Monday night we had the final concert of the season for The Stardust Memories Big Band and it was nice to end the season on a high note, or actually a lot of high notes (trumpets!). We preemptively cancelled the Tuesday night show because of expected rain (it did actually rain in Bonita around the time we would have been sound-checking) and I hated doing so but felt it was the right call. It was our traditional end-of-season closing concert of audience requests and what a variety it was! We did a wide variety of music: In the Mood, April in Paris, Theme from Pink Panther, Buddy Rich's Love for Sale, Theme from Naked Gun, So Rare, Opus 1, Kenton's Malagueña, Let's Dance, Gonna Fly Now (theme from Rocky) and many others, which really showcased our band's versatility. It's been a rough season for us weather-wise but here's hoping next season is a lot better. Many many thanks to our fantastic audience for hanging in there with all the cancellations and a most heartfelt "THANK YOU!" to the great musicians who performed with the Stardust Memories Big Band this season: Mike Santiago, Ryan Chapman, Kate Hamann, Lee Thornburg, Peter Davis, Michael Suman, Jeff Lego, George Mancini, Lex Tsaggaris, Amy Adren Hance, Don Rhynard, Peter BarenBregge, John Yoakum, Mike Brignola, Tom Ellison, Manny Echazabal, Josh Hollenbeck, Paul Gavin Music, Dan-o Heck, Don Mopsick, Kevin Mauldin, John Keevil, Jerry Stawski, Stuart Shelton, our incredible guest vocalists Danny Sinoff and Michelle Amato, and Sal "The Voice" Valentinetti, our amazing sound engineer (and my awesome daughter!) Emily Christman, my detail-oriented, patient and beautiful wife Ruth Kostush Christman and our crew Vanessa Garciamoreno, Jaime Valerio, and Karris Baldwin. We have a few private gigs coming up and there might be a possibility of a somewhat regular gig in Naples throughout the summer (here's hoping!) but we say So Long for Now, until next season! (fb)

Last night's show was fantastic and we're doing it again tonight at Riverside Park in Bonita! Come out and hear some of the greatest hits from Count Basie and Duke Ellington performed by The Stardust Memories Big Band. Show starts at 7 pm and the weather is going to be great once again, hope to see you there! (fb)