The Grand Strand Jazz Orchestra Concert, a blend of local musicians and Coastal Carolina University faculty, will feature an evening of the music of Count Basie on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Wheelwright Auditorium on the CCU campus. The public is invited; tickets are required.

This program is devoted to the big band sounds from Count Basie's album, "Breakfast, Dance and Barbecue," recorded in 1959 in Miami and considered to be one of his band's finest performances. In the late '50s and early '60s, the orchestra was known as the "New Testament" or "Atomic" band.

The Grand Strand Jazz Orchestra, comprised of professional musicians from the Myrtle Beach area, is a professional big band dedicated to preserving the art of Big Band Jazz.

The concert will be directed by Chris Connolly, a CCU lecturer of low brass. He has performed with such acts as the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Bill Mobley's Big Band.

The band also includes CCU faculty members Matt White; Dan O'Reilly; Marc Chesanow; Jesse Willis; CCU alumnus Simon Harding, a jazz musician based in Charleston; and Zach Douglas, a trumpet student of Matt White.

Ticket prices are $15 for general admission; $5 for CCU/HGTC students; $10 CCU/HGTC faculty and staff; $10 for alumni, OLLI, senior citizens and teens; and $5 for children.

The auditorium is located at 108 Spadoni Park Circle on the Conway campus. For more information or to purchase a ticket, contact the Wheelwright Box Office at 843-349-ARTS (2787).