The Best of Banu Gibson
Jazz, Swing, Dance, Banjo and More!
Saturday, March 21, 2009 8PM

Swinging Singer, New Orleans Jazz Band to Perform  

ISLAMORADA, Florida Keys— Banu Gibson, with the New Orleans Hot Jazz Band, is a dynamic performer with a big voice and stage presence to spare. Specializing in early classic jazz, Gibson and her band will perform for ICE’s Upper Keys Concert Series Saturday, March 21, at 8 p.m. at the Coral Shores High School Performing Arts Center.

Growing up in Hollywood, Florida, Gibson was trained as a dancer although she studied voice as a child with an opera singer. After moving to New Orleans, she put together her six-piece band in the early 1980s, and became a popular attraction at traditional jazz festivals.

“A superior jazz singer with an extensive repertoire of songs, Banu's performances cover many high points of America's golden age of popular music,” says Susan Gordon organizer of ICE’s Upper Keys Concert Series. “Banu Gibson and her band give new life to timeless, unforgettable music.”

Gibson is one of the few vocalists of her generation to maintain exclusive loyalty to songs of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, mixing fresh renditions of Tin Pan Alley standards and jazz classics by Gershwin, Ellington, Berlin, Carmichael, Waller, and Porter. In addition, she is one of a very select group of women band leaders in a traditionally male dominated genre.

In the past few years, Banu and her band have taken their music to an expanded audience by including performances with symphony orchestras. To date, they have performed more than 60 concerts with orchestras, including symphony orchestras in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, New Orleans, and the Hollywood Bowl.

They have even performed with the Boston Pops. “Banu Gibson and the New Orleans Hot Jazz are a class act from beginning to end -- great musicians, and a great show,” said Boston Pops Conductor Keith Lockhart.

Banu Gibson’s performances are best summed up by the Arizona Daily Star:

"The best time you can have in a room full of people!"

Tickets for the performance are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Upper Keys TIB Bank branches and both the Key Largo and Islamorada Chambers of Commerce.