Established in 1975, and based in the heart of the Hamptons, the Big Band East has provided professional entertainment for weddings, parties and social affairs from Montauk to New York City. If you enjoyed the great bands and band leaders of the 30's 40's and 50's - The Big Band East can recreate those times again. We play the AUTHENTIC music and arrangements you remember, even including our fabulous male and female vocalists. All of the excitement of your favorite artists such as Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Harry James, and Benny Goodman can be heard at your next musical affair. Do you remember your favorite music being played on vinyl records and jukeboxes? Our professional musicians will happily take you back to that "swing era" again and let you relive those wonderful times.
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Under the direction of Bakithi and Robbi, spans musical styles from Jazz to Pop, South African Traditional grooves to Disco to music for the very young or very old - all in an effort to keep audiences dancing and smiling with joy. In addition to being a stellar jazz vocalist, multiple Parents’ Choice Award-winner Robbi Kumalo delivers a rousing, interactive journey through many musical styles and songs. Robbi K is one of the few African-American women to have achieved national recognition in the field of children’s music. Unlike many of today’s children's musicians, Robbi's background is not in rock, but rather is in jazz, pop, and world beat.
For years she has maintained an active schedule as a back-up singer with such artists as Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Jewel, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, and Harry Belafonte among others. Her TV appearances with these artists include Oprah, 60 Minutes, Rosie, Regis & Kathie Lee, The View, VH-1 Storytellers, The Today Show, and Late Night with David Letterman. Robbi is married to Grammy-winning bassist Bakithi Kumalo, whose longstanding association with Paul Simon since Graceland is a story unto itself. The Kumalo Band inspires you to ‘be in’ and enjoy ‘the moment’, allowing the music of the soul to surface, replenishing our lives with the passion that moves us positively forward.
Bakithi will not be performing in the July 11th concert. He is on tour with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. Bakithi's roots are in a musical family of Soweto, and he was destined to be a musician long before Paul Simon's expedition to South Africa. But it was Simon's Graceland album that gave the world at large a chance to hear his remarkable fretless bass guitar work in a series of sessions that guaranteed him a shot of his own. We all know the hit song “You Can Call Me Al.” Well, that amazing bass solo is Bakithi Kumalo!
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, the recently formed quartet, (Leslie Zimei;vocalist, Frank Ferrara; guitar; Chris Weigers; bass, John Marshall; tenor sax and Shawn Murray drums and percussion), is not new to the scene having played for ten years in various projects including “Cadillac Moon” and “Honey Suckle Rose," both jazz and blues oriented bands. They have been collaborating for months and have recently fine-tuned their ideas into their own interpretations of several artists of both the Blues and Jazz genres. This past February and March they participated in the Long Island Winterfest Jazz Festival to packed houses at "Waters Crest Winery" in Cutchogue. Cat Ballou is presently writing and arranging material for recording and hope to have their CD ready for the fall of 2009. You can check their website www.catballouband.com for more information and music samples.
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is a 2006 inductee of the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. Hugh Prestwood has been writing hits for two decades. He was discovered in 1978 by Judy Collins, who gave him his first hit (Hard Times For Lovers). A staff songwriter for BMG music, Prestwood has penned #1 hits for Randy Travis ("Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart"), Trisha Yearwood ("The Song Remembers When"), Michael Johnson ("The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder"), Shenandoah ("Ghost In This House"), Crystal Gayle ("The Sound Of Goodbye"), and Collin Raye ("On The Verge"). He has also composed hits for Highway 101 ("Bing Bang Boom"), Anne Murray ("Feed This Fire"), Michael Johnson ("That's That"), Ty England ("Smoke In Her Eyes"), and Kathy Mattea ("Asking Us To Dance"). Other artists who have recorded his songs include Conway Twitty, Lee Greenwood, Don Williams, Jackie De Shannon, Verne Gosdin, Maura O'Connell, Tanya Tucker, and The Judds.
In 1991 Prestwood was honored at the annual BMI Awards with the 23rd Robert J. Burton Song Of The Year award for "Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart". He was also picked by Billboard Magazine as the #2 country songwriter of that year. Billboard currently lists "Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart" as the 5th biggest country hit of this decade.
In 1994 Prestwood won a Prime Time Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement In Music And Lyrics" for his composition, "The Song Remembers When," featured in the Disney special, "Trisha Yearwood - The Song Remembers When". The song was also nominated for a CableACE Award for Best Original Song, and was voted Song Of The Year by members of the Nashville Songwriters Association (NSAI).
Hugh Prestwood will be joined by Nashville country music talents James Dean Hicks and Richard Leigh.
Richard Leigh is recognized for his 1978 Song of the Year award for “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue “. “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” reached the #1 position on both Pop and Country charts and remained on the charts for more than six months; it was nominated for Grammy Awards in both Pop and Country “Best Song” categories (a feat not repeated until 1993); won a Grammy Award for “Best Country Song” was a million selling single and it was named one of the ten most performed “Country Songs of the Century” at the 1999 ASCAP Awards. To date, Leigh has made fourteen trips to the Top Ten and has written or co-written eight #1 singles. Leigh’s most recent top ten hit “Cold Day in July” powerfully delivered by The Dixie Chicks – the hottest selling group in country Music history – is testament to his longevity. EEAC warmly welcomes Richard for his first appearance in the Hugh Prestwood & Friends concert.
James Dean Hicks, a native of Kentucky has an extensive list of artists who have recorded his songs including Crystal Gayle, Charlie Daniels, Linda Davis, and Conway Twitty. Some of country's hottest young performers are also well-represented on that list -- John Michael Montgomery, Neal McCoy, Collin Raye, Lorrie Morgan, Bryan White, Skip Ewing, and pop superstars, Aaron Neville and Tony Rich. His live concerts are both captivating and riveting, as he takes the listener on a musical journey through heartfelt ballads, traditional country themes, and rocking anthems.
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Like Larry Carlton, has a taste for electric guitar music with a bite of blues and rock but, again like Carlton, he can lay down some sweet smooth jazz licks at will. - Brian Soergel, JazzTimes
Matt Marshak’s live shows overflow with passion, energy, crowd interaction and intensity, as the guitarist throws a series of blues, rock, soul and jazz licks. Now, one of the freshest faces on the contemporary jazz scene has captured the flavor of his popular live shows with his fourth major release, Family Funktion, due out this June/July on Nuance Records. The 11 song CD builds upon Marshak’s ever-growing recognition that led the influential CD 101.9 radio station in New York to name him one of the best new smooth-jazz artists and for JazzTimes, the bible of the jazz industry, to shower his previous two CDs with glowing reviews.