600 West College Drive
Avon Park, Florida 33825

Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band will close out the South Florida Community College's Jazz Series on Friday, March 13, 7:30 p.m., in the SFCC University Center Auditorium, Highlands Campus.

Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band is considered by its jazz fans to be the best little big band ever! Made up originally as a group of ex-Rosie O'Grady and Disney musicians, it started essentially as a "kicks" band, collecting and playing the arrangements of Matty Matlock and Billy Maxted. After performing at a few jazz festivals, the band realized there was a real market for its "little big band" type of sound. That was more than 18 years and 12 recordings ago.

Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band has appeared at major jazz festivals and presented concerts in Sacramento, Palm Springs, and Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Davenport, Iowa; Madison, La Crosse, and Milwaukee, Wis.; Sun Valley, Idaho; the Jazz Café at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.; Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.; and in theaters and jazz clubs all over the country. Overseas trips have taken the band to Hong Kong, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, England, Scotland, Italy, and South America. In Rome, the band performed a benefit for the World Food Program at the Jazz Club Alpheus. It has also been the featured band on several Jazzdagen cruises and on the Mississippi Queen riverboat.

Allred, rated by many as one of the best trombonists ever, came from a musical family with New Orleans' roots. His father, John, played piano and banjo on steamboats on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Allred began his career with the Rock Island High School band followed by stints with the U.S. Navy and with St. Ambrose College. He began working for Walt Disney World in Orlando in 1971. In 1974, he organized the Goodtime Jazz Band and played Rosie O'Grady's in Orlando for over 18 years. As a Disney World staff musician, Allred heads up his own production company in Orlando. He has played with greats all over the world.

The band's frontline includes Terry Myers, reeds, Bobby Pickwood and Charlie Bertini, trumpets, and Bill Allred and Herb Bruce, trombones. The rhythm section includes Jeff Phillips, piano; Jay Mueller, bass; and Ed Metz Jr., drums. Much can be said about each member and their careers. They bring a tremendous amount of experience to the band and it's always obvious to the listener that they all enjoy what they're doing to the fullest.

The 2009 Jazz Series season sponsors are Bill and Lisa Jarrett, Charles and Anne Reynolds, Highlands Today (media sponsor). The performance sponsor is John and Evelyn Mills.

Tickets for this performance range from $20 to $22 and may be purchased online at http://performances.southflorida.edu 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tickets may also be purchased Monday - Friday, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., by calling the SFCC Box Office at (863) 784-7178 or by visiting the SFCC Box Office located at the SFCC Auditorium, 600 West College Drive, Highlands Campus, Avon Park.

Added by South Florida Community College on March 4, 2009