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Gregg Gelb Swing Band - REVIEWS "Gregg Gelb's latest venture into Latin jazz - Excursion - had a large crowd at Duke Gardens enthralled and energized last Friday night. This was the first performance under this banner for this group of seasoned Triangle-area jazz musicians, and they really hit their groove with a set of arrangements that included sambas, bossa novas, and other staples of the Latin repertoire. The arrangements gave lots of room for individual improvisation, and these expert artists made the most of the opportunities. Gregg kept it all together with friendly patter. All in all, it was a great mix of familiar tunes and lesser-known works that made for a great evening of music, with a diverse gang of happy people joining a conga-line at the finish!" Kathy Silbiger, Executive Dir. Duke University Performances; Producer, Duke's Summer Festival of Music "Once in a blue moon someone captures pure musical excellence on CD. Such is the case with "Then and Now". This is the best small group I've heard in that same blue moon. Shades of John Kirby. These arrangments are exciting listening. While the soloists are all good, and Kathy is special on vocals, the ensemble passages are true teamwork. I heard this group on their earlier CD, and while it was good listening, something gels here that puts this CD in a special category. Love it, love it, love it. I am sure it will get much airplay on W.O.B.O. especially on my shows. Thanks for the exciting listening. CD's like this one make programming fun." (from a memo by Larry Roatt, WOBO-Cincinnati, Ohio, to Al Julian. Thanks, Al, for sharing it with us.)
Owen Cordle, reviewer for the Raleigh News & Observer and Downbeat Magazine, had this to say about the Gregg Gelb Swing Band's January, 1994 concert featuring the music of the John Kirby sextet at the Carrboro ArtsCenter: "...the Gelb Swing Band nearly was the Kirby Sextet in a flawlessly played program. A behind-the-scenes, not-so-minor miracle of this transformation is Sanford-based clarinetist and tenor saxophonist Gelb's transcriptions of Kirby's recordings." "...his wife, Kathy, again proved what a fine, swinging singer she has become. If only this were the Swing Era, if only big bands roamed the land again ... she would be a pop star." ALL THAT JANUARY JAZZ BY OWEN CORDLE, Correspondent Friday, January 2, 1998
"The evening's momentum was sustained by a rousing set rendered by the Gregg Gelb Swing Band. My preference is to dance whenever Gelb's band is belting out it's sweet sound, but I enjoyed the "forced" opportunity to just sit and listen to live swing music. ....the band evoked another time - a show without lasers, strutting singers, or electrified instruments - just great music, well-played by caring musicians." Jack O'Daly., The SWINGIN' TIMES, newsletter for the Triangle Swing Dance Society, June 1997 "This group investigates a relatively forgotten area of Jazz, the small groups of the swing era with particular attention to Charlie Shavers, Coleman Hawkins, and the John Kirby sextet. They do numbers written by or associated with all of these people, but they are not mere copyists. There's an up-to-date snap to the playing and Kathy Gelb uses all the melismatic tricks of the typical modern Jazz singer. .... This band is versatile and energetic and brings some neglected music back to light." Jerome Wilson, CADENCE, August, 1996
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