Sat Nov 21 2009
The big band sound of the DiMartino/Osland Jazz Orchestra comes to the Grand Theatre 7 p.m. Friday. The start time is half an hour earlier than most shows because of downtown traffic related to the Black Cat Chase.
Tickets priced at $20, $15 and $10 are available at the Ticket Office, 312 W. Main from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Phone 352-7469 or at www.grandtheatrefrankfort.org. Bill and Kay Kirkland sponsor the show with Kay’s art work being exhibited in the second floor gallery at the Grand.
Vince DiMartino was a distinguished professor of trumpet at the University of Kentucky’s Jazz Studies Program for 20 years and saxophonist Miles Osland is its current director. Many UK football fans may remember DiMartino’s half-time performances during the 1980s. Together these two educators have collaborated for many years, founding the DiMartino/Osland Jazz Orchestra.
Through its performances and recordings, the orchestra has become a fixture in the Central Kentucky area. It will be joined by a band comprised of some of the finest free-lance musicians and music professors in Kentucky and the Midwest.
DiMartino is the Matton Professor of Music at Centre College. One of America’s leading trumpet performers and teachers, DiMartino has performed worldwide as a soloist and with artists such as Henry Mancini, Doc Severinsen, Pearl Bailey, Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck.
Miles Osland has distinguished himself as an educator, recording and performing artist, author, arranger and composer. Two of his recordings, Saxercise and My Old Kentucky Home, have been submitted for Grammy nominations by Sea Breeze Jazz Records, one of the most respected labels in jazz.
From loud and boisterous to soulful and somber, their repertoire is sure to please those who crave big band orchestrations and superb solos. Their recent recordings have included standards such as “Begin the Beguine,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “I’ve Got a Crush on You,” as well as the gentle lines of the ballad “Erica” and energetic arrangements of “Anthropology” and “Late Shift Blues.”
Frankfort dentist and moonlighting guitarist Will Renshaw came to UK in 1986 where he studied with DiMartino before the professor was lured away by Centre. During that time, DiMartino brought many internationally known musicians to perform at UK and himself became internationally recognized for his jazz and classic trumpet. DiMartino displayed an amazing understanding of classic big band sound.
Renshaw was privileged to continue his studies under Osland when he replaced DiMartino. Calling him a flawless technician, great arranger, writer of original tunes and purveyor of textbook classic jazz, Renshaw promises the “yin and yang” of opposite playing styles from these two legendary musicians. Big band’s modern face as well as its classical sounds should add up to a very fun and interesting evening.
McGovern next at the Grand
“Distinguished American: George McGovern” is set for 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7. Tickets are $20, 15 and $10. McGovern is a former senator and was the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee. For tickets contact the Grand box office. McGovern will be in town for the Kentucky Book Fair that day at the Convention Center.
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