Big Dipper Jazz Band to headline 2010 Dylan Days show

HIBBING -- The Dylan Days Benefit Concert, under the auspices of the Hibbing Arts Council, is proud to announce that the 2010 show will feature a new act made up of some of northern Minnesota's best and most traveled instrumental musicians, the Big Dipper Jazz Band. The opening act will be the Wheeler Dealers, preceded by the winner of the 2010 Dylan Days Singer/Songwriter contest. In a change, this year's show will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 29, at the historic Hibbing Memorial Building Little Theater, the site of Bob Dylan's first paid gig with his early high school garage band, the Golden Chords.

This show in the intimate venue of the Little Theater promises to highlight the core message of Dylan Days: the Iron Range and northern Minnesota produce and welcome great musicians, artists and writers. Join Dylan Days visitors from all over the world and music fans from all over the region in what promises to be a special evening of great entertainment. Tickets are $15 and will be available at Rupar Music, Howard Street Booksellers and Zimmy's in Hibbing or at Ciao Rustic Italian Restaurant of Side Lake (218-254-2007). To order by phone or access limited reserve seating options call Rupar Music at 1-888-767-4286.

Introducing the Big Dipper Jazz Band

The Big Dipper Jazz Band is a new musical group with the mission of bringing American jazz music to northern Minnesota. Lead by renowned jazz guitarist Sam Miltich, the band also includes Matthew Miltich on bass, Pat Downing on trombone, Don Vidal on saxophone, Sander Grotjohn on trumpet and Mike Miller on drums. All six members hail from Itasca County, MN, and have played professionally throughout the region.

While the band is new, the idea for it has been brewing for years.

“I remember being six years old and riding up Highway 38 in Itasca County listening to the Great London Concert by Duke Ellington and trying to transcribe the horn parts in my head. I knew I wanted to have a band just like his some day,” says Miltich. “It only took me twenty years to get it together!”

The band has brought together some of the best jazz musicians in northern Minnesota, but the group does more than just swing. Most of the members are also music educators, and the group is dedicated to spreading awareness of and appreciation for jazz music throughout the communities they visit.

“This is a great group of musicians,” says Miltich. “We love to play, and we love to share this music with others. Jazz is America’s classical music – it’s our great cultural contribution to the world.”

The band’s repertoire includes traditional jazz and swing music from the 1920s through the 1970s and features compositions by Lester Young, Count Basie, Gerry Mulligan, and Duke Ellington.

Dylan Days is an annual event organized by Dylan Arts Celebration, an association dedicated to advancing the arts in Bob Dylan's hometown. All content copyright by Aaron J. Brown, except when provided for promotional purposes.