Campus Connection

This year’s season features five concerts

[caption id="attachment_41499" align="alignleft" width="350"] Jazz Diva Extraordinaire Deborah Brown will perform at this year’s Riverside Jazz Party in La Crosse’s Riverside Park Sunday, July 26. Brown, who has 11 albums to her credit, has appeared in concert in more than 50 countries.[/caption] The Gertrude Salzer-Gordon Jazz in the Park 2015 Concert Series begins Friday, June 12, in downtown La Crosse. This season’s five concerts with the La Crosse Jazz Orchestra present a variety of mainstream big band jazz and swing. Three concerts in Riverside Park will feature three outstanding vocalists, in addition to the band’s own regionally acclaimed soloists. Jazz Diva Extraordinaire Deborah Brown, who has 11 albums to her credit, will perform at this year’s Riverside Jazz Party Sunday, July 26.

The series includes:

Friday, June 12 — King Street in front of the Pump House — 6:30 p.m. Street Dance Celebration presented by Artspire 2015. The band will swing, rock, waltz and cha cha especially for those interested in dancing in this Artspire kick-off event. Sunday, June 14 — Riverside Park – 7 p.m. (Rain site is the Cavalier Theater) The first concert at Riverside Park features vocalist Tim Henke singing the music of Michael Buble (“Quando, Quando”), Frank Sinatra (“Nice and Easy”) and several others. The band will perform several selections from Benny Carter’s Kansas City Suite, as well as Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition.” Sunday, June 21 — Riverside Park — 7 p.m. (Rain site is the Cavalier Theater) For this second concert in the park, vocalist Cathy Reitz takes center stage. Reitz has several new selections from Anita O’Day (“I Love You”), Ella Fitzgerald (“Accentuate the Positive”) and more. The band will interpret selections from Benny Carter’s “Central City Sketches” and several other compositions, including the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” Friday, July 24, Downtown La Crosse Street Dance, 300 block of Pearl Street — 7 p.m. This Downtown Mainstreet event has become one of La Crosse’s most popular street events. The band recreates many of the classic ’40s dance hits, but also includes music from mainstream contemporary pop culture. Sunday, July 26 —Riverside Jazz Party in Riverside Park – 5 p.m. (Rain site is the Weber Theater) Kansas City internationally acclaimed jazz diva Deborah Brown headlines in La Crosse’s own mini Jazz Festival. She brings her personal interpretations to many great tunes including “I’ve Got My Love,” “Always,” “A Little Tear” and more. Joining Brown are the Greater La Crosse High School Jazz Orchestra and the perennially popular Dalton Brother’s Band. Along with the UW-La Crosse Foundation, sponsors for the series include: La Crosse Loggers; Waterfront; LHI; SSE Music; Welshire Capital, Oak Forest Dental; O’Flaherty, Heim, Egan & Birnbaum LTD.; WebTeam; La Crosse Community Foundation; Russell and Vera Smith Fund; and Bob and Jean Marck Family Fund.