Cool planes, hot music
Lantana Airport in Florida hosted their 21st annual big band pancake breakfast on Sunday, January 10, 2010. Free admission included music by the 20-piece Ted Knight Big Band.
It was hot music on a cold, cold day - a record-breaking 35 degrees made the spicy sausages and hot griddle cakes especially welcome. Click the photo for a better look at Ted's overcoat and Evelyn Russell's red gloves.
The
band featured clarinet soloist
Paul Green
on Benny Goodman's Sing Sing Sing, with drummer Jean Bolduc as
Gene Krupa and trumpet soloist Bunny Carfagno as Harry James. Fans loved
Paul's rendition of Artie Shaw's Begin the Beguine.
Evelyn Russell sang The Look of Love, How About You, and the Duke's It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing. Ted sang Wind Beneath My Wings, dedicating the song to the memory of his father, Vic Knight, whose own band played for the annual event until his death in 2000.
The program included two Mancini charts. Trombonist Mike Egan soloed on Two for the Road, and pianist Brad Keller played some tasty licks on Mr. Lucky.
Night Train opened up for solos by Ray Oram on tenor sax, Paul
Magersuppe on alto, Jim Adle on baritone sax, Mike Terry on trombone,
and 14-year old guitarist Alex Lacy, the newest member of the band.Pilots may fly in for the event. A couple who had Ted's band for their wedding in Key West flew up from Miami and had a ball, despite the bitter weather.
A
fine tradition
Last year's event was dedicated to the memory of Owen Gassaway, Jr., who died in December 2007. Owen, pictured at left, was a deeply patriotic World War II veteran who became the Lantana airport administrator after the war.
He loved the big bands and enjoyed hosting
the annual big band breakfast at the airport. He shared his love of
flying with thousands of young people over the years, through his work with air patrol
cadets. The airport has now been officially designated Owen
Gassaway Field in his honor.
Hangar space, tie-downs, fuel, food and rental cars are readily available. For more information call 561-965-6400, or tune in Unicom frequency 122.7.
The airport is located on Lantana Road, about a half-mile west of the I-95 exit at Lantana. Motels are located along the highway, and oceanfront accommodations are available at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Four Seasons Resort.