SUMTER -- Skipp Pearson will present a special music program entitled "An Evening of Swing" at the inaugural Sumter Jazz Festival, Friday through Sunday, Sept. 12-14.

Pearson will take the stage from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at Patriot Hall Auditorium in Sumter, where he will be joined by a 10-piece big band that will include master musicians Dick Goodwin, Fred Wesley, Pete Neighbour and Reggie Sullivan, to name a few, accompanied by featured vocalists Eartha Lamkin and Laurie Rivers and a guest appearance by the nationally renowned dance duo Richard and Breedlove.

Tune lineup will include "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got That Swing," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "Sweet Georgia Brown," "I Got Rhythm," "Pennies From Heaven," "Up the Lazy River," "The Man I Love," "They Can't Take That Away from Me," "In the Mood," "String of Pearls," "Stoppin' At the Savoy," "How High the Moon" and "The Joint is Jumpin." The concert will end with a special version of "Sing, Sing, Sing," written by Louis Prima and made famous by legendary band leader Benny Goodman.

General admission tickets are $10 per person. A limited number of VIP tickets are available at $20 per person and include a pre-performance reception and a signed copy of "Vintage Years with Skipp Pearson and Friends."

Other events presented by the Skipp Pearson Foundation on Saturday, Sept. 13, include a free basic swing dance class and boxed lunch from 1 to 2 p.m. at Patriot Hall; free screening of "The Benny Goodman Story" from 2 to 4 p.m. at Patriot Hall; and the Young Masters Jazz Workshop, led by Pearson, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Patriot Hall Auditorium.

For more information or reservations, call the Skipp Pearson Foundation at 803-400-1205 or 803-400-1207.

Special to The T&D

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