Mardi Gras Comes to SRQ Early

BRADENTON -- Mardi Gras will come early this year, when trombonist Herb Bruce and the Herbicide Jazz Band present a special performance of Dixieland, ragtime, blues, jazz and more, in “Let the Good Times Roll: A Mardi Gras Celebration,” Sunday, February 16 at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Sarasota. Tickets are $15.

"If you can’t get to New Orleans this year for Mardi Gras, The Herbicide Jazz Band will bring a rollicking and raucous New Orleans-style Mardi Gras to you,” says Don DeMaio, concert coordinator.

Herb Bruce is eminently qualified to play a Mardi Gras concert. He played with The Dukes of Dixieland on Bourbon Street and was the leader of the Main Street Rhythm Rascals at the Magic Kingdom at Disney World for more than 10 years.

Bruce spent many years in Nashville, where he worked with many Nashville stars and toured the world with Spiritual to the Bone and the premiere Salvation Army brass bands. He has performed with numerous groups and musical stars, including Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, Bob Hope, Nelson Riddle, Jimmy Dorsey, Liza Minnelli, The Four Freshman, The Four Tops and Burt Bacharach.

The Herbicide Jazz Band includes drummer and arranger Terry Waddell; Jim Snyder on clarinet; Don Johnson on trumpet; Jeff Phillips on piano and tuba; William Pillucere on bass; Patricia Dean, vocalist and drums; and Bob Leary on guitar, banjoes and vocals.

“This program will be a moveable feast of jazz, Dixieland and blues—bringing the spirit of New Orleans’ legendary celebration to Sarasota,” says DeMaio. “This band is bound to get you up off your feet and into the Mardi Gras groove.”

The concert starts at 2:30 p.m. The Unitarian Universalist Church is located at 3975 Fruitville Road in Sarasota.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.uusarasota.com/concerts or email concerts@uusarasota.org.