The 18-member Commanders Jazz Ensemble from the United States Air Force Band of the Golden West will headline a concert of Big Band music at Sonoma State’s Weill Hall Friday, May 11, 2018 at 7:30 pm. The SSU Jazz Orchestra will open the show, recreating an event originally scheduled for October 11, 2017 as part of SSU Jazz Week but cancelled due to the fires.
The concert is free but ticketed. Tickets are available online, by phone, or in person.
The Band of the Golden West represents the only active-duty Air Force band west of the Rockies. The Commanders is a highly select ensemble of professionally trained musicians led by Technical Sergeant Marco Munoz. Their set will include music of jazz legends Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and Count Basie as well as contemporary big band leaders and composers such as Gordon Goodwin and Maria Schneider. The SSU Jazz Orchestra led by Jazz Studies Program Director Doug Leibinger will playoriginal and exciting takes on Big Band standards.
Weill Hall at Sonoma State’s Green Music Center is located two miles east of Highway 101 on Rohnert Park Expressway near the intersection of Petaluma Hill Road.