PORT ANGELES — What could be better than gliding smoothly around a dance floor to the swinging sounds of one of the greatest bands from the big-band era, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra?
To ensure that both listeners and dancers can enjoy the evening of music at the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center on Saturday, the first two rows of the performance venue will be blocked off to allow for dancing.
Saturday performance
The Juan de Fuca Foundation is bringing the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra to the arts center — the Port Angeles High School auditorium at 304 E. Park Ave. — at 7 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now for $18 to $40, depending on seating, with youngsters 14 and younger admitted for $10. They are available online at www.jffa.org or at Port Book and News, 104 E. First St. in Port Angeles, or Joyful Noise Music Center, 112 W. Washington St. in Sequim.
The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra is led by reed-player Terry Meyers, who has continued the tradition of the big band formed by Tommy Dorsey and led for more than 30 years by the late Buddy Morrow.
In big-band history, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra was recognized as one of the very best all-around dance bands. In the early 1940s, it was voted the most popular band in the country.
Some of the greatest singers of the big-band era sang with Tommy Dorsey, including Jack Leonard, Jo Stafford and, most famously of all, Frank Sinatra. A few of Leonard’s biggest hits were “Dedicated to You,” “Once in a While” and “Marie.” Stafford’s greatest hit was “Embraceable You.”
Some of Sinatra’s biggest hits with Tommy Dorsey included “This Love of Mine,” “There Are Such Things” and “I’ll Never Smile Again.”
