Saturday, August 31, 2024 - 7:00pm
300 Scorpion Court ~ Satellite Beach, FL 32937
Get ready for a concert worthy of the jazz greats, when Andrew Cleaver and the Space Coast Symphony JAZZ Orchestra present Big Band Favorites. The swingin’ fall program will feature music from the Big Band Era, including music from Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Count Basie. The audience will also hear modern selections from artists like Peter Ellman, Sammy Nestico and Maynard Ferguson. Featuring excellent jazz musicians from near and far, the SCSJO will take you back in time with “American Patrol,” “Tuxedo Junction,” and “Sing, Sing, Sing,” while introducing you to big band jazz favorites from the '70s, including "Maria" and "Besame Mucho." Bandleader and saxophonist Andrew Cleaver will pay homage to the late great Charlie Almeida, with "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most." Almeida was a founding member of the U.S. Air Force's elite jazz ensemble, Airman of Note, as well as a member of the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors. The program will also include a dedication to Marshall Frank, the writer/musician and founder of the Creative Arts Foundation of Brevard, well known for its developmental support for youth performers. Joining the jazz musicians for the evening will be the sultry Orlando singer, Chase Shelleé. Originally from the Philippines, Shelleé is currently at work on her second album and is the front woman for the vintage band, Underground Retro.
Artist Information
Saxophonist and Melbourne, Fl, resident Andrew Cleaver has been a professional soloist for more than 35 years. He started his musical life as a young US Air Force performer after graduating from Florida Southern College in Lakeland. Thirty-five years later, after becoming a military retiree with 15 years as a Treasury Department employee, Andrew is known locally for his proficiency in educating and inspiring young Melbourne-area saxophonists at his private lesson studio. Andrew also works with Brevard County schools including Viera, Melbourne and Heritage high schools.
Andrew has performed with Louise Mandrell, The Ronettes, Kevin Eubanks, The Beverly Sisters, Karrin Allyson, Paquito D’Rivera, Butch Miles and saxophone master instructor Eugene Rousseau. He also played saxophone on the Grammy Award-winning album, "PDQ Bach: Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion," which won Best Comedy Album in 1992.
His military performance tours lead him through 20 countries with audiences including England's Queen Mother, Prime Minister John Major, presidents Bush, Clinton and Obama as well as several U.S. senators and other international dignitaries.
Andrew enlisted in the Air Force in 1988 to join the Heritage of America Band at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. In 1992, he transferred to The United States Air Forces in Europe Band as principal alto saxophonist and lead for the Air Force's Glenn Miller Band sax section while serving as Drum Major for the Air Force Ceremonial Band.
He transferred to the Air Force Band of Mid-America in Illinois in 1996 and joined the Air Force Public Affairs team at the Pentagon in September 2001, which lead to his position in The United States Air Force Band at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., as a public affairs specialist, saxophonist and concert announcer in 2003.
While at Bolling, Andrew was assigned to the Air Force’s premier jazz ensemble, The Airmen of Note before retiring in 2009. According to Andrew, it just doesn’t get any better than that!
Aside from being his wife’s least favorite saxophone collector, Andrew continues his work at the US Department of Treasury and performs with the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, the SCSO Sax Quartet, the Space Coast Big Band and other local groups. He spends his "free time" helping his wife with her home organizing business while painstakingly remodeling his home; a task he says seems to never … ever … end. The final item on his renovation list is a space for his flutes, clarinets, trombones and all 43 pieces in his saxophone collection.
Chase Shellee hails from the Philippines, where she grew up singing in church, playing piano, and writing songs and stories. Attending conservatory in New York City, she fell in love with jazz, began wrestling with the blues, and found ways to infuse her own sultry style into both standards and modern music. She returned to the Philippines to record and release her debut album, "High On Maybe." Her cover band, Chase Shelleé and the Underground Retro, exude a high energy feel with a smoky finish and vintage throwback, while her original work teases and toys with the lines of jazz, blues, and alternative music. Chase currently lives in Orlando, Florida with two pit bulls, her cat, Harley, and a lot of books. In 2022, Chase Shelleé was nominated as "Best Jazz Act" in Orlando Weekly's annual "Best of Orlando" poll. The same year, she released a new single, "Jezebel," and an accompanying music video, available on all platforms. Chase holds a residency at The Grand Bohemian in Downtown Orlando, performing at the elegant Bosendorfer Lounge. For more information and to listen to her music, visit www.chaseshellee.com.