The Manny Lopez Big Band at Rivermont Collegiate -- September 18.
Sunday, September 18, 5 p.m.
Rivermont Collegiate, 1821 Sunset Drive, Bettendorf IA
Continuing the organization's run of dazzling Third Sunday Jazz Workshop & Matinée Series concert events held in Bettendorf's Rivermont Collegiate, Polyrhythms presents a September 18 engagement with the gifted musicians of the Manny Lopez Big Band, area favorites who routinely deliver a big-band jazz experience with big sound and power.
Quad Cities native Manny Lopez has been playing trumpet in the area for more than 40 years. His versatility in music styles has allowed him to perform not only with his own bands, but with touring bands and orchestras that have performed in and around the Midwest region. Over the years, Manny has performed with such notable acts as the Temptations, Ray Charles, the Manhattan Transfer, Johnny Mathis, Bob Hope, Natalie Cole, Mannheim Steamroller, the Fifth Dimension, and many others. Lopez has also performed with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and in 1993 – the same year in which the musician formed the Manny Lopez Big Band – Lopez organized and served as musical director for the orchestra that performed annually at the Louie Bellson Jazz Fest and later the Quad Cities Jazz Festival at Rock Island's Augustana College.
With the headliner and his musicians familiar throughout the Quad Cities for everything from their monthly engagements at Rock Island's Circa '21 Speakeasy to performances at area venues including LeClaire's Crane & Pelican Cafe and East Moline's Whiskey Stop, Lopez remins one of the most reliable assurances of quality on the local jazz scene. Many feel that no one has been more instrumental in keeping jazz alive in the Quad Cities than Lopez, although the musician himself would likely accept such praise with abject humility. “I just like to play the horn,” Lopez has said. "And with this band, there is no shortage of soloists for laid-back swing arrangements. The guys just relax and play and have fun.”
The Manny Lopez Big Band plays Bettendorf's Rivermont College's Becherer Hall on September 18, with the musicians' 5 p.m. engagement preceded by an all-ages 2 p.m. jazz workshop ($5 for adults, free for kids) presented as part of the Polyrhythms Third Sunday Jazz Matinée & Workshop Series. Admission to the concert is $15-20, and more information and reservations are available by calling (309)373-0790 and visiting Polyrhythms.org.
