The Freese Brothers Big Band has been performing for 40 years, and will make their Monadnock region debut this weekend at The Park Theatre at 19 Main St. in Jaffrey Saturday, Aug. 20, at 7:30 p.m.
The band is an 18-piece orchestra with a featured singer, and will be playing big band favorites and more. The Park Theatre will also have its dance floor ready, and the bar will be open before and during the performance.
The Freese Brothers Big Band was formed in 1982, and the four Freese brothers (George, Courtland, Bill, and Jack) had been playing music together for 50 years. They grew up in Pittsfield, and performed in a family troupe called the Homespun Broadcasters, joining their sister and parents in a family musical tradition in the 1930s.
The brothers organized or performed in college bands and played for decades in various groups before all four put together a group of musicians for a performance for a company party on the MS Mount Washington in 1982. They thought it would be a one-time gig, but the word got out, and requests for more performances came in.
With George and Courtland on trumpet and Jack and Bill playing saxophones, the Freese Brothers Big Band was born, and the brothers recruited musician friends to fill out the band. When Jack suffered a stroke and no longer had the skill to play the saxophone, he learned the trombone.
The original Freese Brothers have all died, but their memory continues. Based out of Concord, the band plays concerts all year.
Tickets are $20, and can be purchased by visiting theparktheatre.org or by calling the box office 603-532-8888.