2015 Big Band Grandstand

WMSE returns to The Turner Hall Ballroom to present the 2nd Annual "Big Band Grandstand with Dewey Gill". Louis Prima Jr. and the Witnesses will headline the event; taking jazz fans on a journey through 1920s New Orleans, 1940s Swing, and 1950s Vegas. Louis Prima Jr., known as "The Crown Prince Of Swing", is the perfect inspiration for this year's Grandstand. In addition, the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra's jazz band, Rhumba, will open this incredible night. Rhumba is one of the 11 Latin Jazz combos in the MYSO Jazz Studies Program and is primarily made up of middle and high school students from the greater Milwaukee area, performing jazz standards using the many different styles and rhythms of Latin American and Africa. This grand event will work to preserve and celebrate the program and music you know and love from The Sunday Big Band Show with Dewey Gill and WMSE's weekly jazz programs in phase two of our up-and-running jazz stream. All of which are unique and valuable jazz resources available for WMSE listeners worldwide. Please join us for an evening of celebration and preservation of the unforgettable era of Big Band Jazz with classic cocktails, music, dancing, and hors d'oeuvres from Braise Restaurant & Culinary School. This evening will be a reminder of a time when folks would grab a highball, turn on their hi-fi, and listen to the swinging jazz of Louis Prima Jr.