SEQUIM — The Stardust Dance Band is tuned up to shine this Saturday night — for a cause near to the musicians’ hearts.
“We had a great rehearsal last night,” bandleader Craig Buhler said last Friday, adding that his 17-piece outfit is ready to play swing and jazz numbers such as “So in Love,” “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue” and “Go Daddy-O” at Sequim High School’s annual Jazz Dinner Dance.
Doors open to the public for the event at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Sequim High cafeteria, 601 N. Sequim Ave., and the Stardust Dance Band will strike up at 6:30.
Admission will be $15 per person or $25 per couple including the Italian-style pasta dinner, with proceeds to benefit the Sequim High School band program.
Stardust, which plays dance music at venues around the Dungeness Valley, includes a number of Sequim High School students and alumni including piano man Eric Anderson, trombonist Bryce Wood and trumpeter Matt Harker.
“We typically play a song together with the [Sequim High] school band,” Buhler added. More than likely it will be “In the Mood,” that Glenn Miller classic, to cap the evening of music by Cole Porter, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Louis Armstrong.
Buhler estimates this is the fifth time Stardust has played the Jazz Dinner Dance. Sponsored by the Sequim High School Band Boosters, the public dance raises money for students’ travel to competitions and to events such as the Macy’s Holiday Parade in Seattle.
More than 100 students from Sequim play music in these events, said Band Boosters spokeswoman Susan Lorenzen.
“We really appreciate your support,” she said, “which makes these trips possible.”
For more information about Saturday’s Jazz Dinner Dance, phone Lorenzen at 360-477-2677. To learn more about the Stardust Dance Band, visit CraigBuhler.com.
