Karen Ponzio Photos
Elm City Big Band
Sunday night, under the full moon and the first breaths of true winter weather, the Elm City Big Band made its State House debut with a holiday spectacular, an event filled with two sets of seasonal favorites, original music, covers, and all that jazz.
Presented by The New Haven Jazz Underground, the 17-member band, led by Nick DiMaria, has been working its way toward this gig for nearly two years.
“We’re your standard jazz big band,” explained DiMaria before to the show, meaning that ECBB includes five saxophones, four trombones, four trumpets, guitar, bass, piano and drums. “We added vocals for this performance,” he noted.
The band first came together in March 2020 and had its issues coming together for regular gigs due to Covid-19. It first played in Temple Plaza and has done two shows on the Branford Green. State House ended up being a rehearsal space for members, and DiMaria always hoped for more. “We want to make State House our home,” he said.
The realization of that dream was off to a great start Sunday evening as attendees filled rows of chairs set out by the venue and band members filled their own rows up on stage, some dressed in seasonal attire such as Santa hats and holiday sweaters.
DiMaria played master of ceremonies as well as trumpet, welcoming everyone to the “first hopefully annual big band show at State House.”
“Let’s spread some cheer,” he added as the band launched into its first number, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.” In the players’ hands, the song had an almost calypso beat to it, punctuated by solos from Joshua Bruneau on trumpet, Jamie Berlyn on tenor sax, and Anthony Pelligrini on baritone sax.
The band really began to swing with “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” featuring Matt Schmidt on alto sax and Mike Schmidt on tenor sax. Afterward DiMaria asked the appreciative crowd how many of them had seen the band before. “About half,” he noted from a show of hands, and after a a brief history of how the band got here, he mentioned how this show was a “big treat for us.”
“When you play big band in college that’s usually your last chance,” he said. “So this is a big deal.” The band followed with an original song featuring Don Clough on trumpet, who DiMaria noted was playing for the first time with the band that night.
Malin Carta adds vocals to "Frosty The Snowman."
As promised, vocalists were a part of this evening’s proceedings. They included Malin Carta, who sang joyfully on two classics, “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Baby,” in between her time on alto sax. During the second set, special guest vocalist Jordan Watson joined the band for a soul-stirring rendition of “A Child is Born.”
During both sets DiMaria continued to introduce band members and acknowledge solos, as well as entice the audience and encourage their participation. “Tag us at Elm City Big Band,” he said in response to seeing people with their phones held up. “We love seeing your videos and pictures.”
He got laughs from the audience and the band when he introduced a song as “God Rest Ye Merry Trombones,” which featured the trombone section consisting of Nathan Davis, Erik Selmquist, Anthony Tata, and Daniel Koveleski. And before “Blue Christmas,” which had less sadness and more swing than usual, he acknowledged the rhythm section consisting of Mike Carabello on piano, Brian Suto on guitar, Keith McDade on bass, and Molly Sayles on drums.
There was also a dedication as DiMaria acknowledged his “lovely” wife Jill, who he said was the “biggest Charlie Brown Christmas fan there is.”
“She starts playing the record as soon as Halloween is over,” he added with a laugh, right before launching into Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here.”
“Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night” also made the list. The former became a swinging, swaying groove. The latter was silky as the clear night sky,
The trumpet section, including Eric Zeisler as well as Clough, Bruneau, and DiMaria, got to shine on a cover of Bill Withers’s “Just the Two of Us” right before the final song of the evening, the apropos “Auld Lang Syne,” which began traditionally and then kicked up to finish in more jazzy fashion.
The audience received it all with love and warmth that the band radiated back to them. DiMaria beamed as he introduced the band members one more time, thanking State House and everyone who attended, and wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday. It was hard not to leave beaming as well, stepping back out into those below freezing temperatures with a lot more warmth in your heart.
