The Big Band Alumni was formed in 1999 by musicians who performed with the original ‘name’ bands, such as Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James, Count Basie, and Les Brown – and has played weekly ever since – over 1000 performances. It is today considered the premier Big Band in Southern California, and is to LA what The Preservation Hall Dixieland Band is to New Orleans – delivering Big Band Jazz, Swing, and Classic Vocal Pop Standards – all with danceable tempos.
Today’s Alumni Band members are themselves LA music institutions, having performed with such pop icons as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Rod Stewart, Elvis Presley, and even Lady Gaga. Band leader & singer Bill A. Jones was in the cast of Glee, and female singer Nancy Osborne is herself Grammy nominated.
The new Hollywood performance series at Hollywood Post 43 – in the room where stars like Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Mickey Rooney, Ronald Reagan, and Gene Autry rubbed elbows – compliments the band’s weekly public rehearsals at Canoga Park Elks Lodge most Tuesday mornings from 11 to 1.
The Big Band Alumni – a Los Angeles musical institution has been performing over 25 years.
