​Frank Derrick Big Band With A 'Count Basie Tribute' Is Gold Coast Jazz Society's Series Finale

Join in May as the Frank Derrick Big Band performs a personal tribute to Count Basie while celebrating specifically the cast of drummers who performed with the renowned musician, many of them known to Frank Derrick personally. Derrick promises that he will bring his own nostalgic feelings with improvisations garnered from acquaintance and friendship with Papa Jo Jones, Butch Miles, Duffy Jackson, Sonny Payne and Sonny Cohn on Wednesday, May 10 at 7:45 pm at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

This performance will mark the Finale to the Gold Coast Jazz Society 2022-2023 Concert Series.

Drummer, Frank Derrick, has led a multifaceted national and international music career. A virtuoso performer, composer, and educator who has toured worldwide for ten years with Cab Calloway and performed with numerous legends and artists, he was also the drummer for "The David Letterman Show" on NBC. His theatrical credits include the Broadway productions of Bubbling Brown Sugar, The Wiz, Ain't Misbehavin,' Sophisticated Ladies, Big River and Catskills.

Frank's current activities include appearances with his internationally-acclaimed, 17-piece big band and quintet; and as a Florida local was the drummer, assistant conductor and personal manager of the Palm Beach Pops. Familiar to symphonic audiences throughout the world, he has appeared with the Royal Philharmonic, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the New York Pops, the Naples Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Symphony of the Americas, and the Calgary Philharmonic! He has also conducted on the concert stage for Lanie Kazan and John Pizzarelli (Pizzarelli will be part of our 2023 - 2024 Season!).

His composition "Straight Ahead," the band-featured number during the 1992 Cab Calloway European Tour, garnered the A.S.C.A.P. Special Award. Says Derrick, "Finishing last arrangement and looking forward to paying tribute to the great Count Basie with some of the finest musicians on the planet, including Billy Ross, Ron Nordwall, Aaron Simcox, Randy Emerick, Mike Brignola, Dante Luciani, John Kricker, Steve Sigmund, Jose Leonardo Leon, Tom Stancampiano, Ransom Miller, Pete Francis, Courtney Jones, Tom Lippincott, Phil Hinton & Ranses Colon.

We are honored to have Frank Derrick Big Band as our Season Finale on Wednesday, May 10. Join Us! Get your tickets now at browardcenter.org and come and listen for yourself!

Single tickets for each concert are $65 plus applicable fees and can be purchased also through Ticketmaster at 954.462.0222. All tickets are now paperless for downloading to a mobile device.

The Gold Coast Jazz Society is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of jazz music through a mainstage concert series, free community concerts, educational programs, a jazz scholarship program and musical services provided by the Gold Coast Jazz Society Band. For more information go to www.goldcoastjazz.org.