State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) Big Band & Jazz Combo will present “A Veterans Tribute” concert at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at SCF’s Neel Performing Arts Center, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton. The concert is free for veterans with I.D.
SCF Jazz pays a tribute to veterans as Pete Carney, director of jazz studies, leads SCF Jazz students in a music and video program from the golden age of jazz, when dance bands traded tour buses for trenches. Jazz bands, from Benny Goodman to Dave Brubeck, have often been at the front lines with our military. This concert will feature the music written by veterans over the last 100 years.
The selections are written by WWII veteran musicians and more contemporary composers who have served in the military. The tribute concert will include music from Artie Shaw, Duke Pearson, Glenn Miller, Harry James and John Coltrane. The SCF Big Band will play “There’s a Letter from Home” and “America the Beautiful” by Ryan Haines, trombonist from the Air Force Falconaires, and arranger for the Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force.
General admission tickets are $10; student and staff tickets are $5. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit SCF.edu/Neel or call 941-752-5252.