Melba Joyce & Her Big Band July 14, 2009

The big band era had only a few female band leaders - Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday were two - but now veteran jazz songbird Melba Joyce joins their ranks. Joyce, who has sung with The Count Basie Orchestra and The Lionel Hampton Orhestra as well as made numerous recordings, has assembled a constellation of New York jazz all stars to perform this summer, including Helen Sung on piano, Anat Cohen on tenor sax, Don Braden on tenor sax, Valery Ponomav on trumpet, Tanya Darby on trumpet and Benny Powell on trombone. The group will swing the standards, the no-so standards, old tunes, new tunes and some Latin on the side.