Come check us out for 2024, we’ll be playing some great shows.
May 23rd – Hillcrest High School Big Band Ball, in Midvale, Utah
June 25th – Excellence in the Community, Gallivan Center, Salt Lake City Utah
July 23rd – Excellence in the Community, Gallivan Center, Salt Lake City Utah
We’ll see you there!
The Night Star Jazz Orchestra is back at Salt Lake City and Gallivan Center Events Tuesday August 8th 2023, 7:30 pm with Katrina Cannon hosted by Excellence in the Community! Whatever Katrina wants Katrina gets! Cha-cha, bossa, swing and a Purdie shuffle for y’all. It’s a big band jazz dance night so put on your best threads and kicks and come on down to the dance floor and hang with us. We’ll see you there for a fantastic summer night in Downtown SLC!
Friday June 23rd, 7:30 pm kick off your weekend at the Gallivan Center with Katrina Cannon and the Night Star Jazz Orchestra hosted by Excellence in the Community. Beautiful downtown Salt Lake City in June is the best time of summer and we can’t wait to see you there. Grab some dinner and hang out on the lawn or bring a group to dance the night away. Katrina will be singing your favorites and we’ll have a great mix of swing, bossa, ballads and blues that will fill the soul with some ear food from the fantastic musicians of the NSJO. We’ll see you there!
Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/excellenceconcerts/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5BC3J_42C1Nzs9AzgUOgCg/featured
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excellenceinthecommunity/live
Katrina Cannon, vocals
Jerry Floor, Clarinet
Brian Booth, Tenor Saxophone
Tom Young, Trumpet
Kevin Stout, Trombone
Dan Jonas, Trumpet
Night Star Jazz Orchestra
Rhythm Section:
Larry Montoya, Bass
Dan Featherstone, Guitar
Merrill Smith, Piano
Dave Featherstone, Drums
New charts for a new year! We’re gearing up for another great season of dancing and jazz concerts for 2020 and added some new music to our library. Look out for a new blues feature set for our summer concerts that will knock you out of your seat. We’re also working on some great new charts arranged by Jeremy Levy including a wild new imagining of Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Katrina Cannon is spinning up some new features with classics from Diane Shuur, Sarah Vaughan, and Carmen McRae. We’re also adding to our extensive library with features from University of North Texas alum Drew Zaremba, and classics from Quincy Jones, Frank Devol and Ernie Wilkins. Make sure to check out our upcoming shows page to keep up with the band and we’ll be adding more dates soon!
If you haven’t booked your summer dates contact us soon and we’ll set up a great show from classic Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra big band shows to new jazz features! Also it’s never too early to start planning for your fall and winter 2020 events. Contact us at booking@nightstarjazzorchestra.com.
We’ll see you at the show!
It’s time for Summer at the Gallivan Center in Salt Lake City 2019! We’ll be at the Gallivan Center for four dates throughout this summer with the Night Star Jazz Orchestra and special guests. Catch us on Tuesdays June 11th, August 13th, August 27th and Thursday September 26th. Produced by Excellence in the Community and their sponsors as part of the Big Band Tuesday summer series. Admission is free and all are welcome!
Our first show on June 11th will bring the fabulous Katrina Cannon and guest vocalist John Lambert of Take Five Jazz to the stage. Katrina and John will bring the swagger and sounds of the classic era of the Las Vegas casino shows of the 60’s to the stage.
August 13th we’ll have the fabulous Jay Lawrence with us on vibraphone with fantastic tunes that make the bars of the vibes sing. It’s a smokin’ set that keeps the adrenaline flowing and the dance floor full!
August 27th and Sept 26th we’ll have guest percussionist Don Keipp with us to keep the groove going! We’ll have a great set of bossa-nova, cha-cha and samba’s! We’ll have fantastic vocals from Katrina and John and instrumental features from the amazing musicians of the Night Star Jazz Orchestra.
Share the summer nights with us on the dance floor of the Gallivan Center or relaxing on the lawn. It’s a set of shows you don’t want to miss!
Join us May 11th, 2019, 7:30 pm at the historic landmark Ogden High School auditorium for a free show celebrating jazz arts featuring Katrina Cannon’s fantastic vocals, Jay Lawrence on vibraphone, and special guest Don Keipp on percussion and sharing the drum chair with the fabulous Joe Shaw and the Night Star Jazz Orchestra.
Katrina Cannon
The program will feature numbers from the Terry Gibbs Dream Band and arrangements for Milt Jackson by John Clayton showcasing Jay Lawrence on vibes along with Katrina’s exceptional numbers with charts arranged by Geoffrey Keezer, Gordon Goodwin and John Clayton. The Night Star Jazz Orchestra will be performing wide range of music from ballads to burnin’ swing numbers for an evening celebrating jazz and arts education with members of the Ogden High School jazz band.
Jay Lawrence
Admission to the event is free of charge. As part of the evening, we’ll be hosting a fundraiser for those that wish to participate to help Ogden High School Director of Bands, Stan Renda raise funds towards the purchase of a new professional marimba, which can cost upwards of $15,000, for his blossoming percussion and jazz education program. Donations toward the purchase of the new marimba can be made directly to the school at the door or prior by contacting Mr. Renda at rendas@ogdensd.org.
The Night Star Jazz Orchestra presents the Jazz Arts Celebration in conjunction with Jazz At the Station as part of a week of jazz arts education with multiple events happening in Ogden during the week. On May 10th the Heritage Jazz Festival will be taking place from 1 pm to 9 pm with multiple school ensembles at Ogden’s Union Station, culminating with the Night Star Jazz Orchestra May 11th. Also happening in Ogden and throughout Northern Utah that weekend, is the “Spike 150” celebration the 150-year anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony in Utah, commemorating the completion of the transcontinental railroad in America 150 years ago. A day of jazz is a perfect companion to the events happening throughout Ogden to celebrate the connection of East and West with America’s unique gift to the world that is the art of jazz.
OHS Restored and Renovated Auditorium
The venue for the concert is Ogden High School’s crown jewel auditorium, originally built as part of the WPA program in the 1930’s. The Art Deco school building is a true landmark of Ogden and was restored as part of a community effort to save the building.
The event is generously sponsored in part by the Jazz Education Network Jazz2U grant.
Summerhays Music Center has generously offered to facilitate the purchase of the new marimba, donating shipping and delivery of the new instrument to the school.
We’re opening up auditions for our Vox Nuvo group for both the tenor and bass male vocal chairs. We had a great 2018 s
eason and we’re looking for the next incarnation of Vox Nuvo to hit the ground running. For the auditions we’ll be looking for both tenor and bass male vocalists who have proficiency with jazz and singing tight harmonies. If you’d like to join us for this upcoming season contact info@nightstarjazzorchestra.com and we’ll send you the audition materials and instructions.
The Night Star Jazz Orchestra is exited to announce two new vocal acts for 2018.
Vox Nuvo is a new jazz vocal quartet singing with the orchestra this year comprised of Katrina Cannon (alto), Lisa Dengg (soprano), James Densley (tenor) and Tanner Linton (bass). The quartet brings the modern sounds of the New York Voices and the classic tunes of the big band era to the stage with the Night Star Jazz Orchestra. Vox Nuvo’s tight harmonies and swingin’ groove will get you moving out of your seat and on to the dance floor.
Tom Young joins us this year as our featured male vocalist. Tom has studied with jazz greats such as New Orleans natives Harry Connick, Jr and Wynton Marsalis. For the last ten plus years Tom has performed all over the world aboard major cruise lines, lived and worked heavily in Las Vegas, as well as traveled with some of the country’s premiere party bands. His sound is smooth and reminiscent of Chet Baker and Harry Connick, Jr. We’re happy to have Tom singing and performing on trumpet with the band.
Don’t miss these new voices with the Night Star Jazz Orchestra this year. We’re available to book shows that feature all of our vocal talent with a vocal jazz quartet, Andrews Sisters style trio and great solo vocalists for a stunning show you won’t forget.
Night Star Jazz Orchestra Student Composition Program Award Winners:
First Place: Tony Elison, University of Utah – “Eronel” – Arrangement
Second Place: Tom Call, New York University – “Tatsu” – Original
Honorable Mention: Clint Sudweeks, University of Utah – “G’s Blues” – Original
We would like to thank all the students who submitted charts to the composition award program this year. Each chart has specific strengths and demonstrated that each student is willing to take risks and is advancing in their studies. The strength of the submissions for our inaugural year was very impressive.
Congratulations!
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