As Liss prepares the band for an upcoming concert at 7 p.m. on Aug. 27 at Bernardo Winery, he took some time to talk about the band, his goals for his musicians, and how he avoided the one sport people usually expect of someone his size.

As has been the group’s tradition for the past nine years, a special guest artist will join the band for the performance. In years past, the guests have included big names in music like Holly Hofmann, Gilbert Castellanos, Barbara Morrison and Eric Marienthal.

“Jazz on a Summer’s Day” is the name of the classic concert film shot at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. It’s also an apt description of Sunday afternoon’s concert by the Big Band Jazz Machine at the Handlery Hotel’s Terrace Garden in Mission Valley.

The Ira B. Liss Big Band Jazz Machine has been pumping up the Southern California scene since 1979, and "It’s About Time" features this large orchestra filled with top-flight soloists mining similar territory as that pioneered by the Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Rich big bands.