Jodie Hill, David Whitman, and Chris Montgomery as the Rhythm Section. Their program today include two guest performers: Andy Martin (who we’ve seen numerous times at the Pantages) on Trombone, and Michael Ruhl as guest vocalist.
The program featured a number of tunes, many arranged by Gordon Goodwin and Sammy Nestico. The specific songs were:
- First Set: High Maintenance, A Night in Tunisia, I’ve Got Plenty of Nothing, Satin Doll, Teach Me Tonight, Mack the Knife, Surry with a Fringe on Top, Imagine What a Change Will Do, and Night and Day.
- Second Set: Strutting with some Barbeque, Georgia on my Mind, Where or When, A Time for Love, On Green Dolphin Street, Londonderry Air, and Caravan.
- Encore: Night Train
Alas, CCJB doesn’t have any albums out, so we’ll need hunt down some from their arrangers. All in all, it was a very nice program, and a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Dining Note: Found a great pizzeria in Carlsbad: Paradise Pizza. What’s nice about this place is that they make their own gluten-free pizza dough… meaning not only GF pizzas, but GF calzones and cinammon rolls. My wife was ecstatic. Their regular calzone was pretty good as well!