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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2016)
Swingcats of Astoria bring jazz to KALA ASTORIA — Swingcats of Astoria will perform from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 19 at KALA. Guest musicians will also perform, including jazz and blues singer Dinah Urell. Swingcats of Astoria is a revival of the original Swing- cats from a few years ago. The group plays swing and jazz from the 1930s gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt, jazz and be- bop of the ’50s, and jazz of the 1960s and ’70s as well as orig- inal compositions. The group features Richard Thomasian, Ted Brainard, Dave Ambrose and Lawrence Aldred. Thomasian began playing the guitar at age 13 in Fresno, California. It was just a hob- by until 1972, when, at 21, he decided to make a career out of it. Thomasian has been playing music up and down the West Coast for 42 years. He has focused on jazz but also enjoys blues, rock, funk, country, folk and reggae. Brainard started his musical journey in Southern California in the early 1970s. He relo- cated to Oregon in 1980 after passing through on tour. He continued his musical career as a performer and a teacher. On the North Coast, he enjoys playing and performing with many local musicians. Ambrose started play- ing violin in the mid-1990s and fell in love with a blond stand-up bass in 2000. Since then he’s played with a blue- grass quintet, the original Swingcats, and Astoria-based international music quartet Acustica. Aldred’s playing started with SkifÀe and early rhythm Submitted photo Swingcats of Astoria is a revival of the Swingcats band from a few years ago, and features, from left, Ted Brainard, Richard Thomasian, Dave Ambrose and Larry Aldred. dinin g out D IR EC TO R Y 503.325.7414 bakedak.com #1 12th Street, Astoria, OR 3 8TH & L, ON THE S EAV IEW BEAC H APPROAC H 3 60-642-7880 THANK Y OU FOR Y OUR READER’S C HOIC E V OTES ! 503.738.7763 2490 Hwy 101 N., Seaside Open at 11:00am Closed Mondays NO RTH COAST & PE NINSU L A ILIES FAM OME! C WEL GRAND REOPENING COMING SOON! 3 13 Pa c ific Hw y, Do w n to w n Lo n g Be a c h, W A 3 60-642-5555 • w w w.hu n gryha rb o r.c o m 16 | March 17, 2016 | coastweekend.com 503.738.6403 maggiesontheprom.com 581 S Prom, Seaside OR 503.436.1539 www.cafesweetbasils.com Cannon Beach Patty’s Wicker Cafe Watch for our Hungry Harbor GrillE 503.755.1818 www.camp18restaurant.com Favorite stop to & from the Coast and blues in Manchester, En- gland. He also grew up in a home full of big-band sounds, a mom who sang standards, and “a great tolerance of my tapping on things,” he says. Coming to America in 1962, Aldred moved to Nashville and developed his drumming in rock, rhythm and blues, jazz and Western swing be- fore moving to the Bay Area in ’65. Aldred played around Northern California for about 30 years before retiring and moving to Astoria 10 years ago. Since arriving on the North Coast, he has enjoyed playing with several jazz groups. 1157 N. Marion Avenue Gearhart 503-717-8150 www.mcmenamins.com On the Beautiful Necanicum River Breakfast & Lunch 600 Broadway Ste 7 & 8 -Seaside 503.717.1272 S he lb u rn e In n , Re s ta u ra n t & Pu b 4415 Pa c ific W a y, S e a vie w, W a 3 60-642-4150 w w w.s he lb u rn e re s ta u ra n t.c o m
