The Central City Swing Band will perform their annual spring concert Tuesday, April 5, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. at Unity Chapel of Light Church in Orcutt. The concert will feature jazz and swing big band instrumental arrangements as well as vocal arrangements sung by Michelle Swanson and Mitch Latting.

The group, led by Bob Swayze, has been performing on the Central Coast for many years. 

The band features 18 musicians in a standard “big band” configuration: 5 saxophones, 4 trombones, 5 trumpets or flugelhorns and piano, guitar, bass and drums plus vocalists.

This performance will also feature Swayze, who is both band director and renowned trombone player, playing several bass trombone solos.

One of the instrumental numbers, “Superstar,” was arranged by Swayze in 1976.

The band will showcase its outstanding trumpet section by playing several very famous trumpet features. There are five superb trumpet players in the group, and one, Larry Hill, will be leaving the area and moving to New Mexico later this spring.

(Thank you, Larry, for being an important part of this group for many years and good luck in your new endeavors.)

The band has had several changes in the saxophone section. Zac Barker has replaced Dan David on second alto sax after David moved to Missouri. Zac, a recent college graduate, is a music teacher in the Orcutt Schools and is the youngest member of the band by many, many years.

Karl Welz will be playing first tenor sax with the group for this performance. 

There are no advanced ticket sales, and there is no admission charge for this event. However, there will be a donation basket in the lobby and any donations are split equally between the Church and the band’s music acquisition fund. 

The Unity Chapel of Light Church is located at 1165 Stubblefield Road in Orcutt. It has very comfortable seating and plenty of free parking. 

For more information regarding the Central City Swing Band or this concert, call 805.929.0552 or visit the band’s website.

— The Central City Swing Band comprises both professional and amateur musicians from around the central coast, bringing a range of traditional and contemporary big band jazz and swing to their appreciative audiences.