Band connects with young aspiring musicians while on Maui for a concert | News, Sports, Jobs

August 06, 2024

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy band leader and trumpet player Glen Marhevka said it’s long been the band’s mission “to keep young music students interested in playing music and horns.” The band visited King Kekaulike High School on Thursday prior to its concert at the MACC today. W. HAWKINS photo

Armed with a mission to spread the joy of swing and jazz, musicians with the band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, in town for a concert, headed to King Kekaulike High School to teach a master class with students of the Na Ali’i Big Band on Thursday.

“For most of our band and especially our horn section, it’s always kind of been a mission to keep young music students interested in playing music and horns,” explained the band’s leader/trumpet player Glen Marhevka. “For the past close to 30 years we’ve been spreading that, and we take every opportunity to get out there and meet with young students.”

One of contemporary swing music’s most acclaimed bands, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is performing at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center today.

Performing a vibrant fusion of classic American jazz and swing with a taste of New Orleans, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s lineup also includes Scotty Morris (lead vocals and guitar), Dirk Shumaker (double bass and vocals), Kurt Sodergren (drums), Andy Rowley (baritone saxophone), Karl Hunter (saxophones and clarinet), Joshua Levy (piano and arranger), Mitch Cooper (trumpet) and Alex Henderson (trombone).

Visiting King Kekaulike over the years, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s Marhevka helped two students, first Jake Thomas and then Xaden Nishimitsu, to pursue college music studies. Thomas was a freshman when he first met Marhevka in 2016.

“I met Jake Thomas the first time we went there, and we ended up keeping in touch,” Marhevka recalled. “He was asking me all kinds of questions and I could see how excited he was. Then we started doing online lessons, and I helped prepare him to go to college. He’s a jazz trumpet major at the University of New York at SUNY Purchase College.”

Nishimitsu was also a freshman when Big Bad Voodoo Daddy visited the school in 2019. He began taking lessons with Marhevka via Skype.

“I started teaching Xaden, and it was just a pleasure. We really bonded, and he just grew tremendously as a musician,” Marhevka said. “He just started as a freshman at the University of Syracuse in New York and got a full scholarship to the music school there. I’m so proud of him. I was just in touch with his parents and they are going to come to the show. He has a younger brother that plays trumpet, and he’s going to come to our music clinic. I really enjoy that connection I’ve had with Maui and the school program there.”

Nishimitsu credits Marhevka with the place he’s in today.

“Glen is a really great teacher,” Nishimitsu reported. “I learned so much taking lessons with him. I don’t think I would be in the same place I would be today if it wasn’t for him.”

Formed in Ventura, Calif., in 1993, the Grammy-nominated band took their name from an autographed poster made out to vocalist Morris by blues legend Albert Collins. Following a concert, he signed it to “Scotty, the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.”

“The band started out with our singer, Scott Morrison, our drummer, and our bass player, Dirk,” Marhevka explained. “They all came from playing in different rock bands and punk rock bands, but they loved jazz and swing music. They started forming a horn section, and that’s where I came along. I brought in a few of my friends that I went to school with, and we combined forces. We all just loved that style of music, and we grew up with our parents playing that kind of music on records.”

Drawing from classics of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, their repertoire includes original compositions and interpretations of more recent songs. Some of their acclaimed recordings include a tribute to Cab Calloway’s “How Big Can You Get?” Their most recent album, “Louie, Louie, Louie,” celebrated jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima and Louis Jordan. Roots Music Report praised them as “one of the most dynamic little big bands in the land. They never fail to slay an audience.”

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is known for their legendary high-energy live shows.

“It’s super fun, and it’s very joyful to see everybody having a great time,” Marhevka said. “Over the years, I’ve seen people bring people that didn’t know who we were, or had any idea what we did. They talk to us afterwards and they’re blown away. They love it. It’s just cool to see smiles on their faces. It’s uplifting and fun for everybody.”

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy plays the MACC’s Castle Theater at 7:30 p.m. today. There is a dance floor. Gypsy Pacific will open, and the Na Ali’i Big Band will play a pre-show in the Yokouchi Pavilion & Courtyard. Tickets are $15, $40, $55, $65 and $85, with a limited number of premium $125 seats, plus applicable fees. Ticket sales are online only at MauiArts.org.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

The Maui News Maui County Department of Finance Director Scott Teruya was placed on administrative leave on last ...

Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, formerly on Front Street in Lahaina Town and destroyed by the fire, announced the ...

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3UoqWer6NjsLC5jqecsKtfobykrctmpZ6vo2R%2FcX6RaGhpZ5KWu6V5wqilp52TqcBuw8itn2axn6q7qHnArKeiqpmjtG651KygnKGRo8Buw8eio55ln6N6rq3UomSfp6Jirm6vzqeanqqkZA%3D%3D