FARMINGTON – On Friday, June 12, Leila Jane Percy, jazz vocalist, with Don Doane on trombone and the Gerry Wright Trio, will perform many of the classics of the Big Band Era, including songs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and Hogey Carmichael. The show will start at 7:30 p.m. in Nordica Auditorium at the University of Maine at Farmington.
Bandleader and self styled “canary” Leila Jane Percy’s career has seen her doing everything from Broadway tunes to country to jazz. She took on Big Band jazz when she joined Randy Bean & Co. about 20 years ago, and since then has sung with many of Maine’s best jazz performers. Thanks to her great talents as singer and bandleader, as well as her happy upbeat, crowd-pleasing style, she has been a regular performer in Nordica Auditorium for at least 20 years.
Leila’s special guest for this performance is trombonist Don Doane, whose credits include the Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman and Bobby Hackett bands. Also featured will be jazz pianist Gerry Wright and his Trio. Wright, known statewide and beyond for his talents at the piano, was an educator/choral director at Messalonskee High School for many years and oversaw one of the most respected choral programs in the state, and was at one time music director for the Waterviille Opera.
The concert will be ASL-interpreted by Sherry Walrath.
Admission for this show, which is sponsored by the Arts Institute, is $7 for adults, $6 for senior citizens, and free for children under 16. There will not be advance ticket sales. For more information, call 645-2157.
