5 Reasons You Should Check Out This GJ Big Band’s 1940’s Concert

A Grand Junction area Big Band, along with a very special guest star, is hosting concert featuring some of the best music of the 1940s. Here are my top five reasons why you should attend.

Western Colorado's very own Big Band, Clark Gault's Swing City Express, is hard at work preparing for this non-profit event. In addition to the usual 15 players in the band, the concert also features guest vocalists Leah Rachelle and Scott Betts, and special guest star Rich Chiaraluce.

Okay, so who's Rich Chiaraluce? Over the course of his amazing career, Chiaraluce has appeared with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey and the Glenn Miller band as a featured soloist.

According to the Swing City Express' official Facebook Page:

An entire concert devoted to 1940's big band favorites just as they were played by the top 40's bands. The concert features Scott Betts, Leah Rachelle, Rob Labig, Ron Bradley, Dane Skelton, Tom Watson, Clark Gault, and newcomer Max Reilly playing the 'show-stopper' piano 'tour-de-force' Little Rock Getaway.'

One of the tunes featured is a Clark Gault original composition which was featured in the motion picture "Snow Falling on Cedars" starring Ethan Hawke and Max von Sydow.

So, what gives? Why now for this special event? Well, Clark came to me about two months ago with the idea. Clark Gault is a composer and arranger with writing credits with the NORAD Band, the United States Air Force Band, and a number of others internationally known ensembles. After completing his recent album, Clark Gault's Swing City Express - Jazz for Contemplation, Clark was ready for his next endeavor.

Here are my top five reasons you should attend:

• The Swing City Express concerts at Warehouse 2565 are always a hoot. They always make for a fun show, and there's room to dance.
• How often do you get to here an authentic performance based on a specific time period?
• The performance features some of your favorite Western Colorado musicians.
• It would be worth attending just to see Rich Chiaraluce.
• This would be the perfect "date night."

There you go, my top five reasons why you should attend this concert. Of course, I'm a bit biased. I sometimes play for the Swing City Express.

Don't miss this show. Performances such as this don't roll around every day. This concert reflects a very important era in American history. The bandleader and guest artists are both strongly associated with the area, and have devoted their lives to preserving that part of the American musical culture.

The concert is coming up Sunday, October 13, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., at Warehouse 2565 Kitchen + Bar. Advance tickets are $15.00 or 2 for $25.00 from Hart Music or $20.00 at the door.