Nov. 17: Noted trumpeter Carl Saunders performs with CLC jazz band

Well-known trumpeter Carl Saunders will perform at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 17 with the CLC Monday Night Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dr. Michael Flack. Saunders has played lead trumpet in the bands of Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson and Benny Goodman.

The CLC Tuesday Night Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dave Hibbard, will also perform.

Saunders will conduct a clinic on Saturday, Nov. 16 from 12-1:30 p.m. in Room P101. He will discuss his music career, his approach to playing trumpet and musical improvisation. The clinic is free and open to the public.

The concert will feature Saunders’ expert musicianship on the following tunes: “Compilation” by Herb Phillips; “I’m All for You” by Carl Saunders, arranged by Jackson Stock; “Perceptive Hindsight” by Phillips; “Dearly Befuddled” by Phillips, arranged by John Hall; “Strike Out the Band” by Phillips; “Never Always” by Saunders, arranged by Jackson Stock; “Baby Blues” by Saunders, arranged by Mike Barone; and “An Apple for Christa” by Phillips.

Jazz listeners from Los Angeles and musicians worldwide have long known that Carl Saunders is one of today’s great trumpet players. With the release of five recordings (“Out Of The Blue,” “Eclecticism,” “Bebop Big Band,” “Can You Dig Being Dug” and “The Lost Bill Holman Charts”) Saunders’ musical talents can be heard and enjoyed by a much wider audience.

Saunders is from a musical family. His uncle was trumpeter-bandleader Bobby Sherwood, and his mother Gail (Bobby’s sister) sang for the Sherwood Orchestra and Stan Kenton, among others. Saunders began playing trumpet in seventh grade, and after graduating high school, his mother helped get him a job with Stan Kenton’s Orchestra. After spending part of 1962-63 traveling with Bobby Sherwood’s group (playing drums), Saunders spent the next 20 years in Las Vegas, playing with a countless number of show bands, including as lead trumpet with Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. Saunders also traveled as a lead player with Paul Anka and Robert Goulet and with such bandleaders as Si Zentner, Harry James, Maynard Ferguson, Benny Goodman and Charlie Barnet. In 1978 he also played drums one night in Las Vegas with Harry James and his band when Sonny Payne missed his plane and couldn’t get to the gig.

In 1984, Carl Saunders moved to Los Angeles and began playing lead trumpet with Bill Holman’s Orchestra, a position he still holds. Saunders has also worked with John Williams and the big bands of Bob Florence, Johnny Mandel, Gerald Wilson and the Phil Norman Tentet. In 1994, he became a member of the Dave Pell Octet. In addition, he is often heard at the head of his own groups including the Carl Saunders Be Bop Big Band, his sextet and a quartet.

Saunders, who has inspired students and kids all over the world as a clinic conductor, says that he gets inspiration from them because they share his energetic dedication and passion for creating beautiful music.

The concert will be presented in the Mainstage Theatre of the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts on the CLC Grayslake campus, 19351 W. Washington St. Regular tickets are $8, CLC/senior/teen tickets are $7 and children under 12 are free (price includes a $1 JLC facility fee).

For tickets and information, call the JLC Box Office at (847) 543-2300 or visit www.clcillinois.edu/tickets. The Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 90 minutes prior to each performance. To avoid long lines at the Box Office caused by last-minute sales, please purchase your tickets in advance or arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the performance.