Wedding in St. Augustine
The Ted Knight Orchestra played for a big band wedding at the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida.
The bride and groom work in the defense industry in Brevard County, south of St. Augustine. The historic hotel and city would be the perfect place for a most romantic wedding.
Carolyn and Michael searched the Internet for a band that could play standards and jazz instead of the usual wedding fare, and found Knight Music. At first they booked The World's Smallest Big Band, but as the date grew closer they upgraded to the orchestra. Click photos to enlarge.
Ellington's It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing and Basie's Sweet Georgia Brown featured jazz solos by the horns. Vocalist Evelyn Russell was featured on Embraceable You, It Had to Be You, Billie Holiday's Blue Moon, and Diana Krall's arrangement of The Look of Love. Ted sang The Way You Look Tonight and Choo Choo Ch'Boogie, and his Zoot Suit Riot packed the dance floor.
Stellar
musicians
Bassist Chelsea Chason is young, but plays like one of those cats who've been around forever. She did a fine job at the cocktail hour on tunes like Perdido and Benny Goodman's Seven Come Eleven, and her playing with the full band was sensational. She's also in demand for classical gigs, and in fact had just played for another wedding at the Casa Monica the week before.
Trombonist Dave Steinmeyer headed the U.S. Air Force "Airmen of Note," a top military service jazz band, in Washington, DC for many years. Saxophonist Simon Hutchings is a member of the prestigious Helios Saxophone Quartet as well as a fine jazz player. Willie Hammett, a veteran of the resorts of St. Simon's Island and Jekyll Island, sounded especially sweet playing muted trumpet fills on ballads. Both Willie and Simon also played for the jazz cocktail hour preceding the main reception.
Don Zentz was a treat on alto and tenor sax. Don won awards for his work with the jazz program at the University of North Florida and now heads the performing arts program at the Bolles School in Jacksonville.
Rave review
The bride and groom gave Ted's band a rave review. "Fantastic performance...we highly recommend A Little Knight Music...big band and swing with all class...everyone loved A Little Knight Music from ages 4 to 84...we would ask them to play all over again."
Photos courtesy of Vincent Pierce Photography.