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Music
"a creative, energetic groove of the finest in dance music - from swing, jazz, and standards to latin and rock"
NEW! See the Video Trailer:
Contact Bernard Selling at: bsell1@earthlink.netSong Samples From Blue Palmetto's Demo CD
Click song titles for music samples. QuickTime is Required!
Use this link for easy install if QuickTime is not on your computer.Swing/ballroom
Until It's Time To Go (waltz)
Woodchopper's Ball (jump swing)
Sunny Side of de Street (swing/vocal)
Two O'clock Jump (swing)
Night and Day (fox trot)Blues/Rock
Prelude to the Blues (blues)
Proud Mary (rock)*
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (rock)*
Heard it Through the Grapevine (rock)
Blueberry Hill (50's Do-Wop/vocal)Jazz/Latin Jazz
Hint of Tangerine (hip swing)
Thrice as Nice (jazz waltz)
Round Midnight (ballad)
Salsa Fundamentals (mambo)
Caravan (merengue)
Midnight Mambo (mambo)Latin
The Moon is Yellow (tango/rumba)
Salsa Mode (mambo)
Canadian Sunset (cha-cha-cha)
Joseito (mambo)
Mambo Inn (mambo)*
A Touch of Spice
*Coming Soon!
Dance Album
1. Woodchoppers Ball (jump swing)* - Woody Herman's hard-driving swing classic has been a dancers' favorite for many years Bernard Selling's clarinet can be heard early on; Smitty soars over the last two choruses.2. Heard it Through the Grapevine (rock)* - This motown favorite from the pen of Dave Wolpe features Mark Markus on alto and Irv Feldman on trombone.
3. Canadian Sunset (cha-cha) - A sentimental favorite from the 1930's is given new life with this infectious cha-cha rhythm. The lyrical trombone solo is by Irv Feldman.
4. Prelude to the Blues (blues) - This outstanding arrangement from the pen of Tom Kubis features the band's 'get down' saxophone section and fine solos by Maurice Weiss and Mitch Smith.
5. Until It's Time To Go (waltz) - Irv Feldman gives a special flavor to this well-known waltz.
6. Sunny Side of the Street (swing) - becomes a fine vehicle for the Louis Armstrong-like vocali zing of James "Smitty" Smith.
7. Blueberry Hill (rock) - Congero "Panchito" gives this 'do-wop' 50's classic from the pen of Fats Domino a special, soulful rendition. Maurice, Smitty, Mitch on baritone and Bill on piano also 'rock out,' 50's style.
8. The Moon is Yellow (tango/rumba) - The popular 'swing and sway' tune from the thirties gets a nice workout from Maurice's lead trumpet. That's Smitty's muted trumpet on the solo section.
9. Two O'clock Jump (swing) This staple of the 40s swing era opens with the piano/bass duo of Bill Sinclair and Wendell Williams. Later Maurice Weiss (trumpet) and Bernard Selling (alto) can be heard.
10. Night and Day* -- A Cole Porter favorite arranged by Dave Wolpe, this haunting melody features our alto player, Mark Markus, and the soaring trumpet of Maurice Weiss.
11. Midnight Mambo (mambo)-- One of the great classics of Latin Jazz from the pen of Oscar Hernandez, this tune gets a vibrant baritone solo from Mitch Smith and a soaring trumpet solo from "Smitty." The rhythm section of Kenny Park, Bill Sinclair, Wendell Williams and Panchito gets a great workout.
Summer Concert Series
1. Hint of Tangerine (hip swing)* - A fine Tom Kubis update on the ol' familiar Tommy Dorsey hit of the 1940's. The tune features the hot alto work of Mark Markus.2. Caravan (merengue)* - This Dave Wolpe chart is another fine update. The haunting, never-out-date melody displays the pulsating pounding talents of Panchito, our conga player, bassist Wendell Williams and trumpet soloists James Smith and Maurice Weiss.
3. Round Midnight (ballad)* -- One of the most luscious jazz ballads ever written, our trombonist, Irv Feldman, and baritone saxophonist, Joe Engleman, rise to the challenge of this Dave Wolpe chart.
4. Salsa Mode (mambo)* - Paul Lopez's Prez Prado-like arrangement displays the talents of our rhythm section as well as soloists Maurice Weiss, baritone saxophonist Joe Engleman, trombonist Irv Feldman and alto soloist Mark Markus.
5. Prelude to the Blues (blues) - This outstanding arrangement from the pen of Tom Kubis features the band's 'get down' saxophone section and fine solos by Maurice Weiss and Mitch Smith.
6. A Touch of Spice - Tom Kubis' beautiful latin tune features the fluglehorns of Maurice Weiss and "Smitty."
7. Joseito (mambo)* -- The sax section rips through this fine mambo was written by Scott Martin for the Poncho Sanchez band. Mitch Smith is our featured baritone saxplayer. Smitty wails on trumpet.
8. Thrice as Nice (jazz waltz)* -- A lovely jazz waltz from the pen of Dan Higgins features the flugelhorn of Maurice Weiss and soprano sax work of Mark Markus.
9. Salsa Fundamentals (mambo)* -- This chart is from the pen of one of the finest modern jazz writers, Gordon Goodwin. His flugelhorn/soprano sax (James Smith and Mark Markus) writing has an almost otherworldly, hypnotic quality reminicent of Ravi Shankar.
About the band...
As a teenager in the mid-50's, Bernard Selling used to dance to the big bands back in Orlando, Florida, where he went to high school -- Harry James, the Dorsey brothers, Ralph Marterie, Kenton. Like most musicians, he stopped dancing once he began playing swing and jazz.Fifty years later, he started dancing again, latin dancing - mambos and the like. I Would love to be playing more of this great music, he said to himself. "I realized that there were swing bands and there were latin bands, but almost never did one band play good swing and good latin," Selling recalls. Maybe the time to bring the two dance crowds together is now.
A chance conversation about putting together a band with trombonist Irv Feldman led to trumpeter James "Smitty" Smith, who in turn brought in Bill Sinclair and Panchito. Long time musical friends Maurice Weiss and Joe Engleman soon followed.
It took about a year to get a good book together and find the right personnel. "Mitch Smith, a talented baritone saxophonist, came in. Then Smitty turned us on to a fine bass player, Wendell Williams...I had played with a terrific, very experienced drummer, Kenny Park, years before. Once we got them in the band, we were off and running." Blue Palmetto was born.
Blue Palmetto offers musical groups of 2 to 14 pieces + singer(s), including congas, timbales and guitar for special eventsThe Blue Palmetto Little Big Band (8 to 12 pieces: 4-6 horns plus rhythm)
- offers up to 200 selections of swing n' standards, latin and rock and straight ahead jazz.
- great for larger events--corporate, weddings, concerts
The Blue Palmetto Party Band (4 to 7 pieces: 2-3 horns) + singer(s)
- offers up to 400 selections of swing n' standars, latin and rock as well as straight ahead jazz; additional selections by request.
- great for weddings, parties, holiday events
- acoutic or electric
The Blue Palmetto Trio (3 pieces: piano, drums, saxophone + singer
- offers up to 500 selections of swing n' standards, latin and rock as well as straight ahead jazz; additional selections by request.
- great for weddings, cocktail parties, holiday events,
- acoutic or electric
The Blue Palmetto Trio (2 pieces: guitar and flute)
- the perfect wedding ceremony duo
- can be packaged with any of the other bands as Troy switches to piano and Bernard switches to sax and clarinet
"You and Troy sounded terrific at my friends' wedding. They said that hiring you was the greatest gift I could have given them. I agree. Thanks again."
-Harvey Moss, April '03
The Musicians....Bernard Selling - alto sax, clarinet, flute. played in a unit of the air force band, later the UCLA jazz ensemble with Fred Seldon, the Santa Monic jazz ensemble under Dominic DeFazio; various rehearsal band around L.A.
Joe Engleman - tenor sax, flute. After retirement from the aerospace industry, Joe devotes much of his time to music.
Mitch Smith - soprano, baritone sax, flute. One of L.A.'s hot young sax players in the 50's, Mitch gave it up to practice law and raise a family. Now he lives on a boat in the marina and plays jazz "anytime there's a good gig."
James Smith - trumpet/flugelhorn. One of L.A. least known and finest trumpet players, Smitty is a featured member of the Teddy Edwards quartet.
Maurice Weiss - trumpet/flugelhorn/timbales. The son of Sammy Weiss, a well-known drummer in the studios of Hollywood and in the Tommy Dorsey band, Maurice has been playing professionally since he was four years old.
Irv Feldman - trombone. Another of L.A.'s fine, unsung musicians, Irv has been gigging around L.A. since the 1950's. He, Smitty and Wendell have been three quarters of a successful quartet for many years.
Kenny Park - drums. One of L.A's finest drummers, Kenny has been on the road with a variety of top of the line singers, touring much of the world when he was in his twenties and thirties.
Panchito - congas, bongos, timbales. Panchito was a "do-wop" percussion player back in the fifties. Since then he has been featured with a variety of top bands in the L.A. latin jazz scene.
Bill Sinclair - piano. Bill is one of the most versatile piano players anywhere. Like many of the members of the band, Bill is retired from his day job in the aerospace industry and spends most of his time with "my piano and my wife."
Wendell Williams - bass. Wendell has played in variety of top bands over the past forty years. His long friendship with Smitty and Irv has brought some of the "best rewards, musically and in terms of friendship, that a man could ask for."
