Summertime in San Bernardino: Music, Movies, and Karate

San Bernardino has a new community band: Little Mountain Big Band, named after our city’s own Little Mountain. The group draws its members from San Bernardino and surrounding areas. On Friday, July 11 Little Mountain Big Band played their second concert for the community at Newmark Little League Park for the city’s ongoing Movies In The Park series which aims to produce community events for citizens and their families. Some children danced to the music, although many enjoyed chasing each other in the open fields, while their parents – some sitting on blankets others in chairs – were treated to big band arrangements of music by artists such as the Beatles, Steely Dan, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and even Frank Zappa as well as an original tune or two by band leader/director and composer Robert Winokur. The group is made up of high school students, local school teachers, college professors and professional musicians; eighteen in all. The band’s drummer, Brandon Miller (Cajon High School band director), opened the doors to his classroom in April and establishing a permanent home for the group. The band played two forty-five minute sets at the well-attended event. During their break, the audience enjoyed a karate demonstration by local karate school. The demonstration featured young martial artists in the community who displayed their skills and a surprising knack for theatrics. After the second set, blankets and chairs were moved to an adjacent field where they watched the baseball movie classic, The Rookie, on a large screen. It was a summer night filled with kids laughing freely and relaxed adults. San Bernardino resident Kellie Reay had this to say about the night’s events, “San Bernardino needed this. It’s great that the city puts these events on. There’s lot of good people here and it helps us get to know each other. And I’m proud to see our city has such a great band, and our very own composer.” If you’re interested in listening to the group and getting out of doors with your neighbors, Little Mountain Big Band’s next show is in the city of Beaumont on Saturday, Aug. 2 from 6-7 p.m. at Noble Creek Park for their 2014 Music Festival. On July 25 from 6-8 p.m., Little Mountain Jazz Band – a smaller version of the group consisting of saxophone, trumpet, piano, bass, and drums – will perform at Verdemont Community Center (3664 Little League Drive) in San Bernardino. You can stay updated on performance dates and see videos and photos from previous shows by liking Little Mountain Big Band’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/littlemountainbigband).