Sounds of the Big Band hit a high note

It's 7 p.m. on a Monday at an area restaurant. For hours, the sound system has filled the restaurant with the music of Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Tom Petty and Michael Jackson.

Suddenly, the system is shut off and the music of 20 live musicians fills the room with the Glenn Miller classic "In the Mood."

Throughout the building, toes are tapping, fingers are snapping and dancers are dancing as the Lake Norman Big Band kicks off another Monday night.

The air once again is filled with the music of artists such as Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and Les Brown, courtesy of 20 part-time musicians who make up the Lake Norman Big Band.

"Once the sound of the big band is in your heart, it's always there," said band President Jim McNabb, 53, of Mooresville. McNabb, who plays the trombone, is a family physician with Piedmont Health Care.

Unfortunately for those who enjoyed the Big Band sound, the restaurant, Midtown Sundries in Cornelius, closed last week.

A holiday concert has been moved to a new venue, The Palace Theater, 8325 Copley Drive, Cornelius, 7-9 p.m. Dec. 21. Dancing, cash bar and hors d'oeuvres. Details: www.thelakenormanbigband.org.

"We practice every Monday except for the nights we perform," said McNabb. "This is a very special experience for all of us, and it's so rewarding to see the crowds enjoying the music."

And just who are the musicians in the Lake Norman Big Band?

They are doctors, accountants, engineers, high school students, even a minister, who step away from their full-time professions and studies to enjoy a few hours of big band sound every week. They range from age 16 to the mid-70s.

Formed in 1988, the band is a nonprofit charitable musical arts group formed by volunteer musicians. The band performs the full spectrum of jazz, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, Latin, jazz-rock fusion and pop.

The group consists of four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones, a rhythm section and a vocalist.

Band members receive no compensation. The modest stipend paid to the band for performances is used to cover expenses, according to McNabb.

McNabb lives in the Old Town section of Mooresville with his wife, Liz.

He gives much of the credit for the band's success to Music Director Scott Ireland, a pastor affiliated with Williamson's Chapel United Methodist Church in Mooresville. "As our music director, he really pulls together our arrangements and playlists."