Roy Scott Big Band with leader Steve Bell
by Marce
The Roy Scott Big Band is a 17-piece band, comprised of men from Sharon, MA and many other towns. They all have other jobs, but rehearse every Thursday evening throughout the year – rain, snow, cold, and summer heat. – because they love playing music. http://www.sharonbands.org/
The repertoire of the Roy Scott Big Band covers over 60 years of great music from the original classics of the Swing Era to the current hits of the Swing Revival. Their summer concerts featured a wide range of favorites – swing, jazz, rock, pop, “cool” jazz, funk, bebop, blues, and Latin. This was the 4th or 5th time they’ve played the Natick Common.
They drew a large multi-generational crowd at Natick’s Summer Concerts on the Common Series that goes from August 29th through August 17th. http://www.natickma.gov/903/Summer-Concert-Series
Steve Bell, music Director of the Roy Scott Big Band, promised us something old and something brand new – their ‘yellow buttercup’ shirts made especially for this hot summer season.
They began with Soulful Strut, then set the atmosphere with a tune done By Dick Van Dyke, Put On a Happy Face. Sonny & Cher’s The Beat Goes On featured sax and trumpet solos by Bill Dube and Mike Benjamin. A Michael Jackson tune.
Anne Marie Freitas
Steve introduced vocalist Anne Marie Frietas with Sway With Me, When I Fall in Love, Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Apologies for the angle of the video – there was no way to get over the gate surrounding the bandstand.
The Sax section was featured with Bill Bailey.
We met the new Manager of Radio Station WICN, Tom Lucci. Tom plays tenor and baritone sax (on left) with the Roy Scott Big Band. WICN is the only station left in our area that plays Great Jazz, and we were thrilled to learn they dropped the HD so we can listen again in the Greater Worcester, MA area. Anywhere else in the world, you can hear it at www.wicn.org.
The Roy Scott Big Band played a beautiful Glenn Miller Moonlight Serenade, September by Earth, Wind and Fire; The Best of Sly and The Family Stone – a medley of 70’a and 80’s music. There was a fine tenor sax solo on Someday Last summer.
This was just a part of this fine summer evening with Roy Scott’s Big Band at Natick’s Summer Concerts on the Common, put on by the Natick Parks and Recreation Department. We look forward to hearing the band again next year.
The whole series has been recorded by Natick Pegasus and played on local Public Access Channels. Maybe they will ‘loan’ us a tune from their video?