Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Special Kay
That swing has been ever present since DIVA was founded by Stanley Kay in 1992. The 15-piece all-female ensemble, modeled in the tradition of great swinging concert jazz orchestras of Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Count Basie and Stan Kenton, played its first concert at Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on March 30, 1993.
“Stanley Kay had a great love of big band,” Maricle said. “If you’re a great composer and arranger, you can get all of these sounds and colors from the big band as far as orchestration and arranging goes. Then, you have as much space as you like for a solo and improvisation. There is creative freedom within that structure with the same great power, force, excitement and energy. You can have subtle, beautiful, almost orchestral-sounding things and then explode into a typical crazy, swinging powerhouse, roaring big band.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Education and music
DIVA will show what a modern big band can do during the Saturday performance, which is part of the two-day Weekend of Jazz at Beavercreek High School. The ticketed concert is open to the public, as are the free student performances. Beavercreek Band Night is Friday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. and the School Jazz Band Festival is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
“I’m pretty excited about the Weekend of Jazz,” Maricle said. “It’s one of our favorite festivals we’ve played over the years. We’ve done it more than once and it’s such good vibes because there are generations of jazz lovers out that weekend. The kids are there and the band parents. There are even band parents whose kids have graduated. It’s such a great community of people who really understand and appreciate the music and it’s always a thrill to play there.”
In addition to performing, the members of DIVA will work with student musicians.
“Sharing information I’ve learned throughout my years has always been a bit of a passion of mine,” Maricle said. “My bandmates really like to do it as well. I want to give back in that capacity and hopefully I have some wisdom and good advice to share with the young people, especially the ones who may want to pursue jazz as a career. The fun part about Weekend of Jazz at Beavercreek is the students already understand the value of jazz.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Three decades of music
DIVA has showcased the power and diversity of jazz music on recent releases like “Special Kay” (2016), “DIVA + the Boys” (2019) and “DIVA Swings Broadway” (2022). When the group returns to Dizzy’s in four weeks, the plan is to record a new live album, tentatively titled “The 30th Anniversary Party.”
“I thought I’d go back over the years and pull some of my favorite charts and record those,” Maricle said. “With 30 years of music, we have access to hundreds and hundreds of great charts in our library. It’s things that feature the band in full force, then big feature numbers for each section and for all of the great soloists, and, of course, lots of drum solos. There are clearly never enough drum solos as far as I’m concerned.”
With the major milestone approaching, the legacy of DIVA is on Maricle’s mind more than ever.
“When I started with Stanley, I never thought for a split second about the longevity of it,” she said. “I was more living in the moment. It first dawned on me when we’d been doing this for 10 years, but it really struck me as something amazing when we hit our 25th anniversary. I never really thought of myself as a leader although I was always in some kind of a leadership role since the beginning. Then, when Stanley passed away in 2010, I assumed the major role of being the leader of the organization. I shifted my focus a bit and started thinking about the legacy of the band and the dozens and dozens of players who have performed with us. I like to say we’ve been swinging around the world and spreading goodwill.”
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
Who: Sherrie Maricle & the DIVA Jazz Orchestra
When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25; doors open at 7 p.m.
Where: Beavercreek High School, 2660 Dayton-Xenia Road, Beavercreek
Cost: Reserved seats are $25 adults, $20 students k-12 and seniors 65 and older
More info: 937-490-9010 or www.weekendofjazz.org
Artist info: divajazz.com
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