City Rhythm Orchestra at Cooper River Park

More recently, the CRO has developed both a national and international following, with appearances at New York's Birdland, Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night’s Swing, the Hollywood Bowl, and numerous tours of Italy (the eighth one is scheduled for this July), plus several CDs, including one with Philly jazz organ wizard Joey DeFrancesco. For this outdoor summer concert in Cooper River Park, the band appeared in its swinging twelve-piece edition against a backdrop of near-perfect weather.

Count Basie’s “April In Paris,” with superb solos by trombonist Clint Sharman (a veteran of Broadway pit ensembles) and trumpeter Stan Slotter, kicked off 90 solid minutes of big band swing. The Basie vibe prevailed throughout the evening, coming to the fore once again in “Moten Swing,” which highlighted the improvisational talents of tenor saxophonist John Guida. Under the sterling leadership of Bob Gravener, the powerhouse three-man trumpet section kept the ensemble airborne, and Gravener delivered a Harry James-inspired solo on Louis Armstrong’s “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue.” The Glenn Miller warhorse “In the Mood” featured the saxes of the two co-leaders, with the ensemble executing outstanding dynamic control.

Vocalists Steve Ritrovato and Vicki Woodlyn provided a cross section of the Great American Songbook, along with numerous lesser-known gems. Ritrovato’s tribute to Bobby Darin (who appeared at the long-defunct Latin Casino just two miles from here) consisted of “Artificial Flowers” (from the 1961 Jerry Bock/Sheldon Harnick musical Tenderloin) and Darin’s jazzy update of “Oh My Darling Clementine,” in a style reminiscent as much of Tony Bennett as Darin. Ritrovato also delved into the Sinatra canon with the apropos “Summer Wind.”

Ms. Woodlyn took a more R&B-slanted approach, saluting Etta James with “At Last” (which was introduced by the original Glenn Miller civilian band in the 1942 film Orchestra Wives), Dinah Washington with “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes,” and Linda Ronstadt with “Perfidia.” She also performed a straight-ahead swinging treatment of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Boy [Girl] from Ipanema.” For the finale, both singers joined voices in the George and Ira Gershwin immortal “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” bringing this outstanding Philadelphia big band performance to its conclusion.