The
Ted Knight Big Band
The Ted Knight Big Band is a Florida-based ensemble that plays for dances, weddings, concerts and parties.
The mix starts with swing, jazz, standards and blues including big band classics like String of Pearls. Pop, rock, and Latin music are available for variety.
The band's repertoire includes tunes by Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman, as well as songs from Motown and Stevie Wonder.
See the song list and hear online demos.
The
group starts at fourteen pieces, including three trumpets, three
trombones, four saxes, piano, bass, drums, and Ted as leader and
vocalist. Options include guitar, fourth trumpet, fourth trombone, fifth saxophone, vibes and percussion,
and stage lighting. With vocalists such as
Evelyn Russell,
Tom Willis, and
Kevin Campfield, the band can
be up to 20
pieces in all. A high-quality sound system is included.
The big band
has played for weddings and concerts in Tampa and Boca Raton, and plays
for an annual public concert at Lantana Airport. Thanks
to a network of musicians in key cities such as Tampa, Jacksonville and
Atlanta, Ted's big band is available throughout the southeastern U.S.
at surprisingly affordable rates.
See map.
Close attention to volume means people can enjoy conversation at dinner as well as upbeat sounds for dancing. To get the idea, compare Watch What Happens and Flying Home, recorded during the same dinner dancer at Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club.
See
The Big Band News and
Big Band Weddings to learn more.
Space or budget considerations may suggest The Ted Knight Orchestra instead of the full big band. The orchestra plays the same songs as the big band but with arrangements adapted for just four horns. At right, the orchestra plays for a 50th anniversary gala at the Country Club of Florida.
Ted
inherited his love of big band music from his father,
Vic Knight. He's pictured with his
band at a memorial to his friend, trombonist Tom Webb, at Florida
Atlantic University.
Both Vic and Patty, Ted's mother, loved to dance to their son's trio on Friday nights at the old Erny's Restaurant in Delray Beach. Their favorites included Sentimental Journey and Chattanooga Choo Choo, but they would always ask him to sing Wind Beneath My Wings. Now when Ted performs the song, he dedicates it to their memory.