ZaSu Pitts Memorial Orchestra

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The ZaSu Pitts Memorial Orchestra was formed in San Francisco by Stephen Ashman, a bass-player. They recorded several LPs in the 1984-1987 time period and continue to be active. The Orchestra did not have any overt connection to ZaSu Pitts beyond the name. They applied about 15 members (mostly male instrumentalists and female singer-dancers) to producing big band sound renditions of MoTown classics and other pop music and a few original compositions. A late-1980's New Years Eve live show broadcast by KQED-TV (San Francisco) is sometimes shown on public TV in the United States.

In the late 1980s, a rift developed between Ashman and the members of Zasu Pitts who left the band en masse and formed their own similarly themed band Big Bang Beat link Ashman recruited new musicians and continued under the Zasu Pitts name.

The Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra won a Bammy Award for Best Independent Album of 1985 link

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