Friday, July 20, 2001 | 9:25 a.m.
For tenor saxophonist Carl Grove, life has been the same ol' big-band song and dance for nearly 50 years.
During the Korean War, Grove played in a band daily for troops on an aircraft carrier. In the years following, he toured with bands led by Sam Donahue, Gene Krupa and Woody Herman.
And in the 1960s, when the country and much of the world had turned to rock 'n' roll, Grove headed to Las Vegas from back East where he'd heard that legitimate musicians could get permanent gigs in the orchestra pits of showrooms.
But his allegiance to a career in music took a beating in the 1970s, when Strip shows began to switch from 18-piece orchestras to recorded accompaniment.
"That threw 800 musicians out of work overnight," Grove said. "I was forced to take a day job (in sales) to survive."
But he didn't give up on music. Instead, he formed a combo, performing part time whenever he had a chance.
Twenty-five years later the 73-year-old Grove is still holding up the big-band-era sound, playing nightclubs, lounges, reunions and military events.
On Saturday his group, the Carl Grove Combo, will perform at Charleston Heights Arts Center, home of the "floating ballroom dance floor," a suspended wooden floor for dancing.
It's a trip back to the dance-hall days: Down to their tuxedos, the musicians stay true to form as they belt out big-band, swing and jazz standards. They have more than a thousand songs in their repertoire that they can play by ear and upon request.
"We draw ... a lot of seniors, age 55 and up, who come out and dance," Grove said of the performances at Charleston Heights Arts Center, where the band performs about four times a year.
"Sometimes the name 'ballroom dance' scares people," he said. "But we get beginners, people taking lessons, people who have been dancing for years, instructors with their students."
Then, he added, "We have some people who come sit at a table ... They say they want to hear music they can't hear anywhere else.
"All of my guys are from the big-band era," Grove said of his players. "They've come up through that era."
Grove first picked up the tenor saxophone in the 1940s, taking private lessons in his hometown of Bethlehem, Pa. In 1950 he enlisted in the Navy where he attended music school. He performed with the Navy band for four years before performing in civilian bands.
In Las Vegas, a town where "every major hotel had a show band and a lounge band," Grove played in a band for "Folies Bergere" at Tropicana and "Lido de Paris" at Stardust.
Peter Urguidi, the combo's keyboard player and longtime Las Vegan, was part of a musical group that performed at Sahara, before he began playing solo at the Mint hotel (now part of the Horseshoe) dining room playing six nights a week for 15 years.
Drummer Bob Grundy worked "practically every lounge on the Strip," Grove said. "The Flamingo, Thunderbird, Desert Inn. He also played El Rancho."
And for 30 years trumpet player Dick Guider was a local school teacher who also played hotel lounges on the Strip. Recent addition to the group, singer Marsha Kay, sings everything from jazz standards to swing, Grove said.
Whether it's from Broadway, Cole Porter or Duke Ellington, Grove says the combo can play it.
"We play swing jazz, bossa nova, Latin styles (such as) rumbas, tango, cha-chas -- any kind of dance you can think of," Grove said. "We even throw in a polka if they want it."
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