Songs and Sounds of the Swing Area Coming to Middletown

Jazz singer Linda Ipanema and Her Band, with feature guest baritone Stan Edwards, will take their audience on a sentimental journey in a tribute to the great songs, singers and bands of the great swing era on Saturday, September 29, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be held in the state-of-the-art MHS Performing Arts Center at 200 LaRosa Lane, and it is being brought to Middletown by the Greater Middletown Concert Association as the first performance in its 2012-2013 Series of six performances.

Ipanema will sing swingtime tunes with her current band drawn from some of the best players in the New York City metropolitan area, She has been in show business most of her life including Broadway musicals, films, TV shows, cabarets, comedy clubs and outdoor festivals. As a long-time member of the prestigious Actors Studio, Ipanema has performed in plays as well as musical performances.

Edwards, Ipanema’s guest soloist and husband, came from a stint in the US Army, where he was chosen to tour at various Armed Forces bases, to a 7-year association as Master of Ceremonies singer at the legendary Village Gate in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Later he was a headliner at the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, Frank Sinatra’s favorite spot, where he was dubbed “Mr. Manhattan.”
Rave reviews have followed this swinging ensemble throughout the country as they bring the sounds of many performers from the Dorseys to Middletown’s Tony Pastor and from Frank Sinatra to Rosemary Clooney. They help their audiences live the excitement of an enchanting era of swing!

Individual tickets for this concert are $30 (front half of the auditorium) and $25 (rear half of the auditorium). Group and student prices are available. Subscription tickets can be purchased to cover a six-performances 2012-2013 Series at $125 (front) and $120 (rear) or a three-performances only Concert Series at $65 (front) and $60 (rear). The three-performances concert series includes the Fireworks eight-piece instrumental ensemble (February 10) and The Morgans Irish program (March 10), along with Songs and Sounds of the Swing Era (September 29).. Three operas are included in the six-performances series subscriptions. They are the French opera Carmen by Bizet (October 28), the South American tango opera Maria de Buenos Aires by Piazzolla (February 23), and the Italian opera Don Giovanni by Mozart (May 11). The three-performances Opera Series by itself is $90 (front) and $85 (rear). Call 860 347-4887 or 860 346-3369 for further information or to purchase tickets or subscriptions. The website is www.GreaterMiddletownConcerts.org.