Saturday night at the gazebo in Clift Park Charlie Bertini performed his “Dance & Swing” concert. The Saturday night concert, put together by the Skaneateles Area Arts Council, was the second annual free community concert sponsored by SKARTS. Bertini arranged an all-star lineup for the concert, which included himself on the trumpet, Joe Whiting on vocals, Loren Barrigar on guitar, Dave Hanlon on drums, John Kane on saxophone, Rob France on bass and Dave Solazzo on keyboard. A couple of the musicians have played together with the Apple Jazz Band.
Bertini and the band encouraged those in the crowd to dance, even though there was no dance floor. At first, the few people dancing at the concert were young children right at the base of the gazebo. As the night progressed and music continued, more people were up and dancing to the beat as the jazz fans started to get noticed. “I love jazz music,” said Christopher Russell of Skaneateles.
Russell had never seen Bertini play, or any of the other musicians, but still thought the music was fantastic. “They have original sound and the bass solo is out of this world,” he said.
Russell is an alumnus of Skaneateles schools and has been playing jazz music since the seventh grade. Rocking on into the night, Bertini and the band played a wide selection of jazz hits and kept the people in constant motion — dancing, of course. Patrick Gridley is an intern with the Skaneateles Press.