Hip cats stroll into The Blue Parrot Mondays from 7- 9:30 p.m. for Tomkats Big Band vintage tunes. A Blue Parrot fixture since 2009, this popular group serves up Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Burt Bacharach and Louis Armstrong songs, mixed up with a little Rolling Stones and Pat Metheny just to keep it fresh. Rain or shine, the fans show up.
Tomkats Big Band’s newest CD “Live at the Hideaway,” is available in vinyl as well and sold at the weekly jazz aficiando gathering for just $10. Friends often stop in to jam (Liz Antony, Mark Moultrup, David Winterhalter were on hand in early April), and unique arrangements of classic songs by band members (including musical director Greg Dunn) is what make Tomkats Big Band a huge draw.
The band grew out of a love of vintage tunes. In 1984 two American Legion buddies, Frankie Richards and Tom Robertson lamented the lack of old music on the jukebox and decided they would form a band that played what they liked. Both were musicians in another life. Frankie had played C Melody sax (an extinct instrument) in the 1930’s and Tom had played drums back during his youth. In the fall of 1985 they held their first rehearsals at the St. Petersburg American Legion Hall. By the third week the current co-leaders of the Tomkats were present, trumpeters Alan Stegeman & Greg Dunn.
The band found a ready audience at the 4th Street American Legion Hall, B. B. Joes, which was the original jazz nightclub in downtown St. Petersburg and Tiki Gardens on Reddington Beach. By 1990 the band landed at the Bilmar Beach Resort on Treasure Island. The Bilmar was home to the Suncoast Dixielanders and enjoyed a long and rich history as a home for jazz. Louis Armstrong and Harry James had both vacationed there. The Tomkats conducted a weekly big band session at the Bilmar until 2005, moving to Delilah’s Martini Bar for several years. After a brief sabbatical to write new music and arrangements, the band became a Monday night fixture at the Blue Parrot.
The Tomkats also play local festivals and events including New Year’s Eve 2015 Swingin’ the New Year at the St. Petersburg Coliseum, Treasure Island Blues Festival, the Sanding Ovations Sand Castle Festival and the Clearwater Jazz Festival. The band also plays a wide variety of other private and public functions. For more information, check them out on the web, Facebook & You Tube: www.tomkatsjazzorchestra.com www.facebook.com/TomkatsJazzOrchestra
www.youtube.com/tomkatsjazzorchestra The Blue Parrot, 85 Corey Circle, St. Pete Beach, FL (727) 368 9619 www.bluepstpb.com
Greg Dunn, TKJO Music Director