Big Band of the Week

Like many jazz bands, the Blues in the Night Orchestra is dedicated to the memory of a beloved bandleader. That leader was Richard Rice, the saxophonist who started the band in 2010 and passed away from cancer in 2013. In November of 2014, trumpeter Tom Walsh and conductor Tom Crawford re-started the band in Rice’s honor, rehearsing in a garage in Bel Air. | Read more>> Read More

Blue Moon Big Band Celebrates 20 Swinging Years In the spring of 1998, Robert and Teresa Leonard took out a second mortgage on their home in Taneytown, MD. They needed the money because they were starting a big band, like the nineteen-piece swing bands they loved growing up, with names like Glenn Miller and Count Basie. | Read more>> Read More

Formerly The Royal Knights of Jazz Orchestra, begun in 1994, The Big Band Theory of Baltimore is a non-profit that has been led by 37-year-old Melissa Zimmerman since 2014, when she took over from her father. Her big band experience began early, as a 15-year-old student of Dr. | Read more>> Read More

If you’re looking for a group that honors the classic tradition of the Big Band Era, the Bel Air Community Jazz Ensemble fits the bill. Go to a performance and you’re likely to hear evergreens such as “In the Mood” from Glenn Miller and “It Don’t Mean a Thing” from Duke Ellington. | Read more>> Read More

Totally composed of senior citizens ranging from 60 to over 90, the Baltimore County Senior Swing Band (BCSSB) began twenty years ago under the direction of Maurice Feldman, a former Baltimore County School Department music supervisor. The band, led by saxophonist Matt Elky, a 74-year-old retired public school music teacher, is sponsored by the Reisterstown Senior Center, where they rehearse every Tuesday. | Read more>> Read More