HECTOR HERNANDEZ | staff writer
On the nights of March 28th and 29th, APU’s Jazz Ensemble and Citrus College’s Blue Note Swing Orchestra performed on the same stage in the fi fth annual Battle of the Big Bands. A stage divided for two bands stood before the audience. It was decorated with a classic setting, two drum sets perched tall and glimmering in the soft purple and red light.
The show began with the two school presidents rising from underneath the stage in the midst of a passionate drum battle. “Dr. Wallace was a manic, boy; he’s like a closet rock star. It was great to see him wailing away on those drums,” Beatty said. From then on things were kept at a swift pace. From a saxophone solo on one side to a rivaling saxophone solo on the other side, then back again for a trumpet solo. The show moved from a clip of The Wizard of Oz to APU’s performance of “Over the Rainbow.” Senior vocalist Teryn Carter sang along with the band.
This is the fi fth year for the Battle of the Big Bands which began in the 20-year friendshipbetween the directors of the two bands, David Beatty for APU who also teaches part time at Citrus and Bob Slack
for Citrus College. “This is really an idea that was born of our friendship and the fact that there are several of us who are teaching at both schools,” Beatty said.
Since its creation, the event has increased in popularity. Last year, the event grew to two nights after having to turn people away the year before. This year more than 1,000 people came each night. “It’s rare these days to see live music.” Beatty said. “It’s pretty rare to see live performance of a jazz big band and almost unheard of to see two big bands on stage at the same time.”
This year’s theme for the show was “The Great American Song.” Most of the songs played were familiar to the audience. Three were introduced with classic fi lm clips: from The Wizard of Oz, Days of Wine and Roses and Modern Times.
“What I decided to do with the video clips was to show where the songs originated, what was the fi rst use of these songs and in the case of the three we did they all came from the movies,” Beatty said. Bringing the two bands together provided the audience with a unique and exciting opportunity to be exposed to a live big band jazz.
“I think it keeps the audience intrigued and each band has different types of jazz. I like the way they bounce off each other, play together at some points and play separately,” Carter said. Bob and Jan Flanders enjoyed the opportunity coming with the Glendora Women’s club, of which Jan Flanders is co-chairwoman. “It’s nostalgic, it makes you remember what it was like when jazz was exciting and really popular,” Bob Flanders said. He then turned to his wife saying, “The big band era was when we were dating.”
Having the two bands on stage invited some playful competition. At one point, Beatty and Slack even dueled with trombone and trumpet.
“It sort of gives you an ‘I can do it better than you can’ rush,” Flanders said. Many left speaking of the drum battles and the spectacular closing battle.
