Freese Brothers Big Band To Play Monadnock Region For First Time This Weekend
The performance is on Saturday, August 20 at 7:30pm.
The Freese Brothers Big Band have been performing for 40 years, and now they are finally making their Monadnock region debut this weekend. They will be playing at the acoustically acclaimed Park Theatre in Jaffrey on Saturday, August 20 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20.
The band is an 18-piece orchestra with a featured singer. They will be playing all of the big band favorites and more. The Park Theatre will also have their dance floor ready for swinging and swaying in the 333-seat Eppes Auditorium. The bar will be open before and during the performance.
The band has an extraordinary legacy. The Freese Brothers Big Band was formed in 1982, and the four Freese brothers (George, Courtland, Bill, and Jack) had been playing music together for 50 years. They grew up in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, and performed in a family troupe called the "Homespun Broadcasters," joining their sister and parents in a family musical tradition in the 1930s.
The brothers organized or performed in college bands and played for decades in various groups before all four put together a group of talented musicians for a performance for a company party on the M/S Mount Washington in 1982. They thought it would be a one-time gig, but the word got out, and requests for more performances came in. "Before we knew it, we were a big band," Jack said. "We just fell into it."
With George and Courtland on trumpet and Jack and Bill playing saxophones, the Freese Brothers Big Band was born - and the brothers recruited musician friends to fill out the band. Ever encouraging and supporting their fellow band members, the brothers have been a musical inspiration and more for the band. When Jack suffered a stroke and no longer had the skill to play the saxophone, he learned the trombone.
The original Freese Brothers have all passed on, but their memory continues robustly. Based out of Concord, the band plays concerts all year round.
Tickets for The Freese Brothers Big Band Concert can be purchased by visiting theparktheatre.org or by calling the box office (603) 532-8888.
The Park Theatre performing arts center is located at 19 Main Street in downtown Jaffrey, New Hampshire. The facility is fully accessible.
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