In front of a sun-dappled field full of people, Jim Edwards celebrated two anniversaries Tuesday night – 30 years for the West Seattle Big Band, which he founded and directs, and 42 years with his wife Barbara.
He even dedicated one of the songs at the band’s annual Concert in the Park to her:
“Someone to Watch Over Me,” featuring vocalist Jenaige Lane, was one of 23 songs the band performed in their no-intermission hour-and-three-quarters set, played in a new setting – the field at Grace Church. The playlist was eclectic – classics like “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head,” featuring vocalist Sam Henry:
As Jim said, it’s all but mandatory to have something by Glenn Miller:
And from the pop-music vein, two classics by the group Chicago – an instrumental version of “25 or 6 to 4”:
And a duet on “Saturday in the Park”:
After telling an abbreviated version of the West Seattle Big Band’s origin story (eatured here a few days ago), Jim launched the band into another anniversary commemoration – “Stars and Stripes Forever” in honor of the USA’s recent 250th:
On the eclectic side was “UFO”:
And the big-band big-sound continued wth “Mack the Knife”:
Balancing that out was summer-night serenading like “Georgia on My Mind”:
Jim also noted along the way that the timing of this concert is always a little wacky – it’s sponsored by, and a prelude to, the West Seattle Grand Parade, which he coordinated for many years, now leading its safety operation. His daughter Michelle Edwards, who took over as parade coordinator several years ago, was front and center with the band tonight as its longtime keyboardist.
Barbara Edwards is integral to the parade operation too, as its judge coordinator. But the parade is still a few days away, and Tuesday night was a time to make and enjoy music in the warm summer air.
The West Seattle Big Band’s biggest mission is to raise money for school music programs, so watch for their appearance at fundraisers as well as annual events like this and the Fauntleroy Fall Festival.
