Welcome

Starry Night Jazz is actually two groups of some of the best West Michigan jazz musicians. Currently, we have a jazz octet, and a jazz trio. The Octet has a large library of jazz & swing tunes, as well as songs in the most popular ballroom dance styles. We can add a vocalist, to really bring the feel of a swing-era big band, but in a smaller size. The term "Little Big Band" may be the best way to describe us. The Trio, perfect for smaller venues, is a bit unusual, as we are comprised of a horn player on trumpet and saxophone, piano and bass. 

Previous events

Starry Night Trio plus One!

 —  —

The Book Nook and Java Shop, 8744 Ferry Street, Montague, MI 49437

Thursday, February 27 from 7:00pm – 9:00pm, come to the Book Nook & Java Shop for Jazz Night featuring the Starry Night Trio + 1! For more information call 231-894-5333.

Band leader Matt Lintula plays tenor saxophone, trumpet and flugelhorn. A founding member of the Truth in Jazz Orchestra, he also plays with The Lakeshore Big Band and West Michigan Concert Winds. His musical influences came from Herb Alpert and Al Hirt. Recently, Matt studied with the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band from Los Angeles. Music performance is both a challenge and a joy for Matt. “Improvisation is something I can’t explain. The brain just composes on the fly.” And he admits he likes the intellectual challenge of performance and improvising.

Drew Placzek is a pianist with the Truth in Jazz Orchestra as well as the Starry Night Octet and Trio. He has previously done radio jingle writing, and currently is the music director at a large church in Hudsonville where he is responsible for their praise teams, and their instrumental and vocal special music groups. He is thankful for the blessing of working full time in music ministry. Drew graduated from Wayne State University. He enjoys being outdoors, woodworking, composing music and playing jazz.

Andy Henley is a freelance jazz bassist based in Grand Rapids. He holds a jazz studies and music education degree from Northwestern University. He currently teaches at RIT Music in Grand Rapids and performs with several groups in the area.

Tonight, we welcome drummer Trevlynn Kimball to the group, hence our group name adds "Plus One!" We will be doing a wide variety of jazz classics in many styles, and will have a surprise jazz tune that you have not likely heard! Stick around for the second set for that one!

$5 cover. Great menu of food and beverages here, as well as a unique atmosphere! You might find a new good book while there!

Starry Night Octet

Muskegon Country Club, 2801 Lakeshore Drive, Muskegon, MI

Please join us for a wonderful evening of friendship and philanthropy! Dance the night away to the music of the Starry Night Octet Jazz Combo, featuring talented vocalist Diana VandeWater. Enjoy a delicious dinner and hear personal stories of the impact of grants and programs in our local community.

Tickets are $100/person or sponsor a table of 8 for $1000 and receive sponsor benefits.

For more information or to reserve your seats, contact the Osteopathic Foundation of West Michigan at 231-720-0288 or via email at amonroe@osteopathicfoundation.org

Cool Jazz for a Summer Evening

 —  —

Watermark 920, 930 Washington, Muskegon, MI

The Starry Night Octet once again recreates the sound of the Dave Pell Octet, one of the defining groups of the West Coast Cool Jazz sound of the late 1950's. We have over 100 charts purchased directly from Dave Pell himself! They were done by noted arrangers of the time including Bill Holman and Shorty Rogers. These charts incorporate a guitar as one of the horns, playing the melodic line. This creates a unique, very cool sound! Come on down to the Watermark 920 while TIJO is on summer break. :-)

$5 cover, students $2. Watermark 920 Bar and Fatty Lumpkins Sandwiches available!

Jul8

Jazz at the Park

 —  —

The Meadows at Millennium Park, 1415 Maynard Ave SW, Walker, MI 49534

We will welcome The Starry Night Octet to Millennium Park! They play in the West Coast Cool Jazz style from charts written in the 1950 for the Dave Pell Octet from some of the smartest arrangers of that time, including Marty Paich, Shorty Rogers, Andre Previn, Johnny Mandel, Jerry Fielding, and Bill Holman.

Behind the scenes studio video! 

WBLV_FM kindly produced a teaser video of one of the numbers we played during our studio session, in advance of the radio show broadcast happening on 90.3 or 88.9 PM in West Michigan on March 3, 2018 at 9am. Enjoy our take on "Shuffle Off to Buffalo"

 

Starry Night Octet to be on WBLV-FM 90.3 MHz March 3 @9AM 

We just finished a live recording session up at Blue Lake Public Radio's wonderful studio this afternoon! It will be broadcast on WBLV-FM/WBLU-FM - Blue Lake Public Radio - WBLV 90.3 (serving 18 counties in West & Central Michigan) & WBLU 88.9 (serving metropolitan Grand Rapids). Or you can hear it online at this LINK.

It was a fun session! Give us a listen to hear some of our library of great charts from the Dave Pell Octet, one of the defining groups of the West Coast "Cool" Jazz sound from the late 1950s.

Facebook announcement

C Jam Blues Check out this video of a live concert at McGraft Park in Muskegon, MI August 3, 2011. Very windy day...had to do some P.A. System adjustments on the fly! 81.7 MB