Beatlemania is alive and well in Richmond. In addition to the new all-girl Beatles tribute band, the Girtles, the Fab Four are getting the big-band treatment. The 19-piece Upper East Side Big Band, boasting a who’s who of local players from such bands as Bio Ritmo, the No BS Brass Band, Glows in the Dark and Bungalo 6, just finished up “The Abbey Road Project.” Arrangers Samson Trinh and Adrian Duke put their stamp on the Beatles’ 11th, and last recorded, album with the help of vocalist siblings Allyson Mills-Steele and Curtis Mills, the crux of the Mills Family Band. The Upper East Side Big Band will celebrate the CD’s release when it opens Dogwood Dell’s Summer Concert series June 11, first playing a swing set, then performing “Abbey Road” in its entirety.
Classic Rock N’ Roll With The Power Of Big Band For A 21st Century Mind
“The Upper East Side Big band takes the listener on a musical journey that ranges from Twenties torch songs to Big Band Swing to Jazz Fusion, with a few more surprises in between.” -Southbound Beat Magazine
”Samson Trinh is going to make it. I can feel it. One would think this musical ingénue wouldn’t attract listeners outside his native Richmond, Va. But he proves that his style of jazz and orchestral standards is original, hip and represents his youthful mind. He sounds like he’s been doing this for ages.” -Music-Reviewer.com
