Friends of Jazz - Winona State University

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		Great River Big Band
		The Great River Big Band (GRBB), Western Wisconsin’s only jazz repertory orchestra was formed in 1972 to perform "Jazz On A Sunday Afternoon" for the Great River Festival of the Arts Summer Concert Series. The band has continued that tradition and during the last decade has assumed a much larger role performing both concert, dance, and festival series throughout the Coulee Region and at jazz festivals around the country. The band has backed up such luminaries as Bob Hope, Melissa Manchester, Randy Brecker, Frank Wess, Red Skelton, Red Holloway, Ed Shaughnessy, Bob Mintzer, Curtis Fuller, Kurt Elling, Bobbi Wilson, Sunny Wilkenson, and Clark Terry. .
Great River Big Band Riverside Park, La Crosse, WI
The band’s summer concert series performed free in area parks for the last 36 years has been endowed and named the “Gertrude Salzer Gordon Jazz In the Park Concerts.” In addition, the band has performed for arts series in several communities throughout Western Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as at numerous conventions. The band has been a regular part of Riverfest for the past twenty plus years, appearing in its customary spot before and after the fireworks on July 4th. The GRBB has also appeared at festivals throughout the area, most recently appearing at the Onalaska Independence Day celebration with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. The band has an extensive library of big band classics, contemporary big band, pop, vocal and instrumental features, and dance arrangements. The band's concerts often pay musical tribute to jazz masters like Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Les Brown, and Glenn Miller. Several of these arrangements appear on the band’s compact discs, Swing Shift, Swinging Yuletide, and A Warm Breeze. Dr. Greg Balfany, director is Professor of Clarinet and Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He is active as a performer and music educator, giving workshops, clinics, and guest performances throughout the tri-state area. Dr. Balfany has performed extensively as a clarinet and saxophone soloist in both classical and jazz contexts. He has served as both principal saxophonist and clarinetist with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, and has been a soloist on both clarinet and saxophone with the La Crosse Concert Band in addition to leading his own jazz quartet.