Fans of big band music should plan to be at an upcoming concert at a club in Dayton, a few miles from Kettering.
The Blue Wisp Big Band, based in Cincinnati, is on the way with more chart-topping hits from the era of the big bands, also called jazz orchestras. Events like this may benefit from advertisements, which organizers can create using poster printing.
John Von Ohlen, a drummer who had played in the bands of Stan Kenton, a jazz legend who founded his first orchestra in 1940; and Woody Herman, whose band was known for its interpretation of the Blues, founded the Blue Wisp Big Band in 1979. The co-founder was Don Johnson, a trumpeter known throughout the Midwest for his talent.
Von Ohlen was appearing at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club as part of a trio and asked the club’s owner if he could add a horn section, recreating the big band sound. The owner agreed, and the Blue Wisp Big Band began appearing in January 1980, playing big band hits weekly, an agreement that lasted for more than 40 years.
The big band era is generally defined as the years from about 1935 until the late 1940s, Some of the most famous hits include “In the Mood” and “Take the ‘A’ Train.”
The Blue Wisp Big Band will appear at the Hidden Gem Music Club, located at 455 Miamisburg Centerville Road in Dayton, on March 1.
