About The George Rose Band

28 Years and Four Albums Later

It has been 28 years since the George  Rose Big Band started on its successful journey of giving the public so many great live performances. The band has, over the years, recorded much of its repertoire on record, tape and CD for the fans to enjoy.

The first recording , a 33 1/3 LP was made in 1986 and released in January 1987. this album was titled Nostalgia. Ten years later, two more albums were produced, this time on CD, called “Changing Times” and “Swinging With The George Rose Big Band”. Now the band has entered the studio once more to produce what many are calling its best album to date. It’s called 2007  And Still Counting and was recorded on location at the band’s normal rehearsal studio, by local sound engineer, Dean Hajas. The photography for this latest endeavour was by band member and photographer Ken Harris. Art work for the cover and inside was done by band member and graphic artist, Al Newhouse. The CD pressing was done by a well known local company, Ball Media. The recordings that the band has produced over the years reflect the changes that have taken place as the band evolved.

Starting out as an extremely fine swing band 28 years ago the band’s recordings trace the music from the original swing to contemporary R&B, soul, and a bit of rock in the 1997 recordings. This progression led to the present stage where the band is playing more jazz-flavoured arrangements, show tunes and famous vocalist hits.

The band has become more identifiable by the music its members play as many of the arrangements are now written by a select few arrangers that the members have embraced as the type of writers they prefer.

Tunes on this latest CD include Night In Tunisia, Yard Bird Suite, Round Midnight, Georgia On My Mind, Deed I Do, Nothing But The Best, and the Tonight Show Band version of In The Mood.

Soloists on the album are trombonist and vocalist Bob Phillips, trumpeter Sean Colwell, clarinetist and saxophonist Chris Walton, recently retired member Roy Bewley on tenor sax, new member Al Newhouse on tenor sax, vocalist Ken Harris, leader George Rose on trumpet and flugelhorn and exceptional female vocals by Michelle LaPointe.

The quality of the band’s performance has never been better as playing in the band has always been a labour of love for the members and, as a result, they continue to improve. Band leader, Rose, sees himself more of a coach than a leader and often pushes the members to achieve by presenting new challenges. Rehearsals are more like a family gathering because of the camaraderie enjoyed by the members, however, once George counts in a musical selection, it’s all business and everyone gives his or her best.

Within the last year, a guitarist, Paul Monne, has been added to the band, giving the group, yet, another dimension. This is a first for the band and appears to be working very well. For many years the band consisted of all male musicians, however, if you’ve seem them, ;lately. you've noticed that there are three females in the band. These members are Ginger Pullen on sax, Sandy Manning on Sax and vocalist Michelle LaPointe. 2007 And Still Counting is the first album the band has produced with a female vocalist and many who have heard the album say it is a refreshing addition. A new CD is currently in the works, with a planned release in 2010.

The membership in the band comes from varying professional backgrounds, including a large number of current or retired school teachers, an ex-homicide detective, stained glass artist, spring manufacturer, steel company employee, grocer, professional musician, accountant-bookkeeper, auto technician, graphic artist, university student and a mechanic-businessman.