The Steve Creech All-Stars Will Play the Turnage Theater | Eastern North Carolina Now

For more information, or to interview, contact:
    Steve Creech,screech@embarqmail.com

    The Turnage Theater will be presenting The Steve Creech All-Stars on Friday, June 11, 2010 at 8 PM to the delight of local fans of New Orleans-style Dixieland jazz and blues, mixed in with old jazz standards and some Broadway favorites.

    Creech, a Kinston native, is the guitarist and leader of the band. He began entertaining at age six  with the family quartet.  During high school in the fifties, he formed his first band, The Hi-Fi-s, and has never stopped performing. Creech studied music formally at Wake Forest University and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also earned a master's degree and Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill.  Thereupon, he worked professionally in the field of mental health for 31 years before retiring in 1997 and increasing his musical engagements to more than 100 per year.

    Creech is impressed with the large number of talented musicians in eastern N. C. He has a long list of performers from which he selects groups to fit a particular scene.  Citing the abilities of the All-Stars, Creech stated "these musicians can play with anyone!  It's really fun to hear them harmonize and improvise on the old jazz standards and New Orleans Dixieland classics!  We even take requests from the audience."

    Creech will be accompanied by Tommy Smith on trombone, Les Sutorius on trumpet, Russ Hamby on clarinet and saxophone, Jimmy Aycock on piano, George Knott on acoustic bass, tuba, and bass saxophone, Jon Wacker on drums, and Broadway performer, Dirk Lumbard, singer and dancer.

     Smith, a Greenville native, has credits from the ECU School of Music and Berkelee School of Music in Boston. A music educator for more than 25 years, the trombonist has performed with many professional groups, including the Pete Fountain Ensemble, the Dorsey Brothers, the Disney Orchestra, and the Platters.

     Sutorius was both an All-State and All-America band member from the State of New York.  Sutorius came south to attend UNC-Chapel Hill, and played with many of the jazz bands in the area. Upon returning to New York, he continued to play with many groups there before retiring at Cypress Landing.

    Hamby, a resident of New Bern,  is well-known throughout eastern N. C. for his improvisations on clarinet and saxophone.   He is also known for his big band arranging, having provided charts for many of the swing bands in the area, including the Emerald City Big Band from Greenville.

    Knott is leader and arranger for the Atomic Rhythm All-Stars of Raleigh. An ECU alumnus, Knott has freelanced throughout the east coast, including performances at the JVC Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, and the Birdland Jazz Club in NYC.

    Jon Wacker, Chair of Percussion at ECU, toured with Debbie Reynolds 1 1/2 years and was house drummer at Las Vegas, accompanying such performers as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.

    Special featured guest performer will be Dirk Lumbard, tap dancer and singer, whose Broadway credits include The Music Man,On Your Toes, Barnum (with Glenn Close), and Sugar Babies (with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller).  He has many off-Broadway credits, including television credits on NBC, ABC, PBS, and CBS. Lumbard won a coveted Jefferson Award for portraying The Tin Man in a National Tour of the Wizard of Oz with Mickey Rooney and Eartha Kitt.

    "We are looking forward to performing at the beautiful Turnage Theater," Creech stated. "Our goal is for the audience to have fun and to look back on this evening with fond memories."