Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Flights & Sounds of Summer

August 29, 2009, 8:00 PM
Free Admission, $8 Parking (Map)

True heroes of the swing revival, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy celebrates 100 years of Cab Calloway, the legendary fireball of talent whose goofy “hi-de-hi’s” and “ho-de-ho’s” in a rich and vibrant baritone brought a much-needed, high-voltage jolt of winning, feel-good energy to a country slogging through tough times…making Cab Calloway a man for our times, too.

In the 1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, Calloway entertained the nation with his energetic scat singing, flamboyant showmanship and a band whose musicianship was as sharp as the creases on their zoot suits. Serious times call for serious fun, and Calloway had much of the much nation singing along with the “hi-di-ho” chorus of his “Minnie the Moocher.”

Formed in Ventura in 1989, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy released its first album in 1994, the same year Calloway passed away. They’ve helped keep his style of jump-jive swing alive for a new generation, performing in the movie “Swingers” and at the 1999 Superbowl halftime show. Earlier this year the band issued an album entirely of Calloway’s music, entitled “How Big Can You Get?” They’ll be drawing on that extensively for their Great Park show, where they’ll weather the Recession with some Depression-proof songs. Artist Website