1/15 Ginger and Scott with Des Moines Big Band at Adventureland in Altoona. We arrived on the last snow flurries of a minus 2 degree day. This is forehead freezing cold. However, the band was as hot as the day was cold. Jim Oatts, trumpeter (on the right in our trio pic), leads this band that’s been playing together in the Des Moines area for nearly 50 years.
They played a number of very interesting charts, including a “Moonlight in Vermont” that tenor Wayne Gage soloed on beautifully. We had the good fortune to hear a little known Thad Jones tune called “Let’s”. Sax man Steve O’Brien was featured on multiple instruments, and they brought Scott up to join them on an arrangement of “Beautiful Love” that another trombone player, Paul McKee arranged. I had the pleasure of performing Bob Florence’s beautiful arrangement of “We’ll Be Together Again” for the first time, and that is certainly a sentiment I will carry with me until our return visit to play with the Des Moines Big Band!
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