Stardust Memories Big Band
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STARDUST MEMORIES BIG BAND
The Stardust Memories Big Band, a 501(C)(3) non- profit organization, was created to preserve the legacy of American big band music for SW Florida audiences, and performs the music of the legendary big bands of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Band, and many others. The band, led by founder and band leader Craig Christman, is comprised of some of the finest professional jazz musicians from South Florida (Ft. Myers, Naples, Tampa, Sarasota, Miami and Orlando).
The band performs an outdoor concert series each season at Cambier Park, Naples and Riverside Park, Bonita Springs, and numerous private engagements at country clubs, theaters and other musical performance venues.
The collective resume of our players includes The Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich and Woody Herman Orchestras, The Airmen of Note, The Jay Leno Tonight Show Band, Tower of Power, Chicago, Wayne Cochran & The C.C. Riders, and performances with artists including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Doc Severinsen, Rod Stewart, Quincy Jones, Johnny Mathis, Nathalie Cole, Steve and Eydie Gorme, Nat King Cole, Ann Hampton Callaway, Tom Jones, Lou Rawls, Barry Manilow, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Joe Bonamassa and numerous symphony orchestras and Broadway shows.
MISSION
Assemble a premier musical ensemble to perform the highest quality big band shows for public and private audiences in SW Florida, and support young, aspiring musicians from our local schools
The band provides two local area youth arts charities with direct financial assistance. These organizations, Music for Minors Foundation and The Music Foundation of SW Florida, provide instruments to aspiring young musicians from economically challenged families, summer training camps, and scholarships. To date the band has donated over $20,000 to these organizations.
www.stardustmemoriesbigband.com
