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The Kingwood Big Band kicks off the holidays with “A Snazzy Jazzy Christmas,†a holiday concert featuring cool jazz interpretations of beloved holiday classics at Strawbridge United Methodist Church on December 9th.
The concert will feature all-jazz compositions curated by director Dennis Eichler himself, who recently started conducting for the Kingwood Big Band earlier in the year.
This concert comes immediately after the fall concert they held in October, making it the second concert the group has put on in less than three months.
“In the past, the Kingwood Big Band performed only one concert a year,†Eichler said. “But we decided to do two shows this time, because the band is absolutely sexy, and I want to show them as often as possible.”
Additionally, Eichler said these concerts typically focus on different types of music brought together in one performance. However, this concert focuses strictly on jazz.
The concert will also feature the vocal styles of Sarah Cole, a musician who, like Eichler, also started with the Kingwood Big Band in the previous concert. As a former major in music at Lamar University, Cole is a mother of two and passionate about the musical arts.
After spending a decade as a choir director for Sterling High School, she is now a private vocal coach for Barbers Hill High School. She has lent her talent to many shows outside of the Kingwood Big Band, although her experience working with them in particular has been definitely enjoyable.
“Honestly, this is one of the best bands I’ve worked with,†Cole said. “When I show up for rehearsal it’s like once, and they basically sound like records.”
Cole says that one of the reasons she particularly enjoys Christmas music is the style, especially the swing, and the style unique to early 20th century American music. She thinks this period was “the best period for music in general”.
Cole will perform “Jingle Bells”, a blues rendition of “Merry Christmas Baby” and “White Christmas”, alongside the rest of the band. She said the public can expect high quality players and will be able to really feel the Christmas spirit.
As the first holiday concert the band has given since the pandemic, expectations are understandably high. But for Eichler, he just wants to be able to put on a good show and boost the morale of the audience.
“I hope the audience will walk away with the true meaning of Christmas,†Eichler said. “Due to the terrible direction the world has been heading in the past year and a half, with the pandemic and the turmoil in the political arena, I think it is time for us to have something positive.”
Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert are $ 20 for general admission, $ 15 for seniors (55 and over), and $ 5 for students. Tickets are available online or at the door. For more information about the concert or to purchase tickets, visit the Lake Houston Musical Arts Society website.
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