72 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • AUGUST 27, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com The Queen’s Cartoonists bring swing-era music, written for classic cartoons, to listeners BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 A new band made up of Astoria and Jackson Heights residents is bringing a fresh, yet vintage, sound to the ears of audiences throughout Photo by Irina Fateycheva Back to School Savings! ONSITE DOCTORS • EYE EXAMS • CONTACTS • 1 HOUR SERVICE • VISION PLANS ACCEPTED • SUNGLASSES • LOWEST PRICES FLEX SPENDING Use it or lose it! $99 DISPOSABLE CONTACTS Includes: EYE EXAM, 2 Boxes of Lenses Clear Soft brand clear spherical Lenses/ *Contact lens fitting additional. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Some restrictions apply. See store for details. *FREE Expires 10/1/15 Eye Exam QC QC QC QC 2 PAIR OF EYEGLASSES $99 Includes: EYE EXAM, Frames & Lenses Select frames with clear plastic, single vision lenses+/- 4 sph., 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Expires 10/1/15 NO-LINE BIFOCAL EYEGLASSES $99 Includes: EYE EXAM, No-Line Bifocal Lenses & Frame Select frame with select clear plastic no-line bifocal lenses +/- 4 sph., 2 cyl up to 2.50 add. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at this location only. Expires 10/1/15 BAY TERRACE SHOPPING CENTER 211-51 26 AVENUE • BAYSIDE, NY 11360 718.631.3699 $100 OFF A FREE Pair of Sunglasses or Spare Pair Includes FREE EYE EXAM st Second pair frame from select group with plastic, single vision lenses ‘+/- 4 sph, 2 cyl. Dilation & contact lens exam additional. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plans or packages. Must present prior to purchase. Expires 10/1/15 of the 2013 THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com Place with the purchase of glasses. Contact Lens Exam and fitting add’l. *See store for details. buzz the city. The Queen’s Cartoonists, made up of six Queens musicians, was formed when pianist Joel Pierson made the move from Washington, D.C., to Jackson Heights after getting married to a Queens resident. Pierson, who has been playing the piano for over 20 years and has performed on all seven continents, was looking for a job and said he wanted to do something innovative that would attract audiences — which is how the idea of the band came about. “I was trying to think of something that would have the band stand out in New York, that would be interesting to people,” Pierson said. “I saw it as a different twist of what people are doing up here.” The group performs music they call the “zaniest and most creative” out of the swing era and many of which was written and adapted for classic cartoons from Warner Bros. and Disney, such as the Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. The band is made up of Pierson and Astoria residents Mark Phillips on clarinet and soprano sax; Drew Pitcher on tenor sax; Greg Hammontree on trumpet; Rossen Nedelchev on percussion; and Ian Hutchison on bass. “We’re all very Queenscentric people. We all just really like Queens. Everybody is rubbing elbows from all over the world,” Pierson said. “We all live here for a reason.” The name of the band, which was created before there was a group and Pierson believes helped attract the members, has been written in many ways – some including the apostrophe, others placing it after the S — however Pierson said it all goes back to highlighting their home borough. “Queens feels like a really authentic place to live and so many jazz people have lived here,” Pierson said. “It fits with the kind of music we want to play.” What differs The Queen’s Cartoonists from all other jazz musicians and groups in the city, Pierson said, is that the group does not perform out of spontaneity. Due to the classic music’s short and fast performances, it is crucial that the members spend extensive time practicing every tune and be organized when performing. Each song can go about 2 to 3 minutes long and performances tend to last about 20 to 25 minutes. “Everything has to be really set up ahead of time because if we’re not on it 100 percent then it can be really hard for us,” Pierson said. Although the band performs what Pierson calls “cartoony and silly” music, he adds that he still wants to maintain a formal feel in the performances — much like how it was down back in the 1930s and ’40s. “We want people to experience a formal experience even if the music is cartoony and silly,” Pierson said. “We want it to be a concert in a way because it is hard to play and we want to give some credibility to this music.” For now, the “novelty” band is still testing the waters to figure out the best venues to perform in and Pierson hopes to one day see themselves live at performing art centers, festivals and any other venues where audience know they will be. They have also participated in the MTA’s Music Under New York Program. The Queen’s Cartoonists will perform on Aug. 29 at The Shops at SkyView Center in Flushing from 1 to 3 p.m. and on Sept. 17 will play at the Long Beach Jazz Festival at 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.thequeenscartoonists. com.
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