Zino and the Bel Aires to perform this Saturday

The 1950’s show band, Zino and the Bel Aires will be performing at the Kalispell Eagles Ballroom on Saturday, March 24 from 7-11 p.m.

The band plays the popular music from the 1950s, including rock ‘n’ roll, doo- wop, surf, teen idol, calypso and rhythm and blues. The band features Fred Jones on tenor sax, Dave Barr on drums, Kurt Weber on vocals, Tom Esch on bass, Steve Eckels on electric guitar and Matt Avanzino on vocals.

“The band’s goal is to get people dancing with songs they can sing along with,” Avanzino said.

The group was formed in 2016 around the vocal stylings of Avanzio. Eckels, who had been specializing in classical guitar and the music of opera, was so moved by Avanzino’s voice that he pulled together the rest of the musicians, purchased equipment and penned the musical arrangements.

Avanzino “Zino” is of Italian and Danish heritage. His father’s parents came from San Marco d’Urri outside Genoa, Italy, and Mom’s parents came from the farming villages around Copenhagen, Denmark. His mother had a natural ear for music and his father passed the genetic disposition for singing on to his son.

When Avanzino was an infant, he spent many hours laying underneath the family grand piano listening to his mother and family friends playing. By the time he was 8 years old, he joined the the San Francisco Boys Choru,s which was the first time he received formal musical instruction.

“Matt’s classical training and natural ability gives him an amazing range that allows him to sing music of the Beach Boys, Frankie Valley, and others,” Eckels said.

Growing up he listened to the music of mostly vocal groups especially The Coasters, Four Tops, Temptations, Platters, all the tight harmonies, plus the soul stylings of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Ray Charles.

Avanzino and his wife Kelly moved to Kalispell in 2010. Kelly was a ranger in Glacier National Park and he was offered a job teaching English at Flathead High School. The couple also have two children ages 3 and 1.

Matt Avanzino has a theatrical stage presence developed from being in school musicals and being a coach for speech and debate. The Bel Aires feature tight three-part vocals as part of their vocal ensemble.

The Eagle’s ballroom features an all wood dance floor, high ceilings and is one of the few historic ballrooms remaining in the state of Montana.