BIG SWING AND THE BALLROOM BLASTERS

JERRY FREEMAN

Big Swing Band Leader

Grammy Award Winning Artist Jerry Freeman started his career playing with big-band greats such as Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie and his career just skyrocketed from there. Check out Jerry’s amazing journey & all the greats he has performed with over the years!

1988, 90, 93-Performed three European tours for The North Sea & Montreux Jazz Festivals
1989-Performed with Jazz Legend Dizzy Gillespie
1990-Performed and recorded with Jazz Legend Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton
1996-Toured with Earth Wind & Fire as Lead Trumpet player for their 1st Australian Tour
1996-Recorded & Toured with Cameo
1998- Established Hornz Unlimited Brass Section
1998- Primary Brass recording and touring section for Grammy Award Winning, Multi-Platinum and Diamond selling Recording Artist Outkast
2003-Performed on Grammy Awards show feature with Outkast and Earth Wind & Fire
2005-Recorded on Sly and the Family Stone Tribute Album (Different Strokes by Different Folks)
2005-Recorded with Jennifer Lopez (Rebirth)
2006-Recorded with Lionel Richie (Coming Home)
2006-Recorded album(s) with John Legend (Once Again) and in 2008 (Evolver)
2007-Established Big Swing and the Ballroom Blasters
2007-Recorded on Earth Wind and Fire Album; Interpretations
2010-Recorded and Toured with Grammy nominated recording artist Janelle Monae (ArchAndroid) and in 2013 (Electric Lady)
2013-Produced video soundtrack for Go Daddy Founder Bob Parsons in support of the Semper Fi Fund that raised $20 million for wounded, critically ill, and injured veterans for all members of the of the US Armed Forces and their families
2013-Big Swing Performed with Philip Bailey of Earth Wind & Fire
2013-Toured and Recorded multiple albums with Maroon Five Artist; PJ Morton
2013- Recorded with the late Icon Prince on the Janelle Monae album (Electric Lady)
2003-2013: Performed multiple times on The Tonight Show, David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, Ellen Degeneres, The American Music Awards, The Kids Choice Awards and MTV Video Awards
2014-Recorded on Aretha Franklin Tribute Album (Aretha Sings the Great Diva Classics)

BIG SWING REVIEWS

The wedding was indescribable – the breathtaking décor, the incredible food, and the awesome band – all of that made it a “fairytale” wedding as many told me! I have MULTIPLE messages from people raving about it all, and even had people come up to me who I’ve never met to specifically tell me that they have been to a LOT of weddings, but that Brittany & Paul’s was the best wedding they’ve EVER been to in their life, or that it was “THE wedding of the CENTURY” – no lie. It was that magical and the band had a huge part of making my guests feel that way. Many said things like this about the band: “Oh my gosh… the BAND… oh my gosh!” “Where did you find them??!! They are unbelievable!!” “When my daughter gets married I’m flying that band over to London to play at her wedding!” “They are incredible – best wedding band I’ve EVER seen!” “I can’t believe they played the whole time – no breaks – and they sounded great the ENTIRE time!” “I felt like I was at a concert - they were THAT good!” “The dance floor stayed packed the ENTIRE night!” “The band was SO good I felt like I was at a professional event!” “The band was THE icing on the cake!” FYI – I only left the dance floor twice all night – once to eat a piece of cake and the other to leave for the Bride & Groom’s send off – haha!

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Linda
Mother of the Bride
OH MY GOODNESS – Best band I have ever heard! I absolutely loved them! We are still getting phone calls, emails, etc. talking about how wonderful the wedding was, especially the band. They kept the party going so well that no one realized what time it was. The club said I had the biggest turnout when I left (at 11:30) and I know it was due to the band taking no breaks and keeping things moving so well that no one ever looked at their watches. I think more than 200 people were still there to watch John and I leave.

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Katherine Rice
Bride
Big Swing & the Ballroom Blasters did a great job at our Nov. 15th (Ted Turner’s 60th Birthday) event. They were pleasant and professional, and most importantly, extremely talented. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback about them from party guests. It is always a pleasure to work with you.

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Debbie Masterson
Vice President, Turner Enterprises, Inc.
As you know, I have been booking bands for over 30 years and I have never been more impressed by a band in my life! We were fortunate to have “Big Swing and the Ballroom Blasters” for our 25th anniversary at the Figure 8 Island Yacht Club last Saturday night. Their music, appearance, attitude and stage presence was better than I’ve ever seen. Jerry Freeman was first class and was responsive to every need and request that was made during the night. There will be lots of requests for this band from all of our members attending and I am looking forward to planning our next party, somewhere, where we can afford the 4 more horns!!! Big Swing has raised the bar and some of our old favorites should all witness the production, energy and class that this new band brings to the stage. Big Swing did it all and I hope we can bring them back soon!

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Buzzy Northen
Figure Eight Yacht Club
Big Swing and the Ballroom Blasters were a huge hit Saturday. People throughout the night were telling me how much they enjoyed the group and my client emailed me this morning to say she has continued to get compliments on the band. The band looked great and sounded even better. Their volume control during dinner was also perfect, which is sometimes as challenge for a band their size. They could not have been easier or more pleasant to work with. The evening was a big success and I can’t wait to work with them again.

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Paul
Event Planner
Big Swing was a huge success for the Wachovia Championship Block Party. I had several people tell me they liked them better than Chicago.

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Heather Alala
Wachovia Championship Block Party
Big Swing and the Ballroom Blasters were a huge hit at the 62nd North Carolina Azalea Festival’s 2009 Patron’s Party Gala. They played a great variety of music and had everyone on their feet on the dance floor. Multiple patrons and corporate sponsors expressed their appreciation and said they thought they were one of, if not, THE best band we have had preform at this event. I am happy to be a reference for them in the future, as I would highly recommend them without reservation to anyone!

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Erica Mearns
2010 NC Azalea Festival President
I cannot rave enough about the band. They made the wedding. On top of having a superb caliber of musicianship and showmanship they were the nicest of people. They made us feel that they were having a good time too!! What a wonderful experience it was working with you all. I think you could tell that I am a detail person and little things really do impress me. This has totally been a positive aspect of our wedding.” (Big Swing & The Ballroom Blasters)

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Carol Ganz
Mother of the Bride
Big Swing and The Ballroom Blasters did a great job at our Nov. 15th (Ted Turner’s 60th Birthday) event. They were pleasant and professional, and most importantly, extremely talented. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback about them from party guests. It is always a pleasure to work with you.

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Debbie M.
Vice President
In all the years we have done events, across the Untied States, there have never been as many comments about a band as there were about Big Swing and the Ballroom Blasters. This was without question the single best performance ever. We had corporate CEO’s, attendees of all ages and some pretty high profile VIP’s in attendance. Everyone loved the band. From the very first song to the last song the entire dance floor was packed. Jerry and his group are very, very professional and were great to work with as we had a few changes. As you know, the band can make or break an event and this is a perfect example of how the right band can greatly enhance the success of an event.

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David Beam
On Saturday jerry Freeman and the Ballroom Blasters rocked the largest wedding Charleston has likely seen in many years… over 1400 people were blown away by the best band I have seen in years. Despite appearance from many guest performers, Mark & Dean from Hootie & the Blowfish, Edwin McCain, Josh Kelley, Andrew Copeland of Sister Hazel and Anoop Desai from American Idol, the clear attraction was Big Swing and the Ballroom Blasters.

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Steve Harry
Managing Partner of EastCoast Entertainment