Something Blue

Something Blue isn't chasing a big concept, and that's the point. It's three great tunes that happen to play off each other beautifully, built for groove and built for fun. The thread is right there in the titles, a blue streak running from Ticheli to Gershwin to Queen, but really this is a show about the music itself: the pocket, the swagger, the sheer pleasure of a band digging into charts this good.

It's a loose, stylish, feel-good production with attitude to spare, jazzy and rhapsodic and just plain enjoyable to play. It hands an ensemble a genuinely fun ride and hands a crowd a great time, the kind of show that wins a stadium on pure musicianship and groove rather than spectacle. Sometimes the best concept is three tunes that cook.

The music:

• Blue Shades (Frank Ticheli)
• Rhapsody in Blue (George Gershwin)
• Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

Permissions to arrange are required for all three selections.