Jazz Festival

Featuring

Matt Catingub Big Band

March 1st, 2024

Matt Catingub is considered one of the pioneers of the modern Big Band. Along with his contemporaries Tom Kubis and Gordon Goodwin his compositions are still being performed regularly to this day.

Matt was only 21 when he formed his first big band in Los Angeles and released his first recording, My Mommy and Me, which is recognized as one of the great break-out jazz recordings, and contained many of Matt's "Hits" that still resonate today, including: Blues and the Abscessed Tooth, and Bopularity, and featured his mother, legendary jazz vocalist Mavis Rivers.

Matt then released Hi Tech Big Band, one of the most innovative recordings of the genre, on which Matt performed ALL of the instruments on a good portion of the recording, electronically recreating the sound of a big band, while also introducing more big band classics like The Umpire Strikes Back and Indian Riffs.

Then came Hawaiian Swing, featuring Matt's second big band Big Kahuna and the Copa Cat Pack. Recording for the legendary Concord Records Label and touring the world with the likes of Rosemary Cloony. This was followed by Matt creating the music for the film Goodnight and Good Luck, the soundtrack of which won a Grammy, and allowed Matt the chance to work with jazz great Diane Reeves, and of course writer-director George Cloony.

Other recordings followed, but career-wise Matt then graduated to the world of Symphonic Pops Orchestras (The ULTIMATE Big Band), with which he has conducted, created, and performed. He was the "Hawaii & Honolulu Symphony Pops" conductor for several years, as well as the creator of the "Glendale Pops" in L.A., and currently the "Macon Pops", near Atlanta GA. With these entities he has conducted, performed, and orchestrated for, artists like Al Jarreau, Diana Krall, Dave Koz, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, and many more.

2023 marks the return of Matt Catingub, jazz instrumentalist, vocalist, and big band leader, with the rebirth of the "Matt Catingub Big Band". In commemoration Matt has created and released his first commercially available big band recording in years called From Samoa to Sinatra, heard regularly on SiriusXM, celebrating the music of both Frank Sinatra, and Matt's legendary jazz singer mother Mavis Rivers, the first female artist Sinatra signed to his "Reprise Records" label.

Performing brand new arrangements, as well as re-visiting many of his hit big band originals, Matt and the band present an exciting mix of old and new, as well as using technology to make the impossible "real", including performing with "Mom From the Past", including tracks she recorded while pregnant with Matt! Featuring Matt's longtime superstar drummer Steve Moretti, Vocalist Michelle Amato, as well as musicians hand-picked by Matt from his performing groups from around the USA.