No slowing down local music men

Kimberley McGee

Friday, June 15, 2001 | 9:03 a.m.

They won't stop.

And why should they? They've been rousing dancers for nearly half of a century.

Vocalist and keyboardist Joe Darro, along with saxophonist Jay Orlando, have played dance music at Las Vegas venues since the mid-1950s.

"We've still got it," Darro said.

Darro and Orlando will dazzle dancers at the Charleston Heights Arts Center Ballroom Saturday with their Las Vegas-brand of swing and big-band music.

They have performed in nearly every hotel on the Strip, including those that are dusty memories, such as the Hacienda, the Marina, the Dunes and the Landmark, as well as the hotels that rose from that dust -- including Bellagio and MGM Grand.

Joanne Lentino, center coordinator for the Charleston Heights Arts Center, first heard Darro and Orlando jam at a club on West Sahara Avenue two years ago.

"They had personality," Lentino said. "The people who were dancing were really into them. We knew we wanted them."

The Charleston Heights Arts Center has a suspended wooden dance floor. It is constructed with a pocket of air between the cement foundation and the hardwood surface so that it gives just a bit under dancers' feet.

"This is the best dance floor in town," Lentino said. "We wanted the best bands."

Darro and Orlando first played the center in October. More than 200 dancers took to the floor.

"It was a fun evening," Darro said. "We love that. Everybody had a good time, still."

That thrill of performing and watching people enjoy the music is what keeps Darro and Orlando playing local gigs after all these years.

The duo play each Sunday at the Reflection Bay Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas for the Sunday-brunch crowd.

"We still look good," Darro said. "We still swing."

"Everybody is clapping and people get up and dance in the restaurant," Orlando said. "How could I think of retiring?"

Darro started his sojourn into music in Detroit in the 1940s as a teenager. His talent brought him to the lounges of Las Vegas in 1956 to play for eager swing dancers.

Darro was sent home to Albany, N.Y., in 1959 when he was drafted by the Army, though he was not called to duty.

Orlando, however, did call Darro.

Orlando had supported himself by playing his saxophone in Detroit since he was 13. At age 20 he joined the Johnny Olen group and played at the Hacienda in the '50s.

In 1959 Orlando started his own group and needed a pianist for a gig playing Strip hotels. He had heard Darro was one of the best to play area lounges.

Unfortunately, Darro could not leave New York until the Army eliminated the red tape of his inactive duty.

Orlando found another piano player, but he and Darro had already formed a friendship that would last more than five decades.

Separately, they played with bands in Las Vegas and around the country until they finally paired up at the Marina (now the site of the MGM Grand) in the early 1980s.

"We met in the '60s," Darro said. "We played in the '80s."

And they continue to play together today.

Orlando said he won't put down his instrument as long as there's an audience. "I love to play," he said. "I couldn't think of retiring. There's a lot of heart in music and people love it."

And you can't take that away from him.