Jazz experiences coming to Aloha Theatre

Kona Jazz Experience is back with two nights of jazz this holiday season, sponsored by Aloha Hills Coffee, an award winning company located in Captain Cook. On Saturdays, Dec. 27 and Jan. 10, at the Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu. The events begin at 7:30 p.m., with proceeds benefiting Aloha Performing Arts Company.

Dec. 27 marks the return of Bill Noble’s Big Island Big Band, made up of 16 musicians from all over Hawaii Island. The band will feature music by Stan Kenton, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and more from the Big Band Era. Noble, who regularly performs in the pit for APAC productions, has been collecting Big Band arrangements for years. He has played with The Temptations, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight and The Fifth Dimension, as well as many local artists and his own Bill Noble Trio.

Jan. 10 will feature two groups: Pele’s Passions and the Kyle Matsuda Trio.

Pele’s Passions is known for its original compositions by its trumpeter Andrea Lindborg. Based on the story of Pele, their compilation of songs mixes Afro-Cuban and Brazilian sounds with warm jazz melodies and rhythm and blues vocals. Other members of the group are Michael Surprenant, Luke Clebsch, Brian Crist and Glenn Goto.

The Kyle Matsuda Trio will feature jazz piano master Kyle Matsuda, who has been entertaining audiences on the Big Island, Oahu and the U.S. mainland since he was a young teen. He will be joined by jazz veterans Brian McCree on bass and Michael Surprenant on drums.

Tickets for each night are $10 for students and $20 general admission, and are available by phone during weekday office hours at 322-9924, online at alohatheatre.com or at the theater box office beginning one hour prior to show time.

The mission of the Kona Jazz Experience is to bring quality live jazz to the people of Kona.

For more information, call 322-9924 or visit alohatheatre.com.