CONCERT: Friday, November 20, 1998 8 PM

Swing Music "Dance Party" Concert
Vocalist Nancy Nelson Guests with 15-Piece King's Road Band

Music of NJ Band Leader Sonny Lawrence Featured Big Band Swing music is being discovered by young people once again. Swing and jump dancing is enjoying a new life, but there are few opportunities to experience it with a live band.

The 15-piece King's Road Swing Band will give dancers (and passive listeners) a chance to enjoy live Big Band music at a "dance Party" concert on Friday evening, November 20. Nancy Nelson will be their guest vocalist, and the program will include a rare performance of arrangements and compositions by local Big Band sensation Sonny Lawrence.

This special event is part of the popular Jazz Series at the Watchung Arts Center. The music starts at 8 PM, with tickets priced at only $12 ($10 for Arts Center members). Seats may be reserved by calling (908) 753-0190, leaving a message outside of office hours. Tickets will be waiting at the door.

The last time Big Band swing music enjoyed a resurgence was during the 1950s and 1960s. Larry Cassara, known to his fans as Sonny Lawrence, was a popular band leader, composer and arranger with a large following in this region. His band even had a weekly radio program broadcast from Newark. King's Road acquired the surviving "charts" of his many unique musical compositions from his widow, and will play some of them for the first time publicly at the November 20 concert.

Popular singer Nancy Nelson has agreed to be guest vocalist for that evening, a special treat for her many fans. Earlier in her career she was given recognition by Playboy's Jazz and Pop Poll, as well as Downbeat's Critic's Poll. She's filled the room at Watchung several times as a soloist, and is a featured attraction at several area jazz clubs. King's Road is a full-sized swing band, sporting four saxophones, three trumpets, and four trombones, plus a rhythm section

consisting of guitar, string bass piano and drums. While a dance floor will be provided for those who enjoy "listening on their feet," there will be ample seating for those wishing to rest and listen.

They play the jazz classics, of course. Drawing from their "book" of 300 original arrangements, King's Road plays the early "swing" charts and commercial dance tunes from the great bands of the era. There are numbers from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Artie Shaw and more, providing a varied yet balanced program. They even play some rare charts from British bands, and other obscure pieces neglected by others.