Results for "Sammy Nestico"

Sammy Nestico

At the age of 17, Sammy Nestico became the staff arranger for ABC radio station, WCAE, Pittsburgh, Pa. He received his B.S. degree in music education from Duquesne University, and has been honored three times by the school with an honorary Doctor of Music degree, the Distinguished Alumni award, and in 1994, he was inducted into the ?Century Club?. North Texas State also presented him with special music awards in 1978, 1979 and 1980. As an educator, he has directed the music programs at Westinghouse Memorial High School, Wilmerding Pa., Pierce College, Los Angeles, Ca. and the University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. Sammy joined the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C

The Len Pierro Jazz Orchestra: The Third Quarter

By JACK BOWERS

Any big-band album that opens with a rollicking Four Brothers-style saxophone soli is all but guaranteed to capture one's ear and interest. As it turns out, the buoyant “Fill in the Gap," on which the sax section sparkles, is but the first of many sonic delights on The Third Quarter, a marvelous new CD by Philadelphia-based ...

Vanessa Perica: Love is a Temporary Madness

By JACK BOWERS

Even as the year 2020 has slid ignobly into the dustbin of history, music-lovers have been buoyed by a number of encouraging signs that the future of big-band jazz is in capable hands. While splendid recordings by old hands Mike Barone, Steve Spiegl, Mark Masters and Maria Schneider have helped keep the flame burning brightly, their ...

Joshua Jern Jazz Orchestra: Midnight Stroll

By JACK BOWERS

One can only imagine how difficult it must be, especially in such uncertain times, for any musician to decide that the time has come to assemble a big band and usher it into a recording studio, let alone one whose name and reputation are, more than likely, scarcely known outside his own neighborhood. Thumbing his nose ...

US Military Service Bands: Histories & Heroes

By CHRIS M. SLAWECKI

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 US Air Force Airmen of Note The premier jazz ensemble of the US Air Force, the Airmen of Note is one of six musical ensembles that comprise The US Air Force Band. Created in 1950 to continue the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces ...

Rich Willey: Down & Dirty

By NICHOLAS F. MONDELLO

Back in 2001, trumpeter/composer/educator Rich Willey released a critically acclaimed album titled Gone with the Piggies (CAP Records). As a result, a savvy audience has followed him cult-like ever since. With Down and Dirty, the former Maynard Ferguson standout delivers a bacchanalia presentation both as player and composer, surrounded by a unit of Los Angeles' finest ...

Rick Lawn: The Evolution of Big Band Sounds in America

By VICTOR L. SCHERMER

From the latter part of the Jazz Age through the Swing Era, big bands dominated the jazz scene and a large part of the entertainment industry. After World War II, their fortunes declined, but their music soared to new heights, spurred on by innovative leaders, instrumentalists, and very importantly, the composers/arrangers who worked behind the scenes ...