Fort Bend People
FINE
TUNEDMEN
Appearing at venues around
the Houston area, the
Sugarland Brass Company
performs blues, jazz, classic
rock, and big band favorites
The Sugarland Brass Company
Is on a Mission to Revitalize
Great Music from Past Eras
Written by Matt Brady
Photos by Micahl Wyckoff
Sugarland Brass Company musicians
Janu Villanueva, Steve Long, Vito
Varone, and Joshua Sanchez
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T
Two and a half years ago, the Sugarland Brass Company was
nothing but a dream that had been floating around frontman
Vito Varone’s head. And not long before that, Varone had
never really even thought of fronting his own band, much less
playing an instrument, until a chance meeting happened while
on a family vacation in San Francisco in 2006. “I was passing
this pawn shop, and there was this brand-new cornet in the
window,” Varone recalls. “And I went in and bought this cornet,
and I went to breakfast and said, ‘I’m going to learn to play this
thing.’ So at the hotel, I opened up the window on the second
floor and started blowing this thing.”
Singing a Different Tune
Prior to purchasing the musical
instrument, Varone, along
with his wife Donna, was
an avid music lover but had
never taken to playing music
seriously. In fact, the Varones
only just recently retired from
a commercial construction
business they owned and ran fulltime in Rosenberg. “I didn’t even
try to get in the music business
until about four years ago, once
I had all my stuff together,” says
Varone, 62. “I raised my family
and I went the other way.”
But once Varone began easing
into retirement, he focused all
his attention on learning how to
play the cornet he had bought,
and then on surrounding himself
with musicians talented enough
to comprise a formidable brass
band. He succeeded at both.
powerhouse saxophonist Dan Carpenter. With that kind of lineup, the
band’s energy never wavers. Eyebrow-raising solos crop up regularly,
with Varone holding it all together as a living incarnation of bygone
eras where big band personalities were as bold as the music.
The Sounds of Yesteryear
Listening to the brass band perform, it’s easy to feel nostalgic for the
days when groups like Tower of Power and Chicago topped the charts.
“It’s the sound of yesteryear,” Varone says. “In the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s,
everything you heard had horns in it. And it’s just beautiful music.
It makes the whole band sound so
phat.”
Sugarland Brass Company’s
Favorite Fort Bend Venues
• Churchill’s Sports Bar and Grill
• New Territory Fourth of July Celebration
• Oyster Creek Park
• Post Oak Grill in Sugar Land
• Rosenberg Hot Summer Nights Concert
Series
• Sugar Land Town Center
The band also loves playing corporate gigs
and private parties. To book them for an
event, visit their Facebook page or email
donvito49@gmail.com
In Full Swing
Now, on any given night, the
Sugarland Brass Company can
be found playing at a number
of venues in the area. Fans
wait for the big band sound,
as Varone struts on stage in a
suit and fedora, twirling his
trumpet around one finger like
a gunslinger with a pistol. Then
comes the moment of truth,
when his gravelly voice capably
belts out soulful numbers like
“Moondance” and “Mack the
Knife.”
The Sugarland Brass Company
covers a wide range of music that
harkens back to eras when a brass
lineup was the main staple of many
different music genres, from big
band and jazz to blues and classic
rock. It’s not unusual for the band to
switch effortlessly between selections
from artists like Louis Armstrong,
Dire Straits, Chuck Berry, and Van
Morrison.
The diversity of their sound, and
the enthusiasm and skill with which
they pull it off has put the band
on a regular rotation of live gigs in
the Fort Bend area. They’ve also
successfully branched out to other
regional gigs, such as the Kemah
Crawfish Festival and the House of
Blues Houston. “I’m trying to do
something totally different; play
music that they haven’t heard in a
long time or may never have heard,”
Varone says. “I hope to someday have
a big band like in the old days, like
Cab Calloway or Louis Prima.”
Striving for Perfection
Photo by Suzi Issa
At a recent show at the Route 36
Bar in Rosenberg, the Sugarland
Brass Company got positive proof
they’re succeeding in their ambition
to provide a unique and refreshing
sound. One of the bar patrons, who
had never heard of the band before
that night, approached the group in
between sets to voice his praise. “It’s
just a different sound you don’t hear
very much,” Randy Burns says. “I’d
definitely listen to them on CD if they had one.”
You can also find Joshua Sanchez, 24, expertly playing a variety
of instruments, such as the trombone, trumpet, and keyboards,
with a level of talent that hardly reflects his young age. Guitarist
Jessie Silva, 42, plays every note of solos from the likes of Mark
Knopfler and Brian Setzer as if it were easy. Drummer Steve
Long, 55, adds a thumping heartbeat to the music and takes
over for vocals on a number of songs. Janu Villanueva, 51,
supplies a rhythmic pulse to the band with his steady bass lines.
On special nights, the band brings an even greater wall of sound
by including part-timers, such as slide guitarist Max Jones and
Varone was flattered, but not surprised. He says they get that reaction
everywhere they go. “We’ve hardly ever played at a place where they
didn’t want us back,” he says, something he attributes to the band’s
vision, ambition, and hard work ethic. “I just won’t take mediocre for
an answer,” he says. “Strive for perfection and maybe someday you’ll
get close.” SLM
MATT BRADY is a freelance writer, who enjoys quality time with his wife and 2-year-old
daughter.
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