swingtime.jpg
SwingTime got its start 40 years ago. The Cleveland big band is still playing -- and will hit Vosh in Lakewood on Tuesday.
(Courtesy SwingTime)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Just as swing music has enjoyed a renaissance so has the SwingTime Big Band.
Forty years after forming, the band continues to play on – rolling out an authentic take on the sounds of the 1930s to the 1950s, and composers ranging from Duke Ellington to Count Basie, Glenn Miller to Stan Kenton. It also throws in neo-swingers into the mix, like Brian Setzer or Harry Connick.
The Cleveland outfit reformed two and a half years ago. You might remember it as the Euclid Swing Era Band – that is, if you hung out during its first heyday, in the 1970s and '80s. The band's longtime director and sax player Bob Shampay, a Korean vet, no longer conducts and plays in the band, due to health illness, but continues to advise and provide musical direction.
At 7:30 Tuesday, SwingTime will bring five reeds, four trombones, four trumpets, a rhythm section and a singer to Vosh, 18515 Detroit Avenue, Lakewood. Call 216-767-5202.