Amanda Carr At “Big Bands Are Back” Benefit Dance-Concert

Amanda Carr will be the featured vocalist at the “Big Bands Are Back” benefit on Nov.12 at Melrose Memorial Hall. She will appear with the “The Abletones." an 18-piece big band led by Dan Gabel.

The dance-concert, also featuring vocalist Rob Zappulla, benefits the American Big Band Preservation Society.

The internationally-known singer began performing professionally as a rock/pop singer in her teens. Her first job was as a pianist and singer at age 14 at a restaurant in Hingham for $45 a night. In recent years, she adopted the jazz and big band style to critical acclaim. Twice she has been featured in Wall Street Journal articles by writer, Nat Hentoff, who called her, "..a true jazz singer in a time of wannabes.”  She’s was also featured in Hentoff's latest bestseller, "At the Jazz Band Ball: 60 Years on the Jazz Scene".

For over three decades, she's performed and recorded in the U.S. and Italy. In recent years, she has toured as featured vocalist with revivals  of bands originally led by Artie Shaw, Harry James and Glenn Miller. She has also starred in a traveling big band “Tribute to Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman”. Besides five jazz vocal recordings, her most recent big band dvd, "Common Thread" debuted No. 32 on the National Billboard Charts in 2010 and has been on multiple jazz bestseller lists. In September, she completed a three-week concert tour in Australia.

Her love for the big bands stems from her family’s musical backgrounds. Her grandmother played stride piano for vaudeville acts. Her mother, Nancy Carr, was a regular at the Totem Pole ballroom in Newton, Mass. Her father, Nick Capezuto, was a veteran of the big-band era playing with Glenn Miller, Louis Prima, Elliot Lawrence, Woody Herman and Herb Pomeroy.

Amanda says, “There are a handful of us in the Boston area who are sons and daughters of those who played in that wonderful big band era. I believe we have an obligation to carry on that wonderful musical legacy.”  It is not surprising that she is the founder of the American Big Band Preservation Society that includes a stellar list of directors and advisors from the world of music.

Complimentary hors d’oeuvres included, Cash bar and Door Prizes. Raffle prize: A luxury weekend at the Liberty Hotel, Boston.

Tickets also available in person at , 479 Main St. Melrose
OR email Bill Doyle: wjdoyle@charter.net
OR call 508-963-6232
OR mail a check made payable to
ABBPS
PO BOX 111
N. Pembroke, MA 02358