Sunday Afternoon
Sunday, October 14, 2012
2:00 pm
Hilltop Auditorium
Click here for map & directions
Tickets: Free
Swing Fever
Swing Fever has been performing jazz of the 1930’s and 40’s for thirty-three years. The band has toured and recorded with renowned musicians, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, trumpeter Clark Terry, clarinetist Buddy DeFranco and vibraphonist Terry Gibbs.
They have released three CDs, two of them with Duke Ellington. A fourth CD, from live tour performances with Buddy DeFranco and Terry Gibbs, will appear this Fall. Swing Fever is dedicated to the music of the Swing Era, playing it as critic Phil Elwood said, “as though the numbers are on today’s Hit Parade.” The band treats Swing Era music as a living breathing form, to which the players bring fresh excitement, new arrangements and unusual instrumentation. Clever, fun, romantic, moody, witty – here is wonderful, classic music presented in its full emotional range. As Jazz Now said, “Swing Fever keeps its music alive without turning it into a museum piece.” If this is the band’s mission, it is a successful one, as demonstrated by the band’s notable longevity and popularity.
Denise Perrier’s thirty-plus-year career has involved performing in the San Francisco Bay Area and touring Europe, Latin America and Asia. With her latest CD, “The Second Time Around,” she has concentrated on the standards and adding blues and Latin for variety. Her versatility, choice of material and dynamic stage presence make her a very appealing performer. Denise, called “the voice with a heart”, connects with audiences….that’s her forte. Blessed with a rich contralto voice and the ability to sing ballads and blues with equal artistry, Denise has performed in theatrical productions such as One Mo’ Time” and “In the House of the Blues,” in which she portrayed Bessie Smith. Featured in the Grammy-nominated CD, “Color Me Blue,” she has produced four CDs. She started singing in public when she was in a Haitian and Afro-Cuban dance group, obtaining her first professional engagement with a vocal ensemble called the Intervals. Louis Armstrong saw the group and put them in his entourage for a performance in Las Vegas.
For more about Swing Fever, click here.
