Berkshire Jazz Orchestra 17pc Big Band Swings Bethel Wed June 17 LaZingara

Doors open at 6:00pm. Try to be seated by 6:30pm to have your dinner order taken. Showtime begins at 7:00pm when we transform the space into a theater.

Out of respect for the performers and other patrons, please keep talking to a whisper during the performance.

Very Limited Occupancy. Tables seating 2, 4, 5 guests, with tables for 6, 8, 12 available upon request. Single, general admission tickets are also available. See The Attached Seating Chart. Admission Is $15.00 - $35.00 Per Person, Ticket prices may be higher for special performances. Having problems with the ticketing system? Call 203-247-4273

Parking: Please park in LaZingara's lot or on Greenwood Ave. or School Street. Please avoid parking in P.T. Barnum Square.

The Berkshire Jazz Orchestra (BJO) is a 17-piece ensemble based in Fairfield County that has been keeping the music of the big band genre fresh and alive since 1987! The band plays music covering a wide range of eras and styles, from big bands of the swing era through contemporary concert jazz orchestras performing today. The program will include arrangements of music composed or performed by Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Lester Young, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra, Chuck Mangione, Natalie Cole, and many others.

The band includes Fairfield County area professional musicians and teachers. Band members have performed with Wynton Marsalis, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, The Stan Kenton Orchestra, Jay Black & the Americans, and The Uptown Horns. Band director credits include Wilton High School, Newtown High School, Crosby High School in Waterbury, Joel Barlow High School in Redding, and Western Connecticut State University.

BJO was founded by trumpeter Chip Zellner in 1987. The orchestra features seasoned professional musicians and area music educators who have performed with artists such as the Stan Kenton Orchestra, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Sal Salvador’s “Colors in Sound,” Larry Coryell, Todd Rundgren, Vicki Sue Robinson, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Rascals, Wynton Marsalis, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, The Stan Kenton Orchestra, Jay Black & the Americans, and The Uptown Horns and many others. In addition to the band’s outstanding soloists, stellar vocalist. The group is currently under the musical direction of Bethel resident and longtime area performer, Jon Saxon.

Jon Saxon, Musical Director & Lead Alto Saxophone

Jon resides in Bethel and has spent most of his professional career performing in the Fairfield County area. Jon studied music and arranging at the University of Bridgeport. Teachers during his early years included Gary Klein, Frank Foster, Warne Marsh and Bill Finegan. Jon's playing credits include performances with The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Rascals, Sal Salvador, and Larry Coryell. He currently performs locally and throughout the northeast with the Harold Zinno Jazz Orchestra, Billy & the Showmen, DizzyFish, The Best of the 70s, Naw'lins Beatniks, and is in demand as a sub with many other groups in the area. Jon has been with the Berkshire Jazz Orchestra for 30 years and also performed for many years with the Danbury-based Sonny Carroll Orchestra.

Come experience the full range of power, emotion, excitement, and subtleties that only a large, live jazz orchestra can present!.

We're sorry, there are no refunds after tickets have been purchased. In the event of a pandemic, rain, snow, or other forms of weather which prohibit a performance, the performance date will be postponed and rescheduled for another date within a reasonable amount of time. If the new date is postponed, a future alternate date will be picked at the discretion of Bethel Jazz and the musical artist. The ticket holder will be notified of postponements, cancelations, and rescheduled dates via email. Tickets are non-refundable and may be transferred to another person in the event a purchaser can not make the rescheduled date. In the event, an artist cancels a date, and Bethel Jazz is unable to reschedule the artist, Bethel Jazz reserves the right to provide a substitute performer of equal quality without notice to the ticket purchaser. If a date is canceled and not rescheduled, Bethel Jazz will provide a refund (in some cases minus the Eventbrite fee) or credit for another performance at the choice of the ticket holder. Bethel Jazz will always do its best to accommodate for changes in seating, table sizes, or changes to tickets.

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