Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s “Wild & Swingin’ Holiday Party” returns to the Community Concert Hall, Dec. 19
Durango, CO – Jumpin’, jivin’ swing renaissance band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy returns to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011, 7 p.m., with the “Wild & Swingin’ Holiday Party,” a “live” and updated version of BBVD’s popular album, Everything You Want for Christmas.
Contributing architects of this generation’s swing music revitalization, the zoot-suit clad band has delivered a series of contemporary recordings and super-sizzling live performances, fashioned from the swinging days of the ’40s and ’50s. BBVD’s sound is a successful fusion of classic jazz, swing, Dixieland and big band music. The band’s songs have passed into the classic American songbook, playing alongside pop standard songs in film and television, including reality competitions such as “Dancing With the Stars.”
Formed originally in Los Angeles in 1992, BBVD had by 1993 established a legendary residency at Los Angeles’ Brown Derby nightclub and gained mainstream popularity with the breakthrough performance in the movie “Swingers.” Today, BBVD has endured as one of the most popular touring bands on the road, carrying on the tradition of the legendary big bands and orchestras. Touring the globe, BBVD has performed to sell-out audiences and at world class events, including Super Bowl XXXIII with Stevie Wonder and Gloria Estefan.
The band’s name dates back to 1989 when bandleader Scotty Morris enjoyed an auspicious meeting with blues guitar legend Albert Collins. Morris, who had just launched a three-piece jazz, blues and swing combo, asked Collins to autograph a promotional concert poster, and he signed it “To Scotty, the big bad voodoo daddy.” The name stuck.
Of Everything You Want for Christmas, Rolling Stone magazine writes, “With its first full-on holiday album, this Los Angeles septet infuses its retro hep-cat cool with a dose of Yule spirit.”
BBVD includes Scotty Morris (vocals), Kurt Sodergren (drums), Dirk Shumaker (string bass and vocals), Karl Hunter (alto, tenor and baritone saxophones and clarinet), Andy Rowley (baritone saxophone and vocals), Glen ‘The Kid’ Marhevka (trumpet) and Joshua Levy (piano).
View an interview with Scotty Morris and clips from a past show actually performed at the Community Concert Hall at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COYPlkPzX6U.
Tickets for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – $40/$50 – are available at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657, or visit the ticket office at 7th and Main Ave. in Downtown Durango.
Showtime is 7 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6 p.m.
The Community Concert Hall is located in the arts complex of Fort Lewis College. It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.
