SWINGTIME BIG BAND Returns For 12th Annual Concert

PORT WASHINGTON, NY–The SWINGTIME BIG BAND, a Long Island-based authentic swing band, is finishing preparations for its 12th annual performance. The show will be held on Friday, June 21 at 8 p.m. at the Sousa Band Shell on Main Street in Port Washington.

The band, led by Steve Shaiman, will be premiering a brand new program called "NAME that Tune," which will highlight classics from the Great American Songbook. Its summer 2019 program will feature songs such as "Sweet Georgia Brown," "Laura," "Stella by Starlight," "Avalon," "Lullaby of Birdland" and "Sing, Sing, Sing" (featuring Christopher Columbus), among many others.

The 20-piece Swing-Era jazz ensemble will pay homage to and re-create the sounds of legends like Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Les Brown and Gene Krupa.

The band will also pay tribute to the United States Armed Forces, including a special 75th anniversary commemoration of D-Day.

The centennial birthdays of pianist/composer George Shearing and trumpeter/composer/bandleader Mercer Ellington will also be honored as per the band's tradition. Plus, SWINGTIME’s two featured vocalists, Bobbie Ruth and Zack Alexander, will also celebrate the 100th birthdays of legendary singers Anita O’Day and Nat King Cole.

The concert kicks off right at 8 p.m. and is free to the general public, though donations will be accepted by the Committee for the Sousa Band Shell, the community service organization who produces the summer concert series and who relies heavily on the public’s generosity to keep the series going.