The George Gee Swing Orchestra has been at the forefront of the Modern Swing resurgence for more than four decades. Plus, the Queens-based ensemble has performed at Midtown Manhattan’s Swing46 Jazz & Supper Club on Sundays for the past 27 years.
The magic continues when the group headlines the Queens Jazz Trail Concert Series in Astoria Park on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 6 pm.
Expect Gee to croon, while the band sizzles and the crowd dances.
The event is free and no reservations are required, but there’s a material incentive to attend. The first 100 arrivals receive a newly printed Queens Jazz Trail Map, and a downloadable phone app version of the map goes live this night.
The concert is set for a stage on the Great Lawn, overlooking the water and in the vicinity of 19th Street and 24th Avenue.
Editor’s note: With help from a state grant, the Queens Tourism Council recently financed a large print run of Queens Jazz Trail Maps whose copyright has belonged to Flushing Town Hall for several decades. The multi-color, fold-out map features illustrations of the musicians and their houses designed by Tony Millionaire. The reverse side breaks down their neighborhoods with text and historical notes by Marc H. Miller.
Several dozen Jazz legends moved to Queens during the 20th century. Pianist Clarence Williams and his wife Eva Taylor, a singer, probably became the first ones when they bought a house on 108th Avenue in Jamaica in 1923. Milt Hinton, Fats Waller, and Count Basie were also among the early wave of homeowners. A list follows.
Cannonball Adderley (saxophone), Nat Adderley (cornet), Louis Armstrong (trumpet, vocals, band leader), Mildred Bailey (vocals), Count Basie (piano, bandleader), Bix Beiderbecke (cornet), John Coltrane (saxophone), Chick Corea (piano), Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis (saxophone), Bill Doggett (organ, piano), Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Mercer Ellington (trumpet, bandleader), Ella Fitzgerald (vocals), Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Benny Goodman (clarinet, band leader), Jimmy Heath (saxophone, band leader), Woody Herman (clarinet, bandleader), Milt Hinton (bass), Billie Holiday (vocals), Lena Horne (vocals), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Illinois Jacquet (saxophone), Russell Jacquet (saxophone), James P. Johnson (piano, composer), Junior Mance (piano), Glenn Miller (trombone, arranger, band leader), Charlie Mingus (bass), Russell “Big Chief” Moore (trombone), Tony Sbarbaro (drums), Phil Schaap (historian, disc jockey, liner notes), Carol Sudhalter (saxophone), Clark Terry (trumpet), Fats Waller (piano, vocals), Ben Webster (saxophone), Clarence Williams (piano, composer, publisher), Cootie Williams (trumpet), Fess Williams (clarinet, bandleader), and Lester Young (clarinet, saxophone).
Plus, Armstrong, Gillespie, Scott Joplin (piano, composer), Johnny Hodges (saxophone), and Charlie Shavers (trumpet) are buried in Queens.
Images: The George Gee Swing Orchestra