Southern Fried Jazz Band
“Jazz is especially reflective of our nation’s personality and spirit.” Thus states veteran trumpet player Don Edwards in a newspaper interview explaining his ultimate decision to organize the Southern Fried Jazz Band.   Edwards, a consummate musician and seasoned performer, played lead trumpet with multiple big bands at the height of the Swing Era.   He later shared the stage with show biz legends during his tenure in Vegas, including Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Tormé, Sarah Vaughn, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, among others.   While there, he backed some perennial jazz greats including Louis Armstrong and the World’s Greatest Jazz Band.  

Having watched the decline of Jazz Music in recent years, Edwards decided to use Southern Fried Jazz as a vehicle to show how vital good jazz is to the nation’s landscape and how it helps people connect with one another on a purely artistic level, allowing them to share in an experience that is part of the nation’s past, present and future.  The band now cooks up authentic and fun loving dishes of Dixieland tunes for audiences all over the country.

Known for his ability to select musicians based on their exceptional talent, Edwards has taught them to always expect the unexpected on stage.  The result is that each performance of the Southern Fried Jazz Band has a freshness and excitement that is contagious to see and hear.   Everywhere these veterans of Dixieland and Jazz grace the stage they receive rave reviews, and are met with excited applause. 

Each handpicked musician is a show-wise performer and artist in his own right who has learned to welcome and expect the unexpected from Edwards.  One of his fans recently observed that “he operates his band like a well-oiled machine.”  In addition, he makes sure each member enjoys some time in the spotlight.

Along with performing music that is a historic part of America’s soundtrack, the band also has programs for younger audiences designed to spark their interest in good Jazz as listeners and also as musicians.  

For kids and grown-ups alike, each performance of the Southern Fried Jazz Band evolves into an experience to be remembered long after it has left the stage. Instrumentals are accented with vocals and stirred with lots of seasoning and spontaneity into a tasty recipe that never fails to “WOW” its audience.   These ingredients have launched Southern Fried Jazz from the Piedmont foothills of North Carolina into the national spotlight in short order. 

Once you’ve seen and heard the band, you’ll understand why audiences all over the country agree with a presenter who had the show in Everett, WA.  After the concert she exclaimed, “This is more than a great Jazz band….   People need to know that these guys are all artists in their own right!”  And once the show has ended, you won’t have to give up the spicy Dixieland tunes: You can now enjoy the Southern Fried Jazz Band’s most recent CD, “It’s What’s Cookin’!”  Tracks from this infectious CD have been played on the air on George Buck’s Jazzology radio show and broadcast from coast to coast. 

The warm reception the Southern Fried Jazz Band receives at every one of its concerts is a clear testimony to its wide appeal for audiences, regardless of age, taste or location.  To see and hear this band, please go to its website at www.southernfriedjazz.com.

The Swingin’ Years 
Custom Music Entertainment is proud to present an exciting, well-paced Big Band review called The Swingin’ Years.   Led by veteran trumpet player Don Edwards, the show recaptures time-proven hits and theme songs of all the great Big Bands, their leaders and singers, live and on stage, in a way that will thrill and delight you!

With his years of experience in the Big Bands and later the show bands of Vegas, Don uses his expertise to direct some of the finest Jazz and Swing musicians to produce the sentimental sounds of America in what many have perceived as a more innocent time.   They include jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Bunny Berigan; vocalists like Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Dick Haymes, Helen O’Connell and Peggy Lee as well as the Big Bands of Benny Goodman, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Harry James, Les Brown, Charlie Spivak and Glenn Miller, among others.  

Whether yours is a fundraiser, corporate concert or festival, The Swingin’ Years would be pleased to perform at your next function! The show can be engaged as a full-length concert or as a mini concert followed by a dance as needed.

Whether you’re 18 or 81, you’ll find your toes tapping and your hands clapping as you join in the rhythm and standing ovations of young and old alike for the music that continues to create a magic like none other - during a era of taste and elegance called The Swingin' Years!

It’s almost as if you’re there, during an era of taste and elegance called The Swingin’ Years.   For more information on the show, please go to www.swinginyears.com.