Free Big Band Concert July 26

The First Congregational Church in Essex sponsors a free performance by The Big Band on the Essex Green on Saturday, July 26 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The concert will feature swing music and standards from the Great American Songbook. The rain date is Sunday,

July 27. Bring lawn chairs and a picnic supper. Dancing on the grass or in the gazebo is encouraged.

The Big Band is a 12-piece dance orchestra led by Bob Hughes. The group's repertoire includes the big band standards from the past 50 years, including works by Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and other artists, as well as newer material by contemporary arrangers. Hughes has performed on saxophone and clarinet with the bands The Rhythm Heirs, the Greenwich Retreads, Atlanta's Sentimental Journey Orchestra, Houston's Chuck Nolen Orchestra, and with Marty Conley's Big Band Express.

Bob Hughes's The Big Band

Photo courtesy of Nancy Loader