Sun, Nov 27, 2011 at 7:00pm
$18 / $10 students
Yoshi's
510 Embarcadero West, Oakland

Ellen Seeling, Director

The Montclair Women's Big Band celebrates its thirteenth year with a special Thanksgiving perfomance at Yoshi's Oakland, the band's home town. With a vivid cast of some of the best jazzwomen in the San Francisco Bay Area, the band combines an audacious sense of swing, tight ensemble work and inspired solos. All About Jazz writes "the Montclair Women's Big Band is one of the most formidable jazz ensembles on the West Coast...this is premium-grade big band jazz, rigorously blended for high mileage and maximum pleasure."

MWBB cemented its status as a world-class ensemble with the release of it's self-titled debut CD. Recorded at George Lucas's state-of-the-art Skywalker Sound in Marin County and engineered by three-time Grammy winner Leslie Ann Jones the recording has become a best-seller on CDBaby. Jazziz Magazine labeled the recording "a blues-drenched gem that swings with dazzling aplomb." The band has gained visibility through a series of high-profile gigs, including performing to a sold out audience in LA for the Grammy Foundation, headlining the Mary Lou Williams Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and being featured on National Public Radio's number one syndicated show, Piano Jazz, with Marian McPartland.

Don't miss the band's Thanksgiving celebration! The ensemble will present a number of new compositions by women including Mary Lou Williams and band members Jean Fineberg and Christy Dana, featuring the band's outstanding soloists. All About Jazz writes "the MWBB unsheathes an arsenal of meticulous sharpshooters including pianist Tammy Hall, trumpeters Ellen Seeling and Marina Garza, saxes Mad Duran and Jean Fineberg, and trombonists Sarah Cline and Mara Fox." Rounding out the personnel are saxes Kasey Knudsen, Annelise Zamula and Carolyn Walter; trumpets Tiffany Carrico and Ariel Vento; trombones Crystal Bryant and Becca Burrington; bassist Ruth Davies and drummer Russ Gold. Be there or be square!!