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DCASE Presents 23rd Annual CHICAGO SUMMERDANCE– Preview
When:
Thursday, July 18
6–9:30 p.m.
Where:
Spirit of Music Garden
Grant Park
601 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago
Tickets:
Free! No tickets required!
(PTP) Please tell Picture this Post readers about your music.
(VC) We are a 17-piece big band that specializes in the swing music of the 1930’s, 40s and 50s. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Big City Swing instruction group for many years. Our sets are put together to highlight the best of the Swing Era’s orchestras so, in a typical performanceyou’ll hear us play authentic selections from Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Les Brown, and many more. In addition, we have two of the finest big band vocalists around who perform authentic selections from Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan, Peggy Lee, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and more.
When did your group start playing together? How did you come together? How much do you rehearse together? Do you all have other “day jobs”?
This August, the Outcasts will celebrate 38 years as a band. We’ve been playing together since 1981 when, while in high school, we put together ‘a horn band’ to play an end of the summer party at the St Margaret of Scotland Summer Day Camp.
We rehearse, in front of a live audience, monthly at the Palos Country Club. We use this opportunity to try new material, go over rough spots, and work on our synchronized dance moves.
Most of us have days jobs – we’ve got chemists, accountants, lawyers, teachers, journalists and IT professionals among us.
How many musicians are in your group? Types of instruments? Vocals?
There are 18 of us – 5 saxophones, 4 trombones, 4 trumpets, a full rhythm section, and 2 vocalists.
Have you performed at Summer Dance before?
This will be our 5th appearance at Summer Dance. We’ve previously performed in 2017, 2013, 2011 and 2010. We really don’t need to adapt our set at all because this is exactly what we do all the time – big band dance music!
Do you mainly perform in Chicago?
We perform monthly at two Chicago area venues: 1st Monday of the month at the Palos Country Club, and 3rd Sunday of the month at Fitz’s Spare Keys in Elmhurst.
In addition, in the coming weeks you can see us at:
Sa, 8/3 Festa Italiana! Naperville, IL
Th, 8/15 12th Annual Naperville Big Band Celebration Naperville, IL
Sa, 8/24 Woodstock Jazz Fest, Woodstock, IL
Su, 8/25 Frankfort Concert Series, Frankfort, IL
What’s most fun about a performance like this?
SummerDance is our favorite performance opportunity of the year, simply because we get to share this great music with a large audience under the stars in one of the most breathtaking backdrops anywhere. People are always amazed to learn that this type of band is based here in the city, right under their noses.
Photos courtesy of Outcast Jazz
