Sizzling Summer Music

Music in Paradise presents "An Evening with Gershwin: An Affair to Remember" Friday night, August 5, 8 pm at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 800 Center St., Key West.

This musical extravaganza of Gershwin favorites includes soulful songs and the lush sounds of the Gershwin big band. Also featured are pianists John Koenig playing the Gershwin Prelude #1 and Artistic Director Linda Sparks with award-winning clarinetist Dominic Giardino and big band in a shortened Rhapsody in Blue. Sparks also performs a virtuoso piano version of I've Got Rhythm.

Harry Schroeder has put together our 10-piece band featuring saxophones John Baxter, Les Dudley and Katie Roman, trumpets Holber Gagliardini and Kelly Rosch, trombone Harry Schroeder, and rhythm section with Linda Sparks, piano, Joe Dallas, bass, and Roger Van Zant, drums. In addition to backing up our singers, the big band opens the show with S'Wonderful and closes with Schroeder's arrangement of Love is Here to Stay.

Featured singers include Melody Cooper But Not for Me, Parker Redding Embraceable You, Katy Werner Summertime, Maj Johnson Someone to Watch Over Me, Michael Kilgore They Can't Take That Away from Me, Ruben Navarro Got Me a Rainbow, John Rudolph Fascinating Rhythm as well as David Casey, Father Don Sullivan and Jeffrey Dunaway in what is sure to become the definitive performance of It Ain't Necessarily So!