Carla Cook, John Dokes, Walt Szymanski, Steve Wiseman, Kenny Lavender, Brian Bonvissuto, John David Gibson, Isrea Butler, Barry Cooper, Ed Pazant, Dan Block, Michael Hashim, Brandon Wright, Pete Miranda, Alex Harding, Willard Dyson, Stephen Little, Dennis Mackrel, Marcus McLaurine, Thomas Pietrachya, Steve Einerson, Rick Germanson, Rick Briskin, Shawn Edmonds.
Influences
Count Basie, Frank Foster, JC Heard, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Harry James, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Jimmie Lunceford, Erskine Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Buck Clayton, Lucky Millinder, Spike Jones, Artie Shaw, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Maxine Sullivan, Lena Horne, Anita O'Day, Billy Eckstein, Joe Williams, Savoy Sultans, Whitey's Lindyhoppers, Billy Strayhorn, Edgar Sampson, Fletcher Henderson, Jimmy Dorsey, Chick Webb, Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, Gene Krupa, Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald, DAWN HAMPTON and FRANKIE MANNING
Quincy Jone & George Gee 2007
Count Basie & George Gee 1979
This is the home for the many swing/jazz bands of big band impressario GEORGE GEE! Including The George Gee Swing Orchestra, The George Gee Big Band, The Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra and The Jump, Jivin' Wailers.
While he was a Freshman at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, George Gee launched his Make-Believe Ballroom program (named after the vintage Martin Block show) on the college radio station - and told everyone whod listen about his dream of leading his own big band. In an era when punk, new wave and heavy metal ruled, some first thought that George was revisiting the past. Twenty-five years later, it is delightfully clear that George was just way ahead of his time!
The only Chinese-American Swing big band leader, George Gee is unique in so many ways. The snap in his fingers, the shuffle in his step and that unbridled joy he radiates and spreads like ecstatic wildfire to all his world-class musicians make immediate and permanent impressions on audiences, musicians, and dancers - even seasoned press! It must be in his blood since he was a kid, all George ever wanted to do was lead his own big band.
A native New Yorker, George always loved music. He grew up with rocknroll and R&B but also developed a powerful passion for Swing - especially for the big band styles of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Louis Jordan, Frank Sinatra, Cab Calloway and other legends. At renowned Stuyvesant High School, George wowed the crowds with his flashy bass showmanship in the schools jazz band.
His college radio show was a huge hit! The station asked George to interview his idol - William "Count" Basie - before a campus concert. That extensive, exclusive conversation would change Georges life forever. The next day, he assembled his own 17-piece big band - the Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra! Staffed by student players, the band quickly became the darling of the campus community. Throughout the 1980's, George spread his swing gospel throughout the Pittsburgh tri-state region - from rowdy frat houses to black-tie society galas, corporate events and top nightclubs. But George knew what he needed to do next.
He returned home to New York City in 1990, and summoned top New York-based musicians - young and older veterans of the worlds most legendary big bands - and Latin and pop giants - to continue living his dream. With each performance, Georges powerhouse 17-piece Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra continues to set new standards elegantly balancing the genuine big band tradition with exhilarating modernism. His 10-piece Jump, Jive & Wailers, formed in 1998, puts a new twist on big band favorites and delivers all-out rollickin roadhouse boogie! With this group, which George lovingly calls his Economy Big Band, they have been able to travel around the United States and the world headlining swing and lindyhop dance events.
George also revels in his stature as a veritable Ambassador of Swing. George is a much sough-after authority on the evolution of the art. He has lectured at the New School University, led clinics and master classes - and is a popular source for newspaper, magazine, TV and Internet reports. George also served as a primary expert for the 2000 nationally broadcast BRAVO documentary "This Joint is Jumpin', featuring extensive interviews throughout the two-hour film.
Throughout 2009, George is celebrating his 29th Anniversary in the Big Band Business, and looks forward to an even brighter and more illustrious future. People have asked me lately what Ill do now that the swing fad that grew a few years back has subsided. The question makes me smile, because when I started in 1980, everyone thought swingin was about as much fun as pullin teeth! Weve traveled a long road many long roads and I'm proud to say that today, swing music, jazz, and the Big Band art form are not only alive and well, but enjoying their widest popularity since their heydays. Still full of joy and energy, this diminutive gentleman of swing and his merry music makers are ready for new adventures in the next quarter-century!
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How are you? Still love that swing of yours! I wanted to let you know I started my own label, first release is...me...go figure... Please check it out, listen, leave a comment, get a copy... Let me know what you think
Jon to George: Good morning from Times Square on this 9/11 George, great to see you and the cats here on the Space, thanks for Add-On, good man..always great to see you! All the best on this very poignant day, c u in a minute, Jon *Member AFM Local 802, Local 6 / ASCAP Publisher "TRIBUTE to Victims of 9/11" JON HAMMOND Band .. TONY LAKATOS-tenor sax HEINZ LICHIUS-drums JOE BERGER-guitar JON HAMMOND-XB-2 Organ/Bass *at JAZZKELLER Frankfurt *Note: Special Thanks EUGEN HAHN-Jazzkeller *Cam *JH INTL./ASCAP http://ascap. com/network/audioportraits/Jon_Hammond_Rent/ "The FINGERS...are The SINGERS!"™ http://hammondcast. blogspot. com NYC / SF / USA
