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Show Muscolino band is big fun even if you don't remember the 40s ' ' 2 1 i a : i V x . 7i ;jJHr.J ' v by Bettina Moench Dooley Even if the 100 or so people who strolled into Deer Valley last Wednesday night couldn't Sing, Sing, Sing the old tunes, they did whoop it up and dance, dance, dance to Joe Muscolino 's Big Band. A few hours earlier, the Snow Park Lodge had been filled with skiers clumping across the hardwood floors in plastic boots. After dark, a crowd noticeably lighter on its feet came out to jitterbug, cha-cha, rock n' roll and otherwise trip the light fantastic. fan-tastic. In a ski town that books more rock bands than big bands, Joe Muscolino and his boogie woogie boys are a welcome change of pace, and will be for the rest of the winter. Every Wednesday night the Snow Park Lodge will echo with the sounds that make people want to dance the night away. Granted, some people feel more at home dancing to "String of Pearls" and "Moonlight Serenade" than others. But even if you grew up with Marley instead of Miller, and managed to escape the torture of dancing school, you'll still fall for the Muscolino band. In a few short hours, this seven-piece troupe manages to slide its trombones (and a variety of other instruments) through the memories of anyone who's touched a dance floor in the last forty years. They're as comfortable comfor-table with musical eras as they are with instruments, and the sound they put out is like an entire orchestra. Band leader Joe Muscolino deftly trades his alto sax for a flute, and the rest of the group follows suit: Neil Fockle on trumpet and fluge horn; Bryan Hofheins on trombone and bass trombone; trom-bone; Steve Keen playing an incredibly versatile electric piano; Gary Davis doing a Krupa-like beat on the drums; Glen Griffin on sax; and David Asman on the baritone sax. Giving words to the familiar tunes was Diane Stewart, filling in last week for the regular singer, Lori Lynner, a vocalist Muscolino calls their 17-year-old "wonder." Big band is a misleading name for these musicians: They play everything from "New York, New York" to the theme from "I Love Lucy;" from Benny Goodman Good-man to Bob James; from Dorsey to Creedance Gear-water Gear-water Revival. Even with that range ol music, you could tell last Wednesday night that there were a few people who at first felt more at home clutching their drink at the table, watching Chuck and Suzanne Rowan glide around like a pair of teenaged figure skating champs. The Rowans made last week their third in a row at the big band night, and there were a few other couples that looked as though they'd heard the music once or twice before. Or maybe the Rowans showed them a few of the steps they had picked up. At any rate, Joe and Raye Ringholz didn't seem to be outfoxed by the foxtrot, and neither did Bob and Irene Ziegler, Ginny and Bob Pinder, Diane and John Balaban or Sally and Barney Rosenblatt. Not to be outdone, the younger set really cut loose when the band blared out "Rollin' Down the River." Suddenly the floor was filled with people leaping, twirling and twisting, using steps that couldn't be repeated in the same sequence in a million years. No one-two-cha-cha-cha, no siree. This kind of dancing has a mind of its own, as well represented by people like Susan Brightman, Tim Miller and Karen Huntoon, and the not-quite-ready-for- Flashdance-dancers from the Park Record and Great Ideas. Some of the more spectacular dancing was offered of-fered up by the internationally inter-nationally acclaimed dandy from Down Under, Michael "Bettsy"Betts. Pure and simple, Joe Muscolino's Big Band is big fun. There's music familiar to everyone's ears, and any kind of dancing goes. As Muscolino said, his band has played to rave reviews at both junior cotillions and senior citizen dances. Big band night is just one more in a long line of classy offerings at Deer Valley. It's a nice change of pace from the crowded bars with rock bands on Main Street. There's actually room for everyone to sit down at a table and enjoy a nice bottle of wine or a refreshing cold drink. It's a night of great music in a pleasant setting with a mix of people not to be found anywhere else in town. In the Mood? Every Wednesday Wed-nesday night at the Snow Park Lodge in Deer Valley, beginning at 8 :30 p.m. |