Call me strange, but a couple in our church took my wife and me to see Denver and the Mile High Orchestra last night in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The CD cover scanned at the side was signed to me by Denver. Trust me, the only signed documents I'm really interested in are my paychecks. But I thought it would be cool for the site.
The group is Christian, had a 13 piece orchestra, and was a little wacko (in a good way). But this wasn't a typical orchestra. From the website...
In the five years since their inception, the group has traveled around the globe, performing at churches, conferences, festivals—even at the Olympics—taking their electrifying horn-driven sound to the masses. The big band sound of the 30’s and 40’s had long intrigued Denver, who had played the trumpet for 16 years , so he assembled a group of musicians—friends to reinvent the style for the modern age. "I grew up listening to hip-hop, rock and pop, to all those genres," says Denver, who is also the group's lead vocalist and music arranger. "So I wanted to take the best of today and the best of yesterday and mix 'em up."
I wouldn't have gone to this concert in a million years if I had to buy the ticket and find the directions and drive there myself. But I'm really glad our friends took us, and I would probably see them again. Sometimes you listen to a CD and go, Uh, that's good, just not my style. And then you see them in person, see an outstanding performance, experience remarkable creativity and tremendous talent, and say, Man, that's something different and interesting and special.
I get it now. I won't tell you to get their CD unless you are interested in swing/jazz/scat. It's different stuff. But if you get the chance to see them, it's definitely worth watching and maybe even listening to after you leave.
Thought it would be fun to get my wife to cozy up to Denver. Great pic. Click it for a bigger version. Get your hands off my wife bro.
By the way, you can go on their website and listen to some of their music for free. Go for it.