The Cal Poly Collegians Alumni Big Band will celebrate its 47-year reunion with a performance from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, in the Madonna Inn Ballroom in San Luis Obispo.
The all-male ensemble of 20 musicians will recreate the swinging sounds of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Les Brown and other big bands of the 1940s through the ’60s. The program, featuring big band jazz and swing, is great for dancing or just listening.
Music majors Alex Jacobius, trombone, and Troy Hanson, bass – winners of the 2013-14 Cal Poly Collegians’ Jazz Scholarship – will join in the performance.
The alumni band is comprised of Cal Poly graduates from the late ’40s to the early ’60s who travel to San Luis Obispo from around California, Arizona, Oregon and Massachusetts for the reunion concert. The band – predecessor to today’s acclaimed University Jazz Bands – was founded in 1937 by then Music Department Head Harold P. Davidson.
The alumni band has performed at a variety of local venues on the Central Coast over the years, including the Madonna Inn Ballroom since 1999.
Admission to the concert is free, but reservations are required for dinner and for those who plan to just listen to music and/or dance. Voluntary contributions to Cal Poly’s Collegians Jazz Scholarship are appreciated. To make a dinner reservation at the Madonna Inn, call 805-543-3000.
For more information about the Cal Poly Collegians Alumni Big Band, including historic photos, visit the group’s website at http://www.cpcollegiansalumni.com.