: 1210263687

When the Queens Jazz Orchestra plays its inaugural concert at Flushing Town Hall on May 16, the musicians in the 17-piece ensemble will join a long line of jazz greats to call the borough home.

Legend Louis Armstrong lived in Corona throughout his professional life; Count Basie, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald were all neighbors. The Flushing Council on Arts and Culture, stationed at Flushing Town Hall, created the Queens Jazz Orchestra in order to preserve this rich musical tradition.

“With such an abundant history and legacy of jazz in Queens why hasn’t there ever been an orchestra that would represent the music of these innovators and bring it to new generations,” producer Clyde Bullard said. “This is going to be more than just an orchestra that would play once or twice a year. It will also serve the community.”

Members of the orchestra travel throughout the City in order to play Queens jazz, teach audiences about Queens jazz history and promote Flushing Town Hall’s programming.
According to Bullard, the group not only preserves the legacy of Queens, but that of Jimmy Heath, the orchestra’s Music Director and Conductor. Heath, who taught at Queens College for 11 years, has performed all over the world, playing sax with the Heath Brothers as well as the likes of Howard McGhee, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis.

“People will look at it as Jimmy’s orchestra,” Bullard said.
Musicians Jeb Patton (piano), Michael Mossman (trumpet), Tony Purrone (guitar) and Antonio Hart (sax) were tapped for the inaugural performance, which will feature the music of Dizzy Gillespie, Cannonball Adderley, Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Count Basie, Illinois Jacquet, Billie Holiday and of course, Louis Armstrong.

Michael Cogswell, director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, has agreed to lend the orchestra Armstrong’s original big band charts for the concert.

The Armstrong House Museum, which has consistently received a boost owing to its inclusion on Flushing Town Halls’ Queens Jazz Trail Tour, seems eager to return the favor.
“When visitors come to the museum we can say – hey check out our very own orchestra. It’s something we can all be proud of and we’ll be happy to let our visitors international and national know thats it’s not just about coming for a jazz tour or visiting the Armstrong House, but also about getting great music as well,” Museum Assistant Director Deslyn Dyer said. “I’m happy to see we’ve added another option in Queens that will keep our visitors in Queens.”

For information, visit: www.flushingtownhall.org, or call the box office: (718) 463-7700, ext. 222.