Above / During the summer season, two NMB Big Band concerts are performed in Central Park under the leadership of Tracy Oliver, a clarinetist who joined the Naperville Municipal Band in 1981. (PN File Photo)
On this second day of summer, put on your dancing shoes and plan to put your hands together for the jazz and swing sounds of the Naperville Municipal Band Big Band.
Under the leadership of Tracy Oliver, NMB Big Band presents “Big Band in the Park” at 7:30PM Thurs., June 22, on the stage of the Naperville Community Concert Center in Central Park.
Oliver notes the program will range from swing era tunes like “Symphony in Riffs” by Benny Carter and the tune “Bombers,” a nod to the Count Basie band and tribute to the Kansas City Bombers roller derby team (unusual pairing to be sure!) to more contemporary selections.
Featured vocalists will be Summer Kwai and John Barbush.
“Our special guest soloist on this program is David Katz on trumpet and flugelhorn,” said Oliver.
Katz will be playing selections celebrating the music of Dizzy Gillespie, including “I Remember Clifford,” Dizzy’s salute to the trumpet great Clifford Brown; as well as Chuck Mangione’s “Land of Make Believe.”
The weekly Bake Sale in the Gazebo, hosted by a nonprofit organization, will be sponsored on June 22 by Cross of Christ Fellowship.
For more information about the Naperville Municipal Band, visit www.napervilleband.org.
For additional information about this 2023 concert season with photos, visit PN’s Naperville Municipal Band is set for summer concert series in Central Park.
‘A Patriotic Concert’ set for June 29 will celebrate Independence Day
To celebrate Independence Day, “A Patriotic Concert” will be performed by the Naperville Municipal Band at 7:30PM on Thursday, June 29, in Central Park. This concert is a blast as the music is a tribute to another anniversary of America’s birthday on July 4, 1776.
The weekly Bake Sale in the Gazebo will be sponsored by BAARK Dog Rescue.
Naperville’s Central Park is located in the heart of downtown at 104 E. Benton Avenue, just east of Washington Street and north of Jefferson Avenue.
Concerts are free of admission charge, thanks to the City of Naperville and SECA Fund. Park benches are available. Many band fans bring their own collapsible chairs, blankets, picnics and/or water bottles.
