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The world famous Cab Calloway Orchestra welcomes you to its official internet home.
The place to get a more "HI DE HO!" in your life!
We invite you to join us for the
celebration of a lifetime - CAB100 the worldwide Cab Calloway 100th birthday
Celebration!
Check out CAB100.com!
CAB CALLOWAY ORCHESTRA NEWS
HIGHLIGHTS:
- For 5th year in a row, Calloway Orchestra in
May 19th Live National Telecast of
Preakness Stakes
- Calloway Orchestra to headline in Las Vegas
at The Cannery Casino this November.
- CCO delivers 5 consecutive major
sold out concerts in a row over 4 days at Seattle's 2500 seat
Benaroya Hall
in April. Performances earn double standing
ovations - even at intermission. The Seattle Sonic
Boom review affirms that - "Though Cab is no
longer with us, the new band is led by his grandson, C. Calloway Brooks. A
TREMENDOUS entertainer, singer and guitarist in his own right, Brooks fronts
the group in the same exuberant manner that his grandfather did ...we had an
incredible time along with 2500 + other fans...an extra special occasion.
Next time the Cab Calloway Orchestra comes to Seattle don't miss it!"
- Cotton Club in NY hosts
kickoff party.
- The Wall Street Journal
Picks "Calloway Brooks at the Atlantis Casino" as a National top 10 event for New
Years eve '07 celebrations - Ballroom event goes SRO.
-
launched at Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference in NY.
- Calloway Brooks
launches Cab Calloway Centennial Celebration -
at worlds largest jazz convention: IAJE -The International Association of
Jazz Educators Conference in NY.
- Cab Calloway
Orchestra Performs at
San Diego Museum of Art's Historic 80th Anniversary
Fundraising Gala.
- Cab Calloway
Orchestra kicks off
PORI JAZZ FESTIVAL July 2006, Pori Finland. Shares
Kirjurinluoto Arena
bill with Neville Brothers, Raul Midon, Bo
Diddley Jr. and Roberta Flack.
- C. Calloway
Brooks, Klezmer
Conservatory Band with SRO crowd at Berklee Performance Center in Boston
for world premier of
"Mixin' It Up!
Celebrating the Calloway-Klezmer connection."
- Cab Calloway
Orchestra headlines benefit concert for
Associated Black Charities June 10th 2006.
- Calloway Orchestra
headlines at the grand opening of the
brand new Cotton Club in
Tokyo, Japan.
- Cab Calloway
Orchestra appears with famed vocal groups The Ink Spots and the Mills
Brothers in Phoenix AZ. at the Orpheum Theatre satellite
simulcast.
- Dallas Symphony
Hall features Calloway Orchestra.
- Cab Calloway
Orchestra headlines at NFL SUPER BOWL Commissioners Ball
- C. Calloway Brooks
appears at the legendary Sands Casino in Atlantic City with entertainer Joe Piscopo
- Calloway Brooks
performs solo guitar/voice at Katrina Benefit at Dalton Hall in NY
-
Cab Calloway Orchestra
Radio Spot for JEOPARDY! Game show broadcast nationwide. To
listen to an MP3 of the ad composed and arranged by C. Calloway Brooks click
the following musical notes button: ->
-
Calloway Orchestra premiers new
"Dueling Orchestras" Double Orchestra Jazz/Symphonic program with the
Springfield Symphony
Orchestra! Read the rave
reviews.
-
Maria
(Midnight at the Oasis) Muldaur to appear with C.
Calloway Brooks for 1 week in
Music of Your Life
at the Grand Lido Negril Resort, Jamaica
You're not the only one who loves us!
"The Cab Calloway Orchestra
rocked the house! They swung hard all night long, they all played their tails
off, the charts are gorgeous! The band was fantastic. I love it!"
Paul Shaffer - CBS
 C.
Calloway Brooks, eldest grandson of the one and only Cab Calloway treated us to
a wild and memorable evening. C.B. . . trained at both the New England
Conservatory of Music and by the master himself, let it all hang out on Saturday
night. With his smooth style, a young Cab Calloway was on stage once more,
backed by an incredibly gifted jazz band. That first act was a blast! After
intermission, an eager audience on the edge of our seats ...the joint was really
jumping! Of course, Grandpa’s biggest hit, “Minnie the Moocher,” was held
for last and, in a foot stomping finale, C.B. had performed a miracle. How
he did it, I’ll never know, but somehow we were “hep cats” who sure could “cut a
rug” and “jive” with the best of them “cats” — yuh dig? When we filed out
of the doors of the old Opera House, our parting salutations weren’t
“Goodnight.” They were “Hi De Hi — Hi De Ho” and, by some miracle, there was
spring in our steps once more. -Ev Parker
"Hi-De-Ho, Minne The Moocher,
remember that? I got to work with the Cab Calloway Orchestra last
week in Phoenix Arizona. C. Calloway Brooks is Cab's grandson, who conducts
the orchestra. If
you ever have a chance to see them work, they're fabulous!" Willard
Scott -- NBC Today Show
“Expect high style,
high-stepping, good humor and deep theatricality when the Cab Calloway Orchestra
plays . . . the orchestra is determined to keep the legacy of the big-band
swing era so alive and kicking that it's more swing than legacy.”
“The
mission of the orchestra springs from the inspiration of the art, and this is as
it should be. And the enterprise appears to be in good hands with C.C. Brooks at
the helm.
That is not a small thing, and I salute C. Calloway Brooks
for keeping that great engine running.”
While he wore Cab's mantle of jive with ease, Brooks' voice, patter and
musicality were all his own. Concertgoers seemed eager to holler "Hi-De-Ho"
Saturday night ,,,while
being thoroughly entertained by Calloway's grandson and current bandleader C.
Calloway Brooks. "Minnie the
Moocher," the Calloway number everyone had been waiting for, rocked the
house with "Hi-De-Hi's," "Ho-De-Ho's,"
"Hee-De-Hee's" and an instant standing ovation.
- CLIFTON J. NOBLE Jr.
 “…flashes of
his Grandfathers' vocal quality shine through
each performance. This band is definitely not Mickey-Mouse.… it's that smooth
well-rehearsed
sound of
saxophones that sounds like thick cream flowing… the brass and rhythm molded
like Jell-O to go with the cream.”
–Dan Kassell
 “While
Brooks may dress like his grandfather and play his tunes, their voices
sound nothing alike, and Brooks - a talented singer and guitarist in his own
right - doesn't try to imitate Calloway. …he's a serious musician himself, not
simply the heir to the Calloway throne ...Brooks maintained his brilliant
level of performance to the end” -Ernie
Santosuoso
 “Brooks proves through his stage
presence that he has earned the right to lead his grandfather’s orchestra. Music
is in his blood.
 “Brooks
almost upstaged his grandfather on two meanly picked blues”
—W. Royal Stokes
 “Every
day Brooks carries on the tradition of American big band music. Made popular
during the 1930s and 1940s by Calloway and other famous jazz musicians...swing
music and the big band sound is still energetic, joyous and soulful -- and still
appealing to audiences, young and old.
A
Calloway performance ignites audience participation . . .
that warm interactive quality that is present at Cab Calloway Orchestra
performances.”
 “...Brooks
left the audience convinced”
— Bob Blumenthal
For more quotes, go to our
quotes page for full articles see our
articles page
Brief Background
The Cab Calloway Orchestra, directed by
Cab's grandson, "The Prince of Hi De Ho", C. Calloway Brooks, comes
from the Big Band Swing Jazz Orchestra tradition that came bursting out of
the Cotton Club, and the Savoy Ballroom, in the Harlem Renaissance during
the golden age of radio in the 1930's and 1940's. These days, this most
American of Art Music is still hot and sizzling!
Growing directly out of the Louis Armstrong New Orleans Dixieland tradition, Cab Calloway
and his Orchestras virtually wrote the book on the "Hot Swing" sound
and the "Jump" genre, and were progressive in their approach to
performance. The Calloway magic touched many of the greatest Jazz musicians
like Dizzy Gillespie,
Milton Hinton, The Nicholas Brothers, Illinois Jaquet,
Jonah Jones, Cozy Cole, Doc Cheatham, and
Ben Webster all of whom emerged from Cab
Calloway stints, and went on to redefine Jazz music with spectacular musical
careers of their own. They -like Cab Calloway- took African-American based musical
expression to whole new levels.
Cab Calloway also performed alongside greats like Louis Armstrong, Duke
Ellington, Nat King Cole, Lena Horne, Pearl
Bailey, Eartha Kitt, Tony Benett, Fats Waller, and many others. Blues giant
T-Bone Walker and Gospel sensation Sister Rosetta Tharpe toured with Cab
Calloway and his Orchestras.
Always the
diverse, multifaceted, total performance artist, Cab also shared the silver screen with
Janet Jackson, The Blues Brothers, Steve McQueen, Clark Gable, W.C. Fields, Bing
Crosby, Ann Margaret, Edward G. Robinson, Mickey Rooney and even Bela Lugosi.
He also appeared in animations and children’s programs like Betty Boop, Popeye,
Porky Pig, and Sesame Street.
Our Mission
The Cab Calloway Orchestra's goal
under C. Calloway Brooks is to expand the recognition and appreciation of it's
unique sound and sensibility, while maintaining the integrity of Cab's amazing
musical repertoire. As a great American National Treasure,
it is a profound responsibility. Our touring success has shown that we have a
broad and universal appeal to all sorts of audiences. We want to make sure
that you "keep that Hi-De-Ho in your soul!" We thank you for helping
us to do
this, by visiting and promoting the Calloway Orchestra and our home at this
site.
Sincerely,
C. Calloway (“CB”) Brooks,
Director-Cab Calloway Orchestra
Contact The Cab Calloway Orchestra
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