PORT ANGELES — The sound of New Orleans brass will fill the Stevens Middle School gym as the Puget Sound Machine, a nine-piece group that’s part of the Northwest Navy Band, gives a free concert Thursday night.
The show will start at 7:30 p.m. at the school at 1139 W. 14th St., and the public is invited.
The group, led by singer and trombone player James Choate, is the headliner of Stevens’ annual Jazz Night, but the set list brings Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” plus rock’n’roll hits from the 1990s to the 2000s, promised Nathan Bissell, chief musician and one of the band’s three saxophone players.
Along with old-fashioned New Orleans brass, the Puget Sound Machine has been known to do Billy Joel’s “My Life” and a funky version of “Stayin’ Alive,” he noted.
“We try to hit the broadest possible audience,” and since this is a Navy band, “Anchors Aweigh” wraps up the set.
Opening for the Puget Sound Machine are two local ensembles: the Stevens Jazz Band and the Port Angeles High School Jazz Band, meaning a
total of about 50 young musicians.
Tower of Power’s “Soul Vaccination,” Buddy Rich’s “Groovin’ Hard” and the Beatles’ “Day Tripper” are on the agenda, said Stevens Middle School band director Ed Donohue.
“There’s a new jazz arrangement out there of ‘Day Tripper,’” he said, adding he’s been looking forward to bringing it to Jazz Night, an annual event he initiated a good 20 years ago.
For more about the Puget Sound Machine, based at the Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in Silverdale, see the Navy Band Northwest page on Facebook, and for information about Stevens Middle School’s band program, phone the school office at 360-452-5590.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.