Saturday, April 20, 2024
Fair, 65°Wind: 10.4 mph, S
Welcome to our new web site!
To give our readers a chance to experience all that our new website has to offer, we have made all content freely avaiable, through October 1, 2018.
During this time, print and digital subscribers will not need to log in to view our stories or e-editions.
The Mesilla Valley Swing Band (MVSB) will begin its 13th season with a Wednesday, Sept. 1, rehearsal.
The big band will rehearse at 6:30 p.m. at First Christian Church, 1809 El Paseo Road.
“The band has missed playing together for about a year and a half,” said band member James Helder. “All members who are fully vaccinated are encouraged to join in the fun.”
The band has openings for additional players in the trumpet section as well as an opening for baritone sax and trombone, Helder said.
He said the band “plays Big Band music from the entire history of the genre, going back to the time of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Harry James, the Dorsey Brothers and more. Of course, music from the newer bands such as Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, Stan Kenton and The Big Phat Band is also included in the repertoire.”
MVSB plays four or five concerts per year, Helder said.
“The main focus of the band is to enjoy playing together,” he said. “It is quite a collection of gregarious individuals spanning a wide range of ages.
“Big Band is a form of jazz in a large group setting, so opportunities to improvise and express oneself are many,” Helder said.
The term Big Band “generally refers to the Swing Era starting around 1935,” according to acousticmusic.org. “It had evolved naturally from the blues and jazz of New Orleans, Chicago and Kansas City.”
Contact Helder at 575-373-2188 and drh@cognozor.com.
