The Palomar

Big Band Chronology (Nov 14 - 20)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Nov 14

Singer Matha "Liltin' Miss" Tilton was born in Corpus Christi, Tx, 1915. An audition at a local radio station led to work singing at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove, followed by a stint touring with Hal Grayson's band. In 1937, she was singing with a popular vocal quartet called "Three Hits and a Miss" that was hired for Benny Goodman's "Camel Caravan" radio program. As a featured vocalist with Goodman from 1937 to 1939, Ms. Tilton recorded more than 80 songs, among them the definitive version of Ziggy Elman and Johnny Mercer's And the Angels Sing. She also received ovations after singing Loch Lomond and Bei Mir Bist Du Schon at the band's Carnegie Hall concert on Jan. 16, 1938.

During a series of recording sessions on Nov 14, 20, and 22, 1944, Tommy Dorsey records On the Sunny Side of the Street (v The Sentimentalsts) and Sy Oliver's Opus No. 1. Other charts recorded during these sessions include I Dream of You (v Freddy Stewart), Like someone in Love (v Bonnie Lou Williams), I Should Care (v Wiliams & The Sentimentalsts), Sleigh Ride in July (v Williams), Please Don't Say No (v Stewart), Your Driving Me Crazy (v The Sentimentalsts), and More and More (v Williams).

Band Roster

Trumpets: Vito Mangano, George Seaberg, Dale Pierce, Roger Ellick
Trombones: Tommy Dorsey, Nelson Riddle, Walter Benson, Colin Satterwhite
Reeds: Sid Cooper, Buddy De Franco, Bruce Branson, Gail Curis, Al Klink
Rhythm: Milt Golden (p), Rober Bain (g), Sid Block (b), Joseph Park (tuba), Buddy Rich (d)
Strings: 9 strings
Vocal: Bonnie Lou Williams, Freddy Stewart, The Sentimentals

Nov 15

Drummer Gus Johnson was born in Tyler, Tx 1913. Played with Jay Mcshann, Earl Hines, and Count Basie.

Cootie williams leaves Ellington to join Benny Goodman.

Dorsey Brothers record Sandman, 1934. Other charts recorded in that session include Apache, It's Dark on Observatory Hill, and Blame it on My Youth.

Band Roster not availble for session. In August of 1934 the band had the following:

Trumpet: George Thow or Jerry Neary
Trombone: Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Don Mattison
Reeds: Jimmy Dorsey (as, cl), Jack Stacey (as), Skeets Herfurt (ts)
Rhythm: Bob Van Epps (p), Roc Hillman (g), Delmar Kaplan (b), Ray McKinley (d)
Vocals: Bob Crosby, Kay Weber

Nov 16

In 2 sessions on Nov. 16 and Dec. 10, 1945, Woody Herman records Wild Root, Atlanta, G.A., Everybody Knew But Me, Let It Snow, and Blowin' Up a Storm.

Band Roster

Trumpets: Irving Lewis, Shorty Rogers, Neal Hefti, Sonny Berman, Pete Candoli,
Trombones: Bill Harris, Ralph Pfiffner, Ed Kiefer
Reeds: woody Herman (cl), Sam Marowitz, John La Porta, Flip Phillips, Mickey Folus, Skippy de Sair
Rhythm: Tony Aless (p), Billy Bauer (g), Chubby Jackson (b), Don Lamond (d), Marjorie Hyams (vibes)
Vocal: Frances Wayne

Nov 17

Trumpeter Shorty Sherock was born in Minneapolis, Mn., 1915. Played with Jimmy Dorsey, Gene Krupa, Sam Donahue, and Nelson Riddle.

Sam Donahue records Sax-O-Boogie, 1947.

Nov 18

Bix Beiderbecke records for the first time with Paul Whiteman, 1927. Bix solos on Washboard Blues. Other soloists and members of the orchestra included:

Andy Secrest (tp), Tommy Dorsey (tb, tp), Jimmy Dorsey (cl, as, tp), Izzy Friedman (cl), Frankie Traumbauer (as), Min Liebrook (bass Sax), Carl Kress (g), Eddie Lang (g), Joe Venuti (v), Matty Malneck (v), Hoagy Carmichael (vocals)

Nov 19

Bandleader Harry Freidland, better known as The Blue Barron (sometime King of the Mickey Mouse Bands) born Cleveland, 1913. His hits include Cruising Down the River (1948), Let Me In (1951), and You Walked By (1941).

Ella Fitzgerald, 18, records My Last Affair, 1936 with a band called Ella Fitzgerald and Her Savoy Eight. Other charts recorded include Organ Grinder's Skill, Shine, and Darktown Strutters Ball.

Band Roster

Taft Johnson (tp), Sandy Williams (tb), Pete Clark (cl & bar), Teddy McRae (ts), Tommy Fulford (p), John Trueheart (g), Beverly Peer (b), chik Webb (d), ella Fitzgerald (v).

Stan Kenton records Artistry in Rhythm 1943. Other charts recorded in that session include Harlem Folk Dance, Do Nothing Till you Hear from Me, and Eager Beaver.

Band Roster

Trumpet: Karl George, Buddy hilders, John Carroll, Ray Borden, Dick Morse
Trombones: Harry Forbes, Bart Varsalona, George Faye
Reeds: Eddie Mysers (as), Art Pepper (as), Red Dorris (ts), Maurice Beeson (ts), Bob Gioga (bs)
Rhythm: Stan Kenton (p), Joe Vernon (d), Bob Ahern (g), Clyde Singleton (b)

Trombonist, trumpeter and bandleader Tommy Dorsey, "The Sentimenal Gentleman of Swing", was born in Shenadoah, Pa. 1905.

Chick Webb records Blue Lou, 1934. Other charts recorded in tha session include Its Over Because We're Through, Don't Be That Way, and What a Shuffle.

Band Roster

Trumpets: Mario Bauza, Bobby Stark, Taft Jordon
Trombones: Sandy Williams, Claude Jones
Reeds: Pete Clark, Edgar Sampson, Elmer Williams, Wayman Carver
Rhythm: Joe steele (p), John Trueheart (bjo, g), Chick Webb (d), John Kirby (b)
Vocals: Taft Jordon, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Linton

Nov 20

Les Brown records Sentimental Journey with Doris Day on vocals, 1944.

Vocalist June "Misty Miss" Christy was born Shirley Luster in Springfield, Il., 1925. After graduating from high school she headed to Chicago, where she landed a job with progressive jazz orchestra leader Boyd Raeburn and changed her name to Sharon Leslie. In 1945 She Joined Stan Kenton's band and changed her name to June Christy. Her hits with Kenton include Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy, the million-selling Tampico in 1945, and How High the Moon. Tampico was Kenton's biggest-selling record.

Big Band Chronlogy (Nov 7 - 13)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:32:00 +0000

Nov 7

Trumpet and flugelhorn player Milton "Shorty" Rogers, 70, dies in LA, 1994. Rogers played with Will Bradley, Red Norvo, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton. He was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz.

Trumpeter Al Hirt was born in New Orleans. After the World War II, Hirt played for Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Ina Ray Hutton, and Horace Heidt.

Nov 8

Singer Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer In Kansas City, 1927. She sang with Claude Thornhill, Stan Kenton, and Jerry Wald.

Trombonist Keg Johnson, 58, died in Chicago 1967. Played with Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Carter, and Cab Calloway.

Glenn Miller records Fresh as a Daisey (v - Hutton, Lothrop, Beneke), Isn't That Just Like Love (v - Lathrop), Along the Santa Fe Trail (v - Eberle), and Do You Know Why (v - Eberle) 1940.

Band Roster

Trumpets: Billy May, Ray Anthony, Johnny Best, Dale McMickle
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank D'Annolfo
Reeds: Hal MIntyre (as), Ernie Caceres (as,bar,cl), Wilbur Schwartz (cl,as), Tex Beneke (ts), Al Klink (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Jack Lathrop (g), Herman Trigger Albert (b), Maurice Purtill (d)

Nov 9

Trumpeter and cornetist Francis Joseph Julian "Muggsy" Spanier was born in Chicago, 1906. Proponent of Dixieland.

Nov 10

Trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and arranger, Billy May was born in Pittsburgh 1913. May arranged Ray Noble's Cherokee for Charlie Barnet which became Barnet's biggest hit, and a key inspiration for bebop (Charlie Parker's Ko-ko is based on the changes in Cherokee). May rewrote the entire Barnet book from scratch after the original music burned in the Palomar Theatre fire in October 1939. May composed with Barnet the satirical chart The wrong Idea which lampooned sweet bands especially targeting Sammy Kay. In 1940, Glenn Miller hired May as an arranger and trumpet player. In the 50's May formed his own orchestra. May developed "slurping saxophones" sound--a glissando at the beginning of each phrase. He eventually sold the rights to the band and its book to Ray Anthony.

Lionel Hampton records Midnight Sun, 1946

Midnight Sun
Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra

Nov 11

Pianist, singer, and composer Hoagy Carmichael is born in Bloomington, In, 1899. He is best known for writing Stardust (1927), Georgia On My Mind, and Heart and Soul, three of the most-recorded American songs of all time.

Claude Thornhill records a Sunday Kind of Love in 1946. Fran Warren is on vocals.

Nov 12

Trumpet player and arranger, Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton was born in Parsons, Ks, 1911. He played with Basie from 1937-1943.

Alto saxophonist, Charlie Mariano was born in Boston, 1923. He played with San Kenton.

Nov 13

Benny Goodman records Eddie Sauter's Benny Rides Again 1940. Other charts recorded in that session include Nobody, Henderson Stomp, and The Man I Love.

Band Roster

Trumpets: alec Fila, Jimmy Maxwell, Irving Goodman, Cootie Williams
Trombones:Lou MGarity, Re Gingler
Reeds: Benny Goodman (cl), Gus Bivona, Skippy Martin, Bob Snyder, Georgie Auld, Jack Henderson
Rhythm: Bernie Leighton or Fletcher Henderson (p), Mike Bryan (g), Artie Bernstein (b), Harry Jaeger (d)

Bandleader and pianist Bennie Moten was born in Kansas City, 1894. In 1929 when Moten recruited Count Basie, Walter Page and Oran 'Hot Lips' Page for his band te Kansas City Orchestra.When Moten died in 1935 after a surgical procedure, the band unsuccessfully attempted to stay together. Then Basie formed a new band, which included many Moten alumni.

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
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The Original Bands - In Stereo

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:10:00 +0000

Most of us who were born too late to have heard the original big bands in person have long ago become accustomed to the narrow sound of most 78s. We try to imagine what it must have sounded like to hear the music as it was meant to be. Processes such as CEDAR and other filtering techniques can do a lot to fill missing bits of the sound spectrum, but it's almost impossible to artificially take apart the old monaural sound tracks and put them back together as stereo.

It's not for want of trying - almost from the day that electrical sound transmission was developed, engineers tried to give some sort of depth to the process. Schemes ranged from banks of microphones and speakers to the primitive stereo LP's developed by Bell Labs in the early 1930s.

For a number of reasons none of these experiments ever became commercially viable. It took the great Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Leopold Stokowski to help create the first generally available stereo recording. He realized that even if stereo records weren't practical, movie film was. Nothing prevented adding another sound track, or even tracks, so long as the playback equipment was available. Optical film tracks were also able to capture a far wider frequency range than discs. As we all know, the result was the "Fantasound" system on which he and the Fabulous Philadelphians recorded the soundtrack to Walt Disney's groundbreaking Fantasia. But in spite of being as much of a technical leap as CDs were from vinyl, Fantasound was prohibitively expensive for all except the largest theatres.

Even though Fantasound didn't work out, both Fox and MGM realized that a simplified version of it could improve film sound quality at a lower cost. Instead of putting stereo playback equipment in every theatre, they made multi-track recordings on their sound stage. The sound engineers then replayed the master tracks as many times as needed to create an optimum mono mix that could be presented anywhere.

And that's where the big bands come in. Through a happy accident of history, Fox and MGM began stereo recording just about the same time that several top bands were appearing in full-length musicals. Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, and Artie Shaw all put their orchestras on the studios' multi-mike stages.

Moonlight Serenade/I Know Why (Stereo)
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
Pat Friday, John Payne, and The Modernaires (Vocalists)
From Sun Valley Serenade (1941)
Twentieth-Century Fox
The Original Glenn Miller Orchestra In True Stereo
Viper's Nest VN-157 (1994)

The only problem for us some two-thirds of a century later is that the masters were thought of as intermediate steps that didn't necessarily have to be preserved so no one went out of their way to save them. But that neglect meant no one really went out of their way to destroy the masters either. Over the last couple of decades a tantalizing number of them have been found and restored. It's once again possible to hear at least a few examples of how those great bands sounded in full-dimensional, near-high fidelity.

Here are links to a few of the recordings available on George's site as well as YouTube. For the techies among us, MGM's system of track synchronization was far better than Fox's. You may hear bits of what's called "phase shift" in a couple of places on I Know Why, but that shouldn't detract from just how incredible it is to listen to the bands as they were meant to be heard.

Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade and I Know Why

Tommy Dorsey - Fascinatin' Rhythm
Here are three more songs that demonstrate big bands in stereo:

It Happened in Sun Valley
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

Song of India
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra

Theme/Well, Git It!
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra

Jeff Karpinski
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Email Me

Big Band Chronology (Oct 31 - Nov 6)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:26:00 +0000

Oct 31

Stardust was first recorded as an up-tempo instrumental by Hoagy Carmichael in 1927. The band which consisted of the Emil Seidel Orchestra and the Dorsey brothers appeared on the record label as Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals. In 1929, Mitchell Parish wrote the lyrics for the piece. Although a slow version of the song was recorded in 1928, it wasn't until Isham Jones recorded it on May 16, 1930 that it became a ballad.
Stardust - performed by Glenn Miller, Spanky and Her Gang, and Bobby Byrne

Nov 2

Trumpeter and bandleader, Bunny Berigan was born in Hilbert Wisconsin, 1908. In the early 1930's, he played with Fred Rich, FreddyMartin , Ben Selvin, Paul Whiteman, Abe Lyman, the Dorsey Brothers, and Glenn Miller's earliest recording dae. In 1935, Berigan joined Benny Goodman's orchestra, and was with Goodman at the Palomar Ballroom gig which is considered the start of the swing era. Berigan left Goodman to spend some time with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra; his solo on the Dorsey hit "Marie" became one of his signature performances.

In 1937, Berigan assembled a band to record under his name, picking the then-little known Ira Gershwin/Vernon Duke composition I Can't Get Started. Berigan's business troubles drove him to declare bankruptcy in 1940 and re-join Tommy Dorsey for a brief period before leaving to form a new small group to play mostly one-night stands.

Arranger and composer, Johnny Richards was born Juan Ricardo Cascales,in Querétaro, Mexico, 1911. He arranged for Stan Kenton in the 1950's. Richards composed the music for Young at Heart (1953) made famous by Frank Sinatra.

Nov 3

Glenn Miller records String of Pearls, 1941. Other charts recorded in that session include Humpty Dumpty Heart (v Eberle), Ev'rything I Love (v Eberle), Day Dreaming (v Eberle and the Modernaires), Long Tall Mama and Baby Mine (v Eberle)

Band Roster:

Trumpets: Billy May, Alec Fila, Dale McMickle, Johnny Best
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Jimmy, Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank, D'Annolfo
Reeds: Tex Beneke (lead as), Ernie Caceres (as, cl, bar), Wilbur Schwartz (cl, as), Irving Babe Russin (ts), Al Klinck (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Bobby Hacket (g, cornet), Doc Goldberg (b), Maurice Purtill (d)

Woody Herman debuts as a band leader at the Roseland in Brooklyn, 1936.

Nov 4

Pianist Ralph Sutton was born in Hamburg, Missouri 1922. Played with Jack Teagarden.

Nov 5

Frank Sinatra cuts I've Got a Crush on You wit Bobby Hacket, 1947

Guy Lombardo, 75, dies 1977 ending 50 years of "the sweetest music this side if heaven."

Glenn Miller has his first coast-to-coast radio broadcast (WJZ network line via WBZ over NBC) 1937.

Glenn Miller records Indian Summer (v Eberle), 1939. Other charts recorded include It Was Written in the Stars (v Eberle) and Johnson Rag.

Band Roster

Trumpets: Clyde Hurley, Legh Knowles, Dale McMickle, Johnny Best
Trombones: Glenn Miller Al Mastren, Paul Tanner, Tommy Mack
Reeds: Hal McIntyre (as), Jimmy Abato (as, bar), Wilbur Schwartz (cl, as), Tex Beneke (ts), al Klink (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Richard Fisher (g), Rowland Bunbock (b), Maurice Purtill (d)

Nov 6

Woody Herman records first records with his new band Nov 6/11 1936. Charts recorded include Wintertime Dreams, The Goose Hangs High, Someone to Care for Me, I Can't Pretend, Now that Summer is Gone and Old Fashion Swing.

Band Roster

Trumpets: Clarence Willard, Kermit Simmons, Joe Bishop (Fluegelhorn)
Trombones: Neal Reid
Reeds: Woody Herman (cl, vocal), Jack ferrier, Deane Kinkaide, saxie Manfield, Bruce Wilkins
Strings: Nick Hupfer (v)
Ryhthm: Tommy Linehan (p), Oliver Mathewson (g), Walt Yoder (b), Frank Carlson (d)

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
Email Me

Tuxedo Junction's Juke Box Pages

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:06:00 +0000

Juke Box Saturday Night
Larry O'Brien and The Glenn Miller Orchestra
with Nick Hilscher, Julia Rich, and The Moonlight Serenaders
In recent months, I have been building Juke Box Pages for our sister big band site, Tuxedo Junction. You'll now find nearly 50 of these Pages. Links to them appear in our sidebar on the left -- just scroll down. You'll also find them on these two Tuxedo Junction Pages:

Welcome Page - http://tuxjunction.net/welcome.htm

Juke Box Page - http://tuxjunction.net/jukebox.htm

Our Juke Box Pages allow you to play any song you wish. All you have to do is click the "Play" button. As you explore our Juke Box Pages, you'll find a variety of big bands and vocal groups -- and hundreds of songs!

Our Playlist Pages worked differently. Just sit back, relax, and listen to the songs play automatically, one after another. You'll find links to more than 60 Playlist Pages on this Page:

Playlist Pages - http://tuxjunction.net/playlistpages.htm

Finally, we have a separate Playlists Page on Tuxedo Junction that allows you to hear one Playlist after another. This Page has four FlashWidgetz Players each containing a variety of Playlists. Moreover, you'll find these four FlashWidgetz Players near the bottom of this page!

It will take you weeks, if not months, to listen to all of the music. Enjoy these pages when you can. Take your time! There is no hurry!

By the way, October 19th marked the ninth anniversary of Tuxedo Junction. I launched it because I knew from web surfing that there were many others on the Internet who shared my love of big band music, the Swing Era. Visitors to Tuxedo Junction come from all over the world. They live in more than 55 nations. I've met a few in person and have received emails from countless more who enjoy Tuxedo Junction and The Palomar.

Thank you for making our sites so popular!

George Spink
Moderator - The Palomar
Los Angeles, California
Email Me

Big Band Chronology (Oct 24 - 30)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:15:00 +0000

Oct 24

Trumpeter Edawad Farley and Mike Riley record their composition The Music Goes Round and Round, 1935. Lyrics were provided by Red Hodson. Tommy Dorsey recorded the hit in 1936. The song was later used that year in a the musical interlude for the Columbia movie "The Music Goes 'Round". The New York Times wrote: "If we really wanted to be nasty about it, we could say that this Farley-Riley sequence is the best thing in the new picture. At least it makes no pretense of being anything but a musical interlude dragged in by the scruff of its neck to illustrate the devastating effect upon the public of some anonymous young busybody's question about the workings of a three-valve horn."

Double bassist Wendell Marshall was born in St. Louis, 1920. After World War II, Marshall played with Stuff Smith and Mercer Ellington. From 1948 to 1955, he played with Duke Ellington.

Oct 25

Composer, bandleader, Bassist Chubby Jackson was born in New York City 1918. Jackson performed and/or recorded with Louis Armstrong, Raymond Scott, Jan Savitt, Henry Busse, Charlie Barnet, Oscar Pettiford, Charlie Ventura, Lionel Hampton, Bill Harris, Woody Herman, Gerry Mulligan and others. He is perhaps best known for his spirited work both with the Herman bands, and as a leader of his own bands, big and small. Jackson composed Northwest Passage for Woody Herman.

Tuba and bass player, violinist, and music educator Major Holley died in Maplewood, NJ, 1990. He played with Woody Herman and Ellington. Holley also taught at Berklee College of Music.

Oct 26

Saxophonist and bandleader, Charlie Barnet was born in New York City, 1913. Although he began his recording career in October, 1933, Charlie Barnet was at the height of his popularity between 1939 and 1941, a period that began with his hit version of Cherokee, written by Ray Noble and arranged by Billy May. In 1944, Barnet had another big hit with Skyliner. In 1947, he started to switch from swing music to bebop. During his swing period his band included Buddy DeFranco, Roy Eldridge, Neal Hefti, Lena Horne, Barney Kessel, Dodo Marmorosa, Oscar Pettiford, and Art House, while later versions of the band included Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, and Clark Terry. Trumpeter Billy May was an arranger in the Charlie Barnet Orchestra before joining Glenn Miller in 1940. He was one of the first bandleaders to integrate his band; the year is variously given as 1935 or 1937. Barnet was an outspoken admirer of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In 1939, Basie once lent Barnet his charts after Barnet's had been destroyed in a fire at the Palomar Ballroom in Los Angeles.

Throughout his career he was an opponent of syrupy arrangements. In the song The Wrong Idea, he lampooned the "sweet" Big Band sound of the era.

Adelaide Hall records Creole Love Call with Ellington, 1927.

Band Roster:

Trumpets: Bubber Miley, Louis Metcalf
Trombones: Joe "Trick Sam" Nanton
Reeds: Rudy Jackson (ts, cl), Otto Hardwick (as), Harry Carney (bs)
Rhythm: Duke Ellington (p), Fred Guy (bjo), Billy taylor (b), Sonny Greer (d)
Vocals: Adelaide Hall

Oct 27

Bandleader and saxophonist Boyd Raeburn was born in Faith, SD 1913. In the 30's the band started out as a traditional orchestra. In 1942, Raeburne started transforming the band into a jazz orchestra.

Oct 28

Trombonist Bill Harris was born in Philadelphia 1916. Early in his career, Harris performed with Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, and Eddie Condon. He is renowned for his broad, thick tone and quick vibrato that remained for the duration of each tone. He went on to join Woody Herman's First Herd in 1944. He was also in the Four Brothers Second Herd during the late 1940s, and he worked with Herman again in the 1950s.

Oct 29

Woody Herman passes away on October 29, 1987.

Trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader Neal Hefti was born in Hastings, Nebraska, 1922. In 1942, Hefti played with Charlie Barnet for whom he wrote the classic arrangement of Skyliner. He played with Charlie Spivak in 1943. After playing with Horace Heidt in Los Angeles for a few months in 1944, Hefti met up with Woody Herman and joined the progressive First Herd band as a trumpeter. He composed and arranged some of First Herd's most popular recordings, including two of the band's finest instrumentals: Wild Root and The Good Earth. He also wrote band favorites such as Apple Honey, Blowin' Up a Storm, and a magnificent arrangement of Happiness is a Thing Called Joe that featured Frances Wayne on vocal.

October 30

Woody Herman cuts first vocals with Isham Jones, 1935.

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
Email Me

Big Band Chronology (Oct 17 - 23)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:56:00 +0000

Oct 17

Drummer William Randolph "Cozy" Cole was born in 1909 in East Orange, New Jersey. His first music job was with Wilber Sweatman in 1928. In 1930, he played for Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, recording an early drum solo on Load of Cole. Cole spent 1931–33 with Blanche Calloway, 1933-34 with Benny Carter, 1935-36 with Willie Bryant, 1936-38 with Stuff Smith's small combo, and 1938-42 with Cab Calloway. In 1942, he was hired by CBS Radio music director Raymond Scott as part of network radio's first mixed-race orchestra. After that Cole played with Louis Armstrong's All Stars.

Oct 18

I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra

Tommy Dorsey cuts his theme song I'm Getting Sentimental Over You, 1935. Other charts recorded in this session include: Now You've Got Me Doing It, I've Got a Note, It's Written in the Stars, and One Umbrella for Two.

Band Roster:
Trumpets: Andy Ferretti, Sterling Bose, Bil Graham, Cliff Weston
Trombones: Tommy Dorsey, Ben Pickering, Dave Jacobs
Reeds: Sid Stoneburn, Noni Bernardi, Clyde Rounds, Johnny Van Eps
Rhythm: Paul Mitchelll (p), Mac Cheikes, (g), Gene Traxler (b), Sam Rosen (d)
Vocals: Edythe Wright

Singer Anita Belle Colton better known as Anita O'Day was born in Chicago, 1919. She sang with Gene Krupa recording 34 sides including Let Me Off Uptown, a novelty duet with Roy Eldridge, that became her first big hit. When Krupa's band broke in 1943, O'Day briefly joined Woody Herman . She joined Stan Kenton's band in April 1944 recording 21 sides. And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine became a huge seller and put Kenton's band on the map. She also appeared in one soundie with Kenton, performing I'm Going Mad for a Pad and Tabby the Cat. In 1945 she rejoined Krupa's band and stayed almost a year.

Oct 19

Bob Crosby records I'm Free (later renamed What's New?), 1938. During a three-day recording session the following charts were also recorded: What Have you Got that Gets Me, You're Lovely Madame, Two Sleepy People, Wait to My Heart Finds Out, Deep in a Dream, Hurry Home, Honky Tonk Train Blues, I'm Prayin' Humble, Swingin' A the Sugar Bowl, Diga Diga Do (pts 1 & 2), Summertime and My Inspiration.

Band Roster:

Trumpets: Zeke Zachery, Sterling Bose, Billy Butterfield
Trombones: Ward Silloway, Warren Smith
Reeds: Irving Fazola (cl), Matty Matlock, Gil Rodin, Joe Kearns, Eddie Miller
Rhythm: Bob Zurke (p), Nappy Lamare (g), Bob Haggart (b), Ray Baudauc
Vocals: Bob Crosby, Marion Mann

Band Leader Isham Jones, 62, dies in Hollywood, 1956.

Oct 20

Trumpeter Johnny Best was born Shelby, NC, 1913. In the 30's, Best played with Les Brown, Charlie Barnet, and Artie Shaw (1937-39), then joined Glenn Miller's orchestra from 1939 to 1942. He spent a short time with Bob Crosby before serving in the Navy during World War II playing in Shaw's military band in 1942-43 and Sam Donahue's in 1944-45. Following a stint with Benny Goodman in 1945-46, he relocated to Hollywood, where he worked with Crosby again on radio from 1946-51 and played in many studio big bands in the late 1940s and 1950s. He did a tour with Billy May in 1953 and led his own group locally later in the decade. In 1964 he toured Japan with Crosby, and joined Ray Conniff for worldwide tours in the 1970s.

Trumpeter Ray Linn was born in Chicago 1920. Linn played with Tommy Dorsey (1938-41) and Woody Herman (1941-42). He would return to play with Herman again several times, in 1945, 1947, and 1955-59. In the 1940s he spent time with Jimmy Dorsey (1942-45), Benny Goodman (1943, 1947), Artie Shaw (1944-46), and Boyd Raeburn (1946).

Glenn Miller records Dreamsville, Ohio (v Eberle, Moderaires), Papa Niccolini (v Eberle, Beneke, Modernaires), Jingle Bells (v Beneke, Caceres, Modernaires), This is no Laughing Matter (v Eberle), 1941

Band Roster:
Trumpets: Billy May, Alec Fila, Dale McMickle, Johny Best
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank D'Annolfo
Reeds: Benny Feman (as), Ernie Caceres (as, bar, c), Wilbur Schwartz (as, c), Tex Beneke (ts), Al Klink (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Bobby Hacket (g, Cornet), Doc Goldberg (b), Maurice Purtill (d)

Oct 21

Trumpeter John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie, cofounder of Bop, was born in Cheraw, SC 1917. Gillespie joined Teddy Hill's orchestra in 1937.In 1939, Gillespie joined Cab Calloway's orchestra, with which he recorded one of his earliest compositions, the instrumental Pickin' the Cabbage, in 1940. He left Calloway in late 1941 over a notorious incident with a knife. Dizzy then freelanced with a few bands - most notably Ella Fitzgerald's orchestra, composed of members of the late Chick Webb's band, in 1942. In 1943, Gillespie joined the Earl Hines orchestra.

Jan Savitt records Quaker City Jazz, 1938.

Tenor saxman Don Byas was born in Muskogee, OK, 1912. Played with Lionel Hampton, Don Redman, Andy Kirk, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter. His big break came in 1941 when Count Basie chose him to succeed the post of Lester Young in his big band.

Benny Goodman records Clarinet Ala King, 1941. Other charts recorded in that session include Let's Do It, Shady Lady Bird, and Buckle Down Winsocki.

Trumpets: Cootie Williams, Jimmy Maxwell, Billy Butterfield Al Davis
Trombones: Lou McGarity, Bob Cutshall
Reeds: Benny Goodman (cl), Skippy Martin, Clint Neagly, Vido Musso, Charles Gentry, George Berg
Rhythm: Mel Powell (p), Tom Morganelli (g), Sid Weiss (b), Ralph Collier (d).
Vocals: Peggy Lee

Oct 22

Benny Goodman records Popcorn Man with Martha Tilton on vocals, 1937. Popcorn Man became one of the rarest of all Benny Goodman recordings when it was recalled shortly after its release. The reason for the recall is obscure for there was nothing wrong with the lyrics, but possibly less than a dozen copies of the record escaped being destroyed. Other charts recorded were Can't Teach My Old Heart Knew Tricks (v Martha Tilton) and I've Hitched My Wagon to a Star (v Tilton).

Band Roster

Trumpet: Gordon Griffin, Harry James, Ziggy Elman
Trombones: Murray McEachern, Red Ballard
Reeds: Benny Goodman (cl), Hymie Schertzer (as), George Koenig (as), Arthur Rollini (ts), Vido Musso (ts)
Rhythm: Jess Stacey (p), Allen Reuss (g), Gene Krupa (d)
Vocals: Marta Tilton

Arranger, composer, pianist Ralph Yaw was born in Enosburg Falls, Vt., 1898. Yaw wrote arrangements for a great many swing-era bandleaders during the '30s and '40s, including Isham Jones, Cab Calloway, Eddie Barefield, Count Basie, and Les Brown, but Yaw is best-known for his work with Stan Kenton, for whom he wrote and arranged in the early '40s. Kenton put together his first band in 1941; from the beginning, it was an "arranger's band" and Yaw took advantage. He was (along with Kenton himself) responsible for much of that early band's book, arranging and composing dozens of original pieces for the band, including the notable Two Moods.

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
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What Does It Take To Be A Musician?

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 03:39:00 +0000

George Spink
Moderator - The Palomar
Los Angeles, California
Email Me

The Benny Goodman Trio

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:44:00 +0000

Mildred Bailey, the Rocking Chair Lady and her husband Red Norvo the celebrated vibraphonist with The Paul Whiteman orchestra were having a jam session at their home in Queens, New York one evening in 1935. Some of the guests included pianist Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman and several other rather well-known jazz artists.

Earlier in the fall of 1934, Mildred had recorded some records in an all-star session with Benny Goodman's studio band at Columbia Records that featured Coleman Hawkins. They had their first Top Ten hit with "Ol' Pappy”!

This jam session was the first opportunity that Goodman and pianist Teddy Wilson had an opportunity to play together. Goodman later explained, "That night, Teddy and I began to play as though we were thinking with the same brain. It was a real kick." [1]

Shortly after their experiment at Mildred and Red’s home Benny invited Teddy Wilson to join him and Gene to form a trio and by 1935, Benny and his newly formed trio had created a new style of "chamber jazz" music with brilliant solos. The Trio took the ensemble sound of the small jazz band to a new level of precision coupled with an excitement that attracted a new audience to jazz.”
Body and Soul
The Benny Goodman Trio

Ron Hockett a member of Benny’s regular band remarked, "Benny liked the trio's transparent, light musical texture. He envisioned the group as something more for listening than just for dancing." Benny liked to alternate the Trio with the band between sets which he felt allowed him more freedom to experiment. [1]

Late in Dec 1927 Gene was setting up his drums in Chicago’s Okeh recording studio when he was asked by Tommy Rockwell (Okeh's 'A&R' man in the 1920s)'What are you going to do with those?'. 'Play them,' Krupa said simply. Rockwell shook his head. 'You can't do that,' he said. 'You'll ruin our equipment.”

Thus Krupa is noted to be the first drummer to record with a bass drum. By 1929 Gene was recruited by Red Nichols to play along with Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller in George Gerschwin’s “Strike Up The Band”. Gene played in several other big name bands before hooking up with Benny Goodman in 1934. [4]

Gene joined Benny’s band with the promise that it would be a real jazz band. Soon their plans fizzled and they were stuck with playing dance music across the country! That is until their last stop at the Palomar Ballroom on August 21, 1935 in Los Angeles. Benny was considering packing it in when Krupa said "If we're gonna die, Benny, let's die playing our own thing." The audience went wild and the band took off. The rest is history!

We first find Teddy in Detroit in 1929 with Speed Webb’s band but by ’31 he has moved on to Chicago. In 1933 he is recording with Louis Armstrong, Jimmie Noone and the great Benny Carter.

In 1935 Teddy gets an invitation to play in an informal jam session with Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa, Wilson became an original member of the Benny Goodman Trio one of the first racially integrated groups in popular music.

John Hammond who had helped Benny and many others during the Swing Era produced a series of small-group recordings (1935–42) including classic series with Billie Holiday and with Mildred Bailey. [3]

Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson were the foundation of all the small ensembles. Working together as a team in the Goodman Trio for over ten years, Benny Goodman and Teddy Wilson made over 100 recordings together.

The trio was just one of the many legacies left us by the King of Swing!

Spencer "Wolf" Smartt
Dallas, Texas
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[1] Riverwalk Jazz
[2] Benny Goodman
[3] Teddy Wilson
[4] Gene Krupa

Back at the Top of the Charts

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:00:00 +0000

Suppose you peeked at the pop music section of your local newspaper and found that, as an honor to our servicemen and -women, the songs at the top of the charts were American Patrol and Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition - and even more fantastic, Glenn Miller and Kay Kyser were still with us and making public appearances! Believe it or not, something like that happened in Britain this month: the top album in the UK is Dame Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again, and at the grand age of 92 she's making the rounds of television and concerts.

Dame Vera then. . . . . . and now . . .

If you watch this short interview it's clear she never thought she'd become an icon of the World War II era, much less a living legend. Like many artists she started her career as a child, but a young "canary" (as they were called in those un-PC times) could have done far worse than appearing with the Joe Loss Orchestra by the age of 17, then moving on to Bert Ambrose's band. By 1940 she had her own radio show - or should I use the UK term "programme"? - Sincerely Yours, where she performed songs requested by the troops. She also traveled as far a way as Egypt and Burma to sing for the soldiers in person.

Her signature song, the one we Yanks know best, came out in 1942 when she recorded We'll Meet Again, featured in the film of the same name. It was a song both of hope and loss; for all too many "Don't know where, don't know when" wouldn't be at Southampton but instead in the hands of the Lord.

Following the war she enjoyed a continued level of popularity matched by few other popular singers. As late as 1967 she was in the UK Billboard Top 10 alongside the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and her latest return to that peak gives her the distinction of having the longest timespan of any Top-10 performer in the history of the charts.

So hats off to Dame Vera. We love you!

Jeff Karpinski
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Email Me

WE'LL MEET AGAIN - Vera Lynn

A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN BERKELEY SQUARE - Vera Lynn

THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER - Vera Lynn

WHEN THE LIGHTS GO ON AGAIN - Vera Lynn

YOU CAN'T BE TRUE DEAR - Vera Lynn

AUF WIEDERSEH'N, SWEETHEART - Vera Lynn

Peanuts Hucko - A Big Little Giant

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:43:00 +0000

by Henry Holloway
Occasional Contributor
The first time I met Peanuts Hucko in person was in a hotel lobby in Glasgow in November 1976. My wife-at-the-time, the internationally-renowned singer, Eve Boswell, was about two-thirds through a 40-concert series, starring with the Million Airs Concert Orchestra, in a recreation of Captain and later Major Glenn Miller's peerless AAF/AEF Orchestra, in most of the major cities in England, Scotland and Wales. Peanuts had been contracted to co-star with Eve for the final 15 concerts, starting with the one in Glasgow.

Eve and I walked up to the desk, and this short-statured man, who was signing the register, looked up as we approached. I immediately recognised him, and almost shouted out: "Peanuts !" He seemed non-plussed for a moment, but proper introductions soon settled things down.

From that moment on we spent a lot of time together for about a month, because Eve, Peanuts and I travelled in the car of Tony Wild,with his co-promoter, Doug le Vicki, making up the fifth occupant.

The concerts were fantastically successful, with the two highlights at the Royal Albert Hall in London on December 15th and the Corn Exchange in Bedford on December 21st 1976.

For the record, Miff King directed the marvellous Million Airs Orchestra, but the real genius behind it was Bryan Pendleton, who took all the Glenn Miller scores off note for note for each of the 40-odd instruments by hand and ears !

During the tour Eve, Peanuts and I started talking of him coming to South Africa for a performance tour, and it finally came to fruition in 1982.

Peanuts Hucko and Henry Holloway in 1982 upon Peanuts' arrival
at Johannesburg Airport for his South African tour.
It was so successful that Peanuts (this time with his wife, Louise Tobin) came to South Africa again in 1984. If at all possible, that second tour was even more successful than the first one.

I organised various big band and small-group concerts and the venues were packed on each occasion. Of course, Eve and Louise sang on a number of these concerts.

I worked like a slave to promote these tours, and it must be remembered that I still did my 51 part Glenn Miller series on radio in 1984, which took exhaustive research. At the end of that 1984 tour, Peanuts said to me (and I remember it vividly): "Henry, no one has ever promoted me better than you did". Coming from Peanuts, that was high praise indeed !!

Oh, I almost forgot: In 1981, Peanuts and Louise took me and my then 11-year-old daughter, Samantha, to Disneyland. Needless to say, Sam enjoyed every moment of it immensely. The humorous highlight for me was when Peanuts took me to the bandstand, where Freddy Martin and his band were playing. They were just "taking five", and Peanuts said to me: "Come with me and just watch". He walked up to Freddy, approaching him from the rear. He tapped Freddy on the shoulder, and said: "Do you play requests ?" Freddy swung around in anger, but before he could say anything, he saw that it was Peanuts, and they both broke up laughing !!!

Something else will stay with me as long as I live. In one of our largest auditoriums in Johannesburg, we held a concert featuring a big band chosen from the top men available, directed by George Hayden, with Peanuts and Eve starring. When it came to my turn to introduce Peanuts, I said: "Ladies and gentlemen, if I had to tell you this evening that our special guest here tonight played with Benny Goodman, what would you say?" The full-house crowd roared. I then said: "Or if I told you that he played with Louis Armstrong's All Stars?" Again they roared. Then I said: "Or if I told you that he was Captain and later Major Glenn Miller's star clarinet soloist?" The roar was even greater. Finally I said: "But, I am delighted to tell you that our special guest tonight was all that, and even led his own groups for many years. Mr. Michael Andrew "Peanuts" Hucko !!" Well, the roof almost came down from the roar !! And Peanuts did NOT let them down......

Just ONE thing got to him: Johannesburg is 6,000 feet above sea-level, and his reed squeeked !!! He said to me: "It's just like Denver, Colorado". But he soon sorted it out.

I can tell many many stories about Peanuts Hucko, but my space has run out. We stayed in touch until his death in 2003, always most cordially.

Muskrat Ramble - Tribute to Louis Armstrong
Peanuts Hucko, Randy Sandke, Al Grey, John Bunch
Jack Lesberg, Jake Hanna, Louise Tobin

Henry Holloway
Caledon, Cape Province, South Africa
0027-28-2122315
Henry's Web Sites:
1. Henry Holloway
2. Listen to Henry's biweekly radio show Swing Sing and All That Jazz on Fine Music Radio and Tuxedo Junction
Email Henry

Our Ted Heath Juke Box Page Is Now Online

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 06:59:00 +0000

Here's something to help you enjoy the beginning of Labor Day weekend if you live in the United States and a regular weekend elsewhere!

http://www.tuxjunction.net/jb21.htm

This is the link to our new Ted Heath Juke Box Page, where our British buddies and everyone else can enjoy 60 songs by one of the best big bands on either side of the Atlantic. Because this is a large Juke Box Page, it might take a few seconds to load on your computer depending on its age and capabilities. Give it time!

Rather than tell you more about Ted Heath here, let me direct you to two web pages that contain some relevant info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Heath_%28bandleader%29
http://www.spaceagepop.com/heath.htm

What I will say is that I've been a big fan of Ted Heath's since I first heard his music on the radio in Chicago in the 1950's. In my metal carrying case containing 100 or more 45's I bought back then are a number by Ted Heath and his Orchestra. One of them is their great version of one of my favorite songs, "Harlem Nocturne," which another British bandleader, Ray Noble, made famous in 1939.

Ted launched his great band in 1944. It remained active in England until his death at age 67 on November 12, 1969. Among my many, many Ted Heath favorites are "Sultry
Serenade," "Not So Quiet, Please," "Donegal Cradle Song," "London Bridge Is Falling Down," "Getting Nowhere," "Harlem Nocturne," "Misty," "Swinging Shepherd Blues," "Skin Deep," "Mirage," and "A Taste of Honey." You'll find all of them -- and many more -- on our Ted Heath Juke Box Page.

This music player contains 41 of these songs:

According to the Space Age web site whose link appears above, "Heath attracted many of the best performers and arrangers. Johnny Dankworth, trumpeter Kenny Baker, Stanley Black, Ronnie Scott (who went on to own the most famous jazz club in London), and Jack Parnell were among Heath's featured players. And his roster of arrangers is even more impressive: Dankworth, Johnny Keating, George Shearing (his rare ventures into arranging were for Heath), Tadd Dameron, Robert Farnon, and Roland Shaw."

You'll also find 20 sides by The Ted Heath Orchestra directed by Roland Shaw after Ted's death. I think you will agree that Shaw and the Heath band did a tremendous job playing songs associated with other big bands.

This music player contains these 20 sides:

The songs in both of these music players are in the same order they appear on our Ted Heath Juke Box Page. Check that page for the names of any songs you don't recognize. I think you will agree our Ted Heath Page is a welcome addition to Tuxedo Junction. Stop by often to enjoy it!

George Spink
Moderator - The Palomar
Los Angeles, California
Email Me

Big Band Chronology (Sept 5 - 11)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:57:00 +0000

Sept 5

Ellington records In a Mellowtone, 1940:

Also recorded in that session were Five O'clock Whistle (v -Ivie Anderson) and There Shall be No Night (v-Herb Jeffries).

Band Roster
Trumpets: Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart
Trombones:Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown
Reeds: Otto Hardwick (as), Johnny Hodges (as), Barney Bigard (cl), Ben Webster (ts), Harry Carney (bs)
Rhythm: Duke Ellington (p), Fred Guy (g), Jimmy Blanton (b) Sunny Greer (dm)
Vocals: Ivie Anderson, Herb Jeffries

Trombonist Lawrence Brown, 81, dies in Los Angeles, 1988. Brown played with Ellington 29 years.

Sept 6

Trumpeter Max Kaminsky, 85, dies in Castle Point, NY, 1994. Played with Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw in the 30's. During World War II, Kaminsky toured the Pacific with Artie Shaw's Navy band.

Benny Goodman records Sugar Foot Stomp, 1937. Other charts recorded in that session included I Can'tGive You Anything But Love (v - Martha Tilton), Bob White (v - Martha Tilton) and Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day.

Band Roster
Trumpets: Gordon Griffin, Harry James, Ziggy Elman
Trombones: Murray McEachern, Red Ballard
Reeds: Benny Goodman (cl), Hymie Schertzer (as), George Koenig (as), Arthur Rollini (ts), Vido
Musso (ts)
Rhythm Jess Stacy (p), Allan Reuss (g), Harry Goodman (b), Gene Krupa (d)
Vocals: Martha Tilton

Sept 7

Trumpeter,composer, and educator Joe Newman was born in New Orleans, 1922. In the early 40's, Newman played for Lionel Hampton and later joined Count Basie with whom Newman played on and off for 12 years.

Trumpeter Max Kaminsky was born in Brockton, Ma., 1908. See Sept 6.

Sept 8

Woody Herman, between Herds, opened with an octet at the Riveria Hotel, Las Vegas, for 3 months in 1954.

Sept 9

Charlie Spivak records Autumn Nocturne, 1941.

Sept 10

Charlie Barnet records The Duke's Idea, 1939. Other charts recorded in this session include My Heart Keeps Crying (v - Ellington), Take a Tip From The Whippoorwill (v - Ellington), Lilacs in the Rain (v - Casino), The Girl with the Pigtails in Her Hair (v - Ellington), and The Counts Idea.

Band Roster
Trumpets: Robert Burnet, Billy May, John Owens, Lyman Vunk
Trombones: Ben Hall, Don Ruppersberg, Bill Robertson
Reeds: Charlie Barnet, Kurt Bloom, Gene Kinsey, Don McCook, Skippy Martin
Rhythm: Bill Miller (p), Bus Etri (g), Phil Stephens (b), Ray Mitchels (d)
Vocals: Judy Ellington, Del Casino

Woody Herman records Blues in the Night, 1939.

Band Roster
Trumpets: Ray Linn, Cappy Lewis, Steady Nelson
Trombones: Neal Reid, Jerry Rosa, Vic Hamann
Reeds: Woody Herman (cl, v), Ray Linn, Saxie Mansfield, Sam Rubinwitch, Herbie Haymer
Rhythm: Tommy Linehan (p), Hy White (g), Walt Yoder (b), Frank Carlson (d)
Vocals: Woody Herman, Muriel Lane

Composer, band leader, pianist, engineer, recording studio maverick, and electronic instrument inventor Raymond Scott was born Harry Warnow in Brooklyn, 1908.

Sept 11

Fletcher Henderson records Big John's Special, 1934. During a 2 day session the following charts were also recorded: Limehouse Blues, Wrappin' It Up, Shanghai Shuffle, Memphis Blues, Tidal Wave, Down South Camp Meeting, and Happy as the Day is Long.

Band Roster
Trumpeter: Russell Smith, Irving Randolph, Henry Allen
Trombone: Keg Johnson, Claude Jones
Reeds: Hilton Jefferson, Russell Procope,Buster Bailey, Ben Webster
Rhythm: Flercher or Horace Henderson (p), Lawrence Lucie (g), Elmer James (b), Walter Johnson (d)

Stan Kenton makes first commercial recordings, 1941. Charts recorded include The Nango, This Love of Mine (v - Dorris), Adios, and Taboo.

Band Roster
Trumpets: Frank Beach, Chico Alvarez, Earl Collier
Trombones:Dick Cole, Harry Forbes
Reeds: Jack Ordean (as), Ted Romersa (as), Hollis Bridwell (ts), Red Dorris (ts), Bob Gioga (bs)
Rhythm: Ted Repay (p), Al Costi (g),Howard Rumsey (b),Marvin George (d)

Glenn Miller records Melancholy Lullaby (v - Eberle), 1939. Also recorded was Last Night (v -Eberle).

Band Roster
Trumpets: Clyde Hurley, Legh Knowles, Dale McMickle, Johnny Best
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Al Mastren, Paul Tanner, Walter Barrow
Reeds: Hal McIntyre (as), Gerald Yelverton (as, bs, clt), Wilbur Schwartz (as,clt), Tex Beneke
(ts), Al Klink (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Richard Fischer (g), Rowland Bundock (b), Maurice Purtill (d)
Vocals: Ray Eberle

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
Email Me

The Men Behind the Music - Axel Stordahl

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:06:00 +0000

Tommy Dorsey knew as well as any bandleader that having the best arrangers was as important to his orchestra's success as the musicians and the songs they played. The breadth of arranging talent he hired was responsible for the polish his band showed across nearly every style within the Swing genre. Among so many were Sy Oliver's punching brass, Bill Finegan's ensemble sounds, and the rich synthesis of Frank Sinatra's vocals with Axel Stordahl's charts.

If Billy Strayhorn had been born to arrange for The Duke, you could say almost the same thing about Axel Stordahl and Tommy Dorsey. It's not hard to guess that he was of Norwegian ancestry but he still had to change his given name. His parents didn't realize that while "Odd Stordahl" might be a perfectly fine name in Norway, it wasn't exactly the best moniker for a child growing up in America. Besides, can you imagine what Abbott and Costello would have done with him when they visited TD's show? "You're saying he's odd?" "No, really, he's Odd". "What do you mean he's really odd?"

He began his career as a trumpeter with several regional bands as well as a short stint singing with a group called The Three Esquires. A second member of that group was Jack Leonard and when Tommy heard them, as the saying goes, the rest was history.

Axel was all of 22 years old when he joined the Dorsey band. At first Tommy assigned him to the third-trumpet spot but it soon became clear his real talents were as an arranger. Within a short time he moved out of the trumpet section to become Tommy's lead arranger. All it took was his chart for I'm Getting' Sentimental Over You to seal his position with Tommy.
I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra

For the next few years he wrote mostly dance numbers including standouts such as Music, Maestro, Please. That changed in 1940 when Jack Leonard left and Frank Sinatra joined the band. Axel had a special touch for writing lush, sensitive arrangements that fit Sinatra's style and arguably were a major factor in making him the dream of every bobby-soxer. The Pied Pipers had joined a year earlier and together they created some of the greatest recordings of the time: This Love of Mine, Street of Dreams, Polka Dots and Moonbeams, It Started All Over Again were just a few of the dozens of sides they cut between 1940 and 1942.

Street of Dreams
Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra and The Pied Pipers

When Frank Sinatra left Tommy in 1942 (a story by itself) he took Axel Stordahl with him to Columbia Records as his music director. The Sinatra-Stordahl partnership was groundbreaking because it was effectively the first truly successful collaboration between a solo pop vocalist and a specific arranger. Axel also blossomed as a composer with hit songs such as I Should Care and Day by Day. His association with the Pied Pipers led to an even closer association with one of the "gal singers"; in 1950 he and June Hutton were married.

The partnership with Sinatra lasted until the early 1950s when Frank's career hit a low spot. He moved to Capitol Records whose management did a makeover on his style and felt that Nelson Riddle's more upbeat arrangements would be a better fit. Axel went out on his own as a conductor and composer where he did both studio and television work backing singers such as Dean Martin, Doris Day, Dinah Shore, Nanette Fabray - but not Sinatra. By the late 1950s he had picked up on a brief trend called "exotica music" and recorded what were essentially lounge songs themed to far-away destinations.

In 1961 Frank Sinatra decided to leave Capitol and move to the new Reprise label but before leaving he was obligated to record one more LP. Instead of making it a throwaway pot-boiler he asked Axel Stordahl to rejoin him for what became a wonderful collection of songs bidding farewell to his years with Capitol. The album "Point of No Return" featured songs such as It's a Blue World, Somewhere Along the Way, and I'll See You Again.

Both the theme and the title of the album proved to be sadly prophetic when Axel Stordahl was diagnosed with terminal cancer less than two years later. He continued to work till near the end, conducting one more "exotica" album and composing for television. It may not have been a great valedictory for the man who helped make Frank Sinatra's career, but a whole new generation of viewers became familiar with the name Axel Stordahl every time they saw the musical credits for "McHale's Navy".

Jeff Karpinski
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Email Me

Big Band Chronology (Aug 29 - Sept 4)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:49:00 +0000

August 29

Alto saxophonist Charlie ("Bird" or "Yardbird") Parker was born in Kansas City, 1920. In the 40's, Parker played with the Jay McShann and Earl Hines orchestras.

Bird at Birdland (March 31, 1951)

Charlie "Yardbird" Parker
The Genius of Modern Jazz
Star Eyes Charlie Parker

Singer Dinah Washington (Ruth Lee Jones), "Queen of the Blues", was born in Tuscaloosa, AL, 1924. In the early 40's, Washington sang with Lionel Hampton's band.

Destination Moon
Dinah Washington

August 30

Bebop trumpeter Kenny Dorham was born in Fairfeild, Tx, 1924. He played in the big bands of Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton and Mercer Ellington, and the quintet of Charlie Parker. He was a charter member of the original cooperative Jazz Messengers.

Oo Bop Sh'Bam - Take 1 and Take 2
Billy Eckstine and His Orchestra

Bandleader, vocalist, and disc jockey Willie Bryant, was born in New Orleans, 1908. In 1934 he put together his first big band, which at times included Teddy Wilson, Cozy Cole, Johnny Russell, Benny Carter, Ben Webster, Eddie Durham, Ram Ramirez, and Taft Jordan.

August 31

Harry James records It's Funny To Everyone but Me (v - Sinatra), 1939.

Band Roster
Trumpet: Harry James, Jack Schaefer, Claude Brown, Jack Palmer
Trombones: Russell Brown, Truett Jones
Reeds: Dave Matthews, Claude Lackey, Bill Luther, Drew Page
Rhythm: Jack Gardner (p), Bryan "Red" Kent (g), Thurman Teague (b), Ralph Hawkins (dm)
Vocals: Frank Sinatra, Connie Haines

Saxophonist, violinist, composer and arranger, Edgar "The Lamb" Sampson was born in NYC, 1907. Through the twenties and early thirties, Sampson played with many bands including those of Duke Ellington, Rex Stewart and Fletcher Henderson. In 1933 he joined the Chick Webb orchestra. His compositions include Stompin' at the Savoy, Don't Be That Way, and If Dreams come True.

Sept 1

Alto saxophonist Art Pepper was born in Gardena, Ca., 1925.He began his career in the 1940s, playing with Benny Carter and Stan Kenton (1946-52).

During the month of September,1938, Marion Hutton joined the Glenn Miller's orchestra replacing Linda Keane as vocalist.

Jazz and blues singer, Ethel Waters, 80, dies in Chatsworth, Ca., 1977.

Sept 2

Trumpeter and bandleader Phil Napoleon was born in Boston, 1901. In the 20's he formed the Original Memphis Five. Napoleon played with Jimmy Dorsey in the 40's.

Sept 3

Bassist Herman "Trigger" Alpert was born in Indianapolis, In. In the late '30s, he played with Alvino Rey. During 1940, and toured and recorded with Glenn Miller. In the 40's he also worked with Tex Beneke and did a radio program with Benny Goodman. He later recorded with Bud Freeman, Ella Fitzgerald, Muggsy Spanier, Roy Eldridge, Louis Armstrong, Ray McKinley and Bernie Leighton. Alpert later worked with Frank Sinatra, Woody Herman and Jerry Jerome in 1946 and 1947, and had recording sessions with Artie Shaw, Coleman Hawkins, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Mundell Lowe, Don Elliott, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich from 1950-1962.

Artie Shaw's Gramercy 5 records Summit Ridge Drive, 1940. Other charts recorded during this session include Special Delivery Stomp, Keepin'Myself for You, and Cross Your Heart.

Band Roster
Billy Butterfield (tp), Artie Shaw (cl), Johnny Guarnieri (harpsichord), Al Hendrickson (g), Jud De Naut (b), Nick Fatool (d).

Glenn Miller records Yesterthoughts (v Eberle), 1940. Other charts recorded in this session include Falling Leaves, Shadows in the Sand (v - Eberle), and Goodbye, Little Darlin, GoodNight (v - Eberle).

Band Roster
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank D'Annolfo
Trumpets: Charles Franhauser, Zeke Zachery, Dale McMickle, Johnny Best
Reeds: Hal McIntyre (as), Ernie Caceres (as, bar, clt), Wilbur Schwartz (as, clt), Tex Beneke (ts), Al Klink (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Jack Lathrop (g), Tony Carlson (b), Maurice Purtill (d)
Vocals: Ray Eberle,Marion Hutton, Jack Lathrop.

Glenn Miller records Dear Arabella, 1941. Other charts recorded in this session include Says Who?, Says You, Says I! (V -marion Hutton, The Modernaires, Tex Beneke), Orange Blossom Lane (v - Eberle), The Man in the Moon (v - Eberle),Ma-Ma-Maria (v - Eberle and the Modernaires)and This Time the Dream is On Me (v - Eberle).

Band Roster
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank D'Annolfo
Trumpets: Billy May, Alec Fila, McMickle, Johnny Best
Reeds: Hal McIntyre (as), Ernie Caceres (as, bar, clt), Wilbur Schwartz (as, clt), Tex Beneke (ts), Al Klink (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Bill Conway (g), Doc Goldberg (b), Maurice Purtill (d)
Vocals: Ray Eberle,Marion Hutton.

Sept. 4

Bandleader, composer and saxophonist, Charlie Barnet, 77, dies 1991. He was one of the first bandleaders to integrate his band; the year is variously given as 1935 or 1937. He was an outspoken admirer of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In 1939, Basie once lent Barnet his charts after Barnet's music had been destroyed in a fire at the Palomar Hotel in Los Angeles. Charlie Barnet's compositions include Skyliner, Southland Shuffle", Swing Street Strut, The Right Idea, The Wrong Idea with Billy May, Growlin, Scotch and Soda, Midweek Function, Oh What You Said (Are We Burnt Up?), I Kinda Like You, Tappin' at the Tappa, The Last Jump, Knocking at the Famous Door, Lazy Bug with Juan Tizol, and Ogoun Badagris (Voodoo War God).

Trumpeter, bandleader, arranger, composer, and educator Gerald Stanley Wilson was born in Shelby Ms, 1918. Wilson joined the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra in 1939, replacing its star trumpeter and arranger Sy Oliver. While with Lunceford, he contributed numbers to the band's book, including Hi Spook and Yard-dog Mazurka, the latter being a big influence on Stan Kenton's recording Intermission Riff. He has also played and arranged for the bands of Benny Carter, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie. Wilson formed his own band, with some success, in the mid-1940s.

Boogie-woogie pianist Meade Lux Lewis was born in Chicago, 1905.

Release date for Glenn Miller's movie Orchestra Wives, 1942.

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
Email Me

Check Out Our New FlashWidgetz Players!

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:24:00 +0000

Web site visitors in Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have recently told me about problems they have encountered with our Playlist.com Players on Tuxedo Junction and The Palomar.

It seems that authorities in these nations -- and perhaps others -- are restricting what can be played in these Players. When a visitor tries to play a Playlist.com Player, they receive this message: "Due to licensing restrictions, some tracks are currently unavailable for playing in your country."

Playlist.com informed me on July 29th and again on August 16th that they are working to solve this problem. Let's hope they can do so soon.

As an alternative to Playlist.com Players, I have installed FlashWidgetz Players. You'll find FlashWidgetz Players comparable to our four Playlist.com Players on our Playlists Page on Tuxedo Junction. Each contains the same songs or program files our Playlist.com Players contained. Here's the link:

http://www.tuxjunction.net/playlists.htm

On The Palomar, I have replaced the four Playlist.com Players near the bottom of this page with comparable FlashWidgetz Players. For example, here's The Palomar FlashWidgetz Player:

This Flash Player was created at FlashWidgetz.com.

I hope all of our web site visitors in Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and everywhere else are able to enjoy our FlashWidgetz Players. By all means, please let me know if you are able or unable to do so.

Remember that you also can hear music on Tuxedo Junction in many ways besides our FlashWidgetz Players:

• Playlist Pages - http://tuxjunction.net/playlistpages.htm

• Juke Box Pages - http://www.tuxjunction.net/jukebox.htm

• Many of our other web pages. All you have to do is browse around!

George Spink
Moderator - The Palomar
Los Angeles, California
Email Me

Jukebox Saturday Night 1 (1983)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:05:00 +0000

On Wednesday, Aug. 19th, I received an email from Paula Kelly, Jr., who, as you probably know, sings with The Modernaires, just as her mother and father, Paula Kelly and Hal Dickinson, did when this great vocal group sang with Glenn Miller and for many years later.

Paula wrote, "Thought you'd get a kick out of seeing this...." followed by a link to the first of 18 You Tube videos that have intrigued me ever since her email arrived.

These videos comprise Jukebox Saturday Night 1, a PBS special produced in 1983 focusing on 1930's and 1940's pop singers. The show was hosted by Eddie Albert. It featured Margaret Whiting, Jack Leonard, Helen Forrest, Herb Jeffries, Helen O'Connell, Betty Hutton, Bea Wain, Keely Smith, Bob Crosby and the Bobcats, Paula Kelly, Jr., and the Modernaires, and a spectacular orchestra conducted by Glenn Osser.

Now 1983 doesn't seem that long ago does it? I know exactly what I was doing that year and I bet you do, too. Sadly, some of the people who appeared in this video are no longer with us.... These videos give us a chance to see them again, and for some of us, to remember back to the days when you saw them in person at the height of the Swing Era for the very first time.

These videos were compiled by You Tuber stevenvz. He only goes by that handle, so I don't know his full name, but I want to thank him so much for posting and sharing these videos!

And, I want to thank Paula Kelly, Jr., for telling me about these videos!

You can whet your interest by watching the first of these 18 videos right now -- and it features Paula Kelly, Jr., and The Modernaires:
And now that you've seen the first, you can view the rest of these great videos on this web page of mine:

http://www.tuxjunction.net/jsn.htm

George Spink
Moderator - The Palomar
Los Angeles, California
Email Me

Big Band Chronology (Aug 22 - 28)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:27:00 +0000

August 22

Cootie Williams records Round Midnight, 1944. Other charts recorded in this session include Is You Is or Is You Ain't, Blue Garden Blues, and Somebody's Gotta Go.

Band roster
trumpets: Cootie Williams, Ernst Perry, Lamar Wright, George Treadwell, Thomas Stevens
Trombones: R. H. Horton, Dan Logan, Ed Burke, Ed Glover
Reeds: Eddie Vinson (as), Frank Powell (as), Lee Pope (ts), Sam Taylor (ts), Ed De Verteuil (bari)
Rhythm: Earl Powell (p), Leroy Kirkland (g), Carl Pruitt (b), Sylvester Payne (d)

Count Basie records Jumpin' at the Woodside, 1938. Other charts recorded in this session include Stop Beatin Around the Mulberry Bush, London Bridge is Fallin', and Texas Shuffle.

Band Roster
trumpets: Edward Lewis, Harry Edison, Buck Clayton
trombones: Dan Minor, Dicky Wells, Beeny Morton
Reeds: Jack Washington (as), Earl Warren (as), Herschel Evans(ts), Lester Young(ts)
Rhythms: Count Basie (p), Freddy Green (g), Walter Page (b), Jo Jones (dm)
Vocals: Jimmy Rushing

August 23

Vocalist and bandleader, Bob Crosby was born in Spokane, 1913. Bob Crosby began singing with Anson Weeks (1931-34) and the Dorsey Brothers (1934-35). He led his first band in 1935, when the former members of Ben Pollack's band elected him as titular leader. His most famous band, the Bob-Cats, was a Dixieland jazz group with members from the Bob Crosby Orchestra. Both the Bob Crosby Orchestra and the smaller Bob-Cats group specialized in Dixieland jazz, presaging the traditional jazz revival of the 1940s.

Glenn Miller completes 14 weeks at the Glenn Island Casino. Radio broadcasts from the boasts the popularity of the band. Woody Herman's band followed Miller openning on the 24th.

Tenor saxophonist, Don Byas, 59, died in the Netherlands, 1972. Played with Don Redman in the late thirties. In the forties he played with Andy Kirk, Lucky Millinder, Edgaf Hayes, and Benny Carter.

August 24

Trumpeter Paul Webster was born in Kansas City, MO, 1909. Lead horn with Jimmie Lunceford 1935-1942, and Cab Calloway 1944-52.

August 25

Bandleader and pianist, father of progressive jazz, Stan Kenton, 66, dies 1979.

August 26

Blues shouter and jazz singer, Jimmy Rushing, Mr. Five By Five was born in Oklahoma City, 1903. Sing with Basie from 1935 - 1950.

Sent for You Yesterday
Count Basie and His Orchestra with Jimmy Rushing

Singer Francis Wayne was born in Boston, 1924. Sang with Herman and Barnett in the early 40's.

Alto saxophonist Buster Page was born in Ellis County Texas, 1904. He played with Hot Lips Page's Blue Devils, and Benny Moten's band.

August 27

Tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Lester Young, "The Prez" was born in Woodsville, Ms, 1909. In the 1930's, Young played with Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, and Andy Kirk.

August 28

Fats Waller records a series of pipe organ solos in London, 1938. Cuts include Deep River, Go Down Moses, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, All God's Chillun Got Wings, Water Boy ande Lonesome Road.

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
Email Me

Les Paul Died Today

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:54:00 +0000

I knew that Les Paul was in his 90's. I knew that he still performed in New York City once a week. But to learn that he died today is still hard to take. Les Paul was one of life's good guys.

From out of the blue, at a time when big bands were being replaced by popular singers like Patti Page, Teresa Brewer, Jo Stafford, Vic Damone, Eddie Fisher, Julius La Rosa and many others in the early 1950s, Les Paul and Mary Ford exploded on the music scene with their recording of "How High The Moon." They followed it up with a number of hits. Here are three of my favorites:

How High The Moon, Vaya Con Dios, and The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise
by Les Paul and Mary Ford

I still have their 45's of these songs and others in the same brown-and-tan metal box I bought to store my 45's back in the early 1950's.

There were three things that floored me about his records. First, Les Paul sounded like no other guitarist I ever heard. Second, Mary Ford sang beautifully and looked gorgeous. And third, she sounded as if three or four of her were singing on each record.

In seventh grade (1952-53), I began taking guitar lessons at Kral's Music Store in Cicero, Illinois, not far from our home in neigboring Berwyn. My parents bought me a Spanish guitar. It sounded nothing at all like Les Paul's guitar. My teacher, a man in his 20's, explained to me that I needed to learn how to play a Spanish guitar before I could even think about sounding like Les Paul. My parents paid $15 for my new Spanish guitar. I continued taking lessons throughout eighth grade. In high school, I switched to alto sax and then tenor.

In the 1960's, after I finished college, I worked in a popular blues club called Big John's in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. We featured older black blues bands such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and younger white blues bands such as the Paul Butterfield-Mike Bloomfield Blue Band and the Steve Miller-Barry Goldberg Blues Band.

One night before Miller and Goldberg began their first set, Steve and I talked about guitars and guitar players. We agreed that Les Paul was one of the finest. Steve then told me about the Les Paul Gibson Guitar.

Steve explained that Les Paul's guitar was solid, not hollow, like Spanish guitars, built with sophisticated electronics that gave it such a great sound. He added that he hope to buy one some day. At that time, Steve was a still a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. (And, yes, he is the same Steve Miller who later recorded major hits such as "Fly Like An Eagle.") Steve also explained how Les Paul invented multitrack recording, which he pioneered and used on his early hits with Mary Ford.

I am happy that Les Paul lived such a long and creative life. He gave us so much. Les Paul (June 9, 1915 - August 13, 2009) has indeed earned his heavenly rewards.

Vaya Con Dios, Les!

George Spink
Moderator - The Palomar
Los Angeles, California
Email Me

Big Band Chronology (Aug 15 - 21)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:34:00 +0000

August 15

Jazz violinist Joe Venuti, 74, dies in 1978.The music he made with Eddie Lang (guitar) would later be a major influence on Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli in France.

Farewell Blues
Jack Teagarden with Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti and Their All Star Orchestra

Venuti worked with Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, the Boswell Sisters in the 1920s and early 1930s. Venuti and Lang recorded a series of milestone jazz records for the OKeh label during the 1920s.

Peggy Lee cuts first side with Benny Goodman singing Elmer's Tune, 1941. Other charts Goodman recorded in that session include From One Love to Another, Anthing, The Count, I'll See a Million People, Pound Ridge, and The Birth of the Blues.

Band Roster
Trumpets: Cootie Williams, Jimmy Maxwell, Billy Butterfield, Al Davis
Trombones: Lou McGarity, Bob Cutshall
Reeds: Benny Goodman (cl), Skippy Martin, Vido Musso, Clint Neagley, Charles Gentry, George Berg
Rhythm: Mel Powell (p), Tom Morganelli (g), John Simmons (b), Sid Catlett (d)
Vocals: Peggy Lee

Saxophonist, composer, and arranger, Joe Garland, was born in Norfolk, Va, 1903. In the 2o's and 30'a he played with Jelly Roll Morton, the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, Don Redman, and Louis Armstrong. Garland wrote a number of well-known swing jazz hits, including the Glenn Miller hit In the Mood (with Andy Razaf, 1939) and Les Brown's Leap Frog.

Marion Hutton returns to the Glenn Miller Orchestra after maternity leave replacing Paula Kelly (wife of Modernaire Hal Dickinson), 1941. She gave birth to a boy on May 26.

August 17

Trumpeter, and bandleader Larry Clinton was born in Brooklyn, 1909. Clinton's pre-war band lasted from 1937-1941. His version of Debussy’s Reverie, with vocalist Bea Wain, peaked at #1 on Billboard's Record Buying Guide in 1938.

Tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec was bork in Newark, NJ, 1918. From 1944 - 1951, he played intermittently with Cab Calloway.

Bassist and composer, George Duvivier, was born in New York City, 1920. In the early 40's he played with Lucky Millinder and Cab Calloway.

August 18

Drummer Don Lamond was born 1920. In the early 40's, Lamond played with Sonny Dunham and Boyd Raeburn. He was a member of Woody Herman's First and Second Herd.

Mildred Bailey records Rocking Chair and Love Me Tonight with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra led by Matty Malneck, 1932.

Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle on vocals records My Prayer, 1939. Other cuts from that session include Who's Sorry Now? (v Eberle), My isle of Golden Dreams, Blue Moonlight (v Eberle), and Basket Weaver Man (v Eberle).

Band roster
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Al Mastren, Paul Tanner
Trumpets: Clyde Hurley, Legh Knowles, Dale McMickle
Reeds: Hal McIntyre (as), Gerald Yelverton (as, bar, cl), Wilbur Schwartz (as, cl), Tex Beneke (ts), Al Klink (ts).
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Richard Fisher (g), Rowland Bundock (b), Maurice Purtill (d)
Vocals: Ray Eberle, Marion Hutton

August 19

Trombonist Bill Harris, 56 dies in Hallandale, FL, 1973. Featured soloist with Woody Herman's big band, off and on from 1944 to 1959.

Pianist Jimmy Rowles, was born in Spokane, WA 1918. Rowles worked with Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Les Brown, and Tommy Dorsey.

Woody Herman's band conducted by Igor Stravinsky records Ebony Concerto, 1946. Igor Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto, for clarinet and jazz band, was written in 1945 on commission by Herman.

Band Roster
Trumpet: Sonny Berman, Conrad Gozzo, Shorty Rogers, Pete Candoli, Carroll Lewis
Trombone: Bill Harris, Ralph Pfiffner, Ed kieffer
French Horn: John Cave
Harp: Stanley Chaloupka
Reeds: Woody Herman (cl), Mickey Folus, Flip Phillips, Sam Rubinwitch, Sam Marowitz, John LaPorta
Rhythm: Jimmy Rowles (p), Chuck Wayne (g), Joe Mondragon (b), Don Lamond (d)

August 20

Woody Herman records Bijou, 1945. Other charts recorded were Love Me (v Francis Wayne), The Good Earth, and Put That Ring on My Finger (v Woody Herman).

Band roster
Trumpet: Ray Linn, Pete Candoli, Conti Candoli, Neal Hefti, Sonny Berman
Trombone: Bill Harris, Ralph Pfiffner, Ed Kieffer
Reeds: Woody Herman (cl), Sam Marowitz, John La Porta, Flip Phillips, Pete Mondello, Skippy De Sair
Rhythm: Tony Aless (p), Billy Bauers (g), Chubby Jackson (b), Dave Tough (d), Marjorie Hyams (vb)
Vocals: Frances Wayne, Woody Herman

Trombonist, vocalist, bandleader, and composer, Welden "Jack" Teagarden, "The Big T", was born 1905 in Vernon Texas. In the late 1920s he recorded with such notable bandleaders and sidemen as Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, Jimmy McPartland, Mezz Mezzrow, Glenn Miller, Eddie Condon and Ben Pollock. Glenn Miller and Teagarden collaborated to provide lyrics to Spencer Williams' Basin Street Blues, which became a signature number for Teagarden. Seeking financial security during The Great Depression, Teagarden signed an exclusive contract to play for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra from 1933 through 1938. The contract with Whiteman's band prevented him from playing a significant role in development of swing in the mid-thirties. After leaving Whiteman, Teagarden then started leading his own big band. In spite of Teagarden's best efforts, the band was not a commercial success, and he was brought to the brink of bankruptcy.

Trombonist Frank Rosolino was born in 1926 in Detroit. Rosolino played with big bands of Bob Chester, Glen Gray, Tony Pastor, Herbie Fields, and Gene Krupa. He became famous during a stint in the most popular of Stan Kenton's progressive big bands, (1952-1954).

August 21

Pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer, William "Count" Basie was born in Red Bank, NJ, 1904. Basie led his band for almost 50 years. His side men included tenor saxophonists Lester Young and Herschel Evans, trumpeters Buck Clayton and Harry "Sweets" Edison and singers Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams. Basie's theme songs were One O'Clock Jump and April In Paris.

Goodman's band opens at the Palomar and "officially" launches the swing era in the second set. During the first set, Goodman played lackluster stock arrangements and the crowds reaction was ambivalent. Reportedly, Krupa said, "If we're gonna die, Benny, let's die playing our own thing." As George Spink states: "At the beginning of the next set, Goodman told the band to put aside the stock arrangements and called for charts by Fletcher Henderson and other swing arrangers who were writing for the band. When trumpeter Bunny Berigan played his solos on Henderson’s versions of Sometimes I'm Happy and King Porter Stomp, the Palomar dancers cheered like crazy and exploded with applause! They gathered around the bandstand to listen to this new music.

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
Email Me

The Last “American Patrol"

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:04:00 +0000

I used a new software program put out by DivX and “snipped” a piece of vintage footage from a old video disc to experiment with. I added a piece of music I downloaded from Amazon from Glenn Miller's Greatest Hits album that I purchased for $.99 to produce this video.

In 1942 Jerry Gray arranged the popular march “American Patrol” written by F.W. Meacham in 1885. Written originally for piano, it was then arranged for wind band and published by Carl Fischer in 1891. Meacham's widow renewed the copyright in 1912. It incorporates melodies from other patriotic American songs of the era such as "Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean" and "Dixie". The format was intended to represent a patrol approaching, passing, and fading into the distance. The original piano version of "American Patrol" follows this scheme exactly. [1]

Here is my latest video project using Glenn Miller's version which he made a hit!

The video shows Col. Paul Tibbits flying the B29 Superfortress "Enola Gay" named for his mother over Hiroshima, Japan on the morning of August 6th, 1945. The atomic blast from "Little Boy" killed 70,000 people within a 5 mile radius of ground zero!

Three days later a second bomd was dropped over the city of Nagasaki killing an estimated 80,000. "Fat Man" was detonated at an altitude of about 1,800 feet (550 m) over the city, and was dropped from a B-29 bomber named "Bockscar", piloted by Major Charles Sweeney. [2]

The video ends with the total surrender of Japan aboard the U.S.S. Missouri ending World war II. A hardy thanks to Col. Paul Tibbits and his crew and Major Charles Sweeney and his crew, for their heroic service 64 years ago today!

Hope you enjoyed this little snippet!

Spencer "Wolf" Smartt
Dallas, Texas
Email Me

Source

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Patrol
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Man

Moderator's Note: Here is Glenn Miller's version of "American Patrol" from the soundtrack of "Orchestra Wives" (1942) followed by "American Patrol" by the Glenn Miller Reunion Orchestra at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (1961):

George Spink
Moderator - The Palomar
Los Angeles, California
Email Me

Big Band Chronology (Aug 8-14)

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:13:00 +0000

August 8

Alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader Benny Carter was born in Harlem in 1907.

Glenn Miller records The Call of the Canyon (v Ray Eberle), 1940. Other sides cut include Our Love Affair (v Ray Eberle), Crosstown (v Jack Lathrop), and What's Your Story, Morning Glory (v Tex Beneke).

Band Roster
Trumpets: Charles Frankhauser, Zeke Zarchy, Dale McMickle, Johnny Best
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank S'Annolfo
Reeds: Hal McIntyre (as), Ernie Caceres (as, bar, cl), Wilbur Schwartz (cl & as), Al Klink (ts),
Tex Beneke (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Jack Lathrop (g), Rowland Bundock (b), Maurice Purtill (d)
Vocals: Marion Hutton, Ray Eberle, Jack Lathrop

August 9

Trumpeter and of proponent of jazz-rock fusion, Bill Chase, 39, was killed in a plane crash, 1974. In the late 50's, he played with Maynard Fergusen and Stan Kenton. In the 60's he played lead trumpet with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd.

August 10

Pianist and band leader Claude Thornhill was born in Terre Haute, In, in 1909. During 30's, he played with Benny Goodman, Russ Morgan, Paul Whiteman, Hal Kemp, Freddie Martin, and Ray Noble. In 1940, he formed his own orchestra which had its big break at the Glen Island Casino in March of 1941. After the war, he reformed his band in 1946. The band folded in 1948.

Anthropology
Claude Thornhill and His Orchestra

Boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader, Freeddy Slack, 55, dies in Hollywood, 1965. In the mid-30's, Slack played with Ben Pollack and Jimmy Dorsey. When drummer Ray McKinnley left Jimmy Dorsey to form a band with trombonist Will Bradley, Slack went with him. He became a key component of the band's boogie-woogi stylings. Slack left to form his own band in 1942. His band became one of the first signed to the newly-formed Capitol Records and gave the label its first big hit, Cow Cow Boogie. Slack's most famous vocalists was Ella Mae Morse.

Tenor Saxophonist Arnett Cobb was born in Houston Texas, 1918. Cobb played with Lionel Hampton from 1942 - 1947.

Mamie Smith records Crazy Blues, 1920. She was the first black artist to record blues. The success of the record demonstrated to the record companies the profitablity of marketing "race records" to various minority groupst opening the doors of the recording industry to African-Americans, whether they were Blues, Jazz or popular singers or musicians.

August 11

Pianist and bandleader, Jess Stacy was born in Cape Giradeau, Ms, 1904. Played with Benny Goodman from 1935 - 1939. In the 40's he played with Bob Crosby and Tommy Dorsey before forming his own band in the mid-40's. His vocalist was Lee Wiley whom he later married.

Clarinetist and alto saxophonist Russell Procope was born in NYC, 1908. In the 30's Procope played with Benny Carter, Chick Webb, Fletcher Henderson, Tiny Bradshaw, Teddy Hill, King Oliver, and Willie Bryant. During the 40's, Procope played alto with the John Kirby Sextet. Procope joined Ellington in 1946 and stayed until the Duke's death in 1974.

Glenn Miller records It Happened In Sun Valley (v Paula Kelly, Ray Eberle, Modernaires, Tex Beneke and the band, 1941. Other charts cut include I'm Thrilled (v Eberle), The Kiss Polka (v Paula Kelly, Ernie Caceres and the Modernaires), Delilah (v Tex Beneke and the Modernaires), From One Love to Another (v Ray Eberle) and Elmer's Tune (v Ray Eberle and the Modernaires).

Band Roster
Trumpets: Billy May, Alec Fila, Dale McMickle, Johnny Best
Trombones: Glenn Miller, Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank S'Annolfo
Reeds: Hal McIntyre (as), Ernie Caceres (as, bar, cl), Wilbur Schwartz (cl & as), Al Klink (ts),
Tex Beneke (ts)
Rhythm: Chummy MacGregor (p), Bobby Hackett (g crnt), Doc Goldberg (b), Maurice Purtill (d)
Vocals: Paula Kelly, Ray Eberle, Ernie Caceres, Tex Beneke, the Modernaires.

August 12

Drummer Harold "Doc" West was born in Wolford, ND 1915. Substituted for Chick Webb when Webb was unable to play.

August 13

Benny Goodman records You Turned the Tables on Me (v Helen Ward), Here's Love in Your Eyes (v Helen Ward), Pick Yourselve Up, and Down South Camp Meeting, 1936.

Band Roster
Trumpets: Gordon Griffin, Ralph Muzillo, Manny Klein
Trombones: Murray McEachern, Red Ballard
Reeds: Benny Goodman (cl), Hymie Schertzer (as), Bill De Pew (as), Arthur Rollini (ts), Dick Clark (ts)
Rhythm: Jess Stacey (p), Allan Reuss (g), Harry Goodman (b), Gene Krupa (d)
Vocals: Helen Ward

Drummer, vocalist, and bandleader Skinnay Ennis was born in Salisbury, NC, 1909. Joined Hal Kemp as a drummer in the late 20's and stayed with Kemp until he formed his own band in 1938. John Scott Trotter who would go on to be Bing Crosby's music director was the pianist and arranger for the band. Trotter developed a style that utilized muted staccato triplets in the brass while the clarinets were voiced in the lower registered and played in megaphones to carry over the brass.

August 14

Vocalist June Richmond, 47, died in Gothenberg, Sweden 1962. June Richmond became one of the very first black singers to be featured regularly with a white band when she performed with Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra in 1938. She worked with Les Hite early on in California, toured with Dorsey, was with Cab Calloway (1938) and then became best-known for her association with Andy Kirk's Orchestra during 1939-42. She became a solo act after leaving Kirk and then from 1948 on mostly worked in Europe, at first based in France and then later on in Scandinavia.

Glenn Miller records Hand Full of Stars (v Ray Eberle), 1940. Other sides cut include Fifth Avenue (v Marion Hutton and Tex Beneke), I Wouldn't Take a Million (v Ray Eberle) and Old Black Joe.

Band Roster
Same as August 8, 1940.

Norm Gluckman
Cedarville, New Jersey
Email Me

That New German Swing Has Another Fan!

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Ivy Garlitz from Felixstowe, England just posted her second post and it was very good, AND it prompted me to jump on the band wagon for the new German swing movement! Being a German speaker I enjoy listening to this new music and wanted to dish up one of my favorites for review.

Red Top, Moody's Mood, Joy Spring, and No Moon At All
by Roger Cicero

Roger Cicero born on July 6, 1970 in Berlin made his first appearance at the age of eleven supporting German singer Helen Vita. Roger picked up his musical talent from his father, world reknown pianist Eugen Cicero who had his own trio in Germany.

At aged 16 he appeared on TV alongside the RIAS-Tanzorchester (Dance Orchestra), then under the direction of the famous Horst Jankowski (“A Walk in the Black Forest”, this tune became a pop hit reaching #1 on the US charts in 1965). [1]

At 18, he attended the Hohner Conservatory where he received coaching in piano, guitar and singing. From 1989 to 1992, Roger performed not only with the Horst Jankowski Trio, the Eugen Cicero Trio (his father’s group) but as well as with the Bundesjugendjazzorchester (German Youth Jazz Orchestra). [1]

In 2003, he founded the Roger Cicero Quartet, as well as continuing to perform with his eleven-piece big band. His style is predominantly that of 1940s and 1950s swing music, combined with German lyrics. [1]

In 2006, Roger released his first solo album Männersachen . "Schieß mich doch zum Mond" is the German version of Frank Sinatra’s classic "Fly Me to the Moon".

Cicero was Germany's participant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki but finished only 19th in the rankings. With his song "Frauen regier'n die Welt" ("Women Rule the World").

One of my favorite songs by Roger is "Ich atme ein" (I Inhale)which describes the trials and tribulations of loving someone you can't have. Enjoy this beautiful piece!

Roger Cicero makes the point: "My family background is jazz, I studied jazz, I'm famous with big band swing, but my roots are in soul and funk…". Where ever Roger is at in his music he is a very exciting act!

Thanks, Ivy, for bringing this great movement to light for our readers.

Spencer "Wolf" Smartt
Dallas, Texas
Email Me

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Cicero

New German Swing: Tom Gaebel

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:14:00 +0000

Am I The Same Guy by Tom Gaebel

Swing music and big bands have become hugely popular in Germany in the last few years. Robbie Williams’ tribute album to Sinatra, “Swing while You’re Winning,” made a deep impression on young German audiences, while Michael Bublé and Kurt Elling have attracted large followings. The passion for swing has sparked several artists to revive the music and to reinterpret it for new generations. Tom Gaebel, one of the names most closely associated with the new German swing, is considered one of the most important young singers, entertainers, and musicians in his country.

Gaebel has impressed critics with his talents and achievements as a vocalist, bandleader, musician, performer, arranger, composer, and lyricist. His three solo albums have featured innovative renditions of standards, pop songs (“Don’t Wanna Dance” features a jazzy version of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”) and Gaebel’s own original songs. He writes lyrics in English. His songs have been showcased on television commercials in Germany and on the soundtrack of the 2004 Dutch film “Ellis in Glamourland”.

Gaebel showed musical promise from an early age. He was born in 1975 into a musical family. His younger brother, Denis Gäbel, plays tenor saxophone in the Tom Gaebel Big Band and has released two albums to critical acclaim. When he was six, Gaebel began violin lessons. While in school, he learned to play drums, trombone, and the piano. After studying jazz vocals at the Amsterdam Conservatorium, he performed with several big bands and recorded albums with the Dutch group, The Young Sinatras, and with the Tobias Kremer Big Band. He formed his own band in 2005, deciding to change the spelling of his name from Gäbel to give it more international appeal.

In numerous appearances on television variety and talk shows Gaebel proved himself to be a dynamic entertainer as well as a singer and bandleader. His debut solo album “Introducing: Myself” was released in 2005 and rapidly became a best seller. A live DVD, “Live in Concert”, followed in 2006. His second album, “Good Life”, from 2007, featured more of Gaebel’s original numbers. 2008’s "Don't Wanna Dance" spotlighted Gaebel expanding his style to pop and soul, with new songs influenced by the Motown sound.

Since the start of his career, the German press has declared him as a successor to Sinatra. Gaebel is honoured by the comparison:

“Needless to say, I find such attributes very flattering, but I most certainly don’t want to copy any musical eras or other artists. I’m comfortable with many musical styles -- whether traditional or modern. There are of course periods of musical history that I would have liked to take part in, but I’m not all that nostalgic. I like to do a lot of experimenting with music and I want to continue to develop further… But that doesn’t mean that I’m planning to suddenly say goodbye to my music from the last several years. Far from it: the spectrum has gotten even broader and I would like to surprise even myself with each new album.”

While Sinatra is his ultimate musical role model, Gaebel’s live concerts also draw on the styles of Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Tom Jones’ 1960's Las Vegas shows.

Tom Gaebel & His Big Band:
Tom Gaebel, vocals
Denis Gäbel - Tenor Sax
Torsten Thomas - Alt Sax
Marcus Bartelt - Baritone Sax
Jan Schneider - Trumpet
Frederik Köster – Trumpet
Richie Hellenthal - Trombone
Xaver Fischer - Piano
Moritz Stahl - Guitar
Nico Brandenburg - Bass
Florian Bungardt - Drums
Chris Fehre - Percussion

Here are some clips from Tom's live concerts:

Tom performing "The Coffee Song":

LECKER COFFEE IN BRAZIL

Tom and Denis Gäbel performing "Walk Between the Raindrops":

Tom's original song, "So Easy" from his latest album, "Don't Wanna Dance":

Tom Gaebel has an official webpage in English and in German and an official My Space site.

Ivy Garlitz
Felixstowe, England
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To Each His Own

milliondreamsago@gmail.com (George Spink) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:46:00 +0000

Like many families during the 1940's, my family consisted of my parents, my mom's father, her two younger sisters, her youngest brother, and me. We lived in an old, two-story frame house in Berwyn, Illinois, about eight miles southwest of downtown Chicago, that my parents bought in 1944 from my mother's father, who bought it in 1922. His name was William Miller. Born and raised in Dublin, his parents emigrated with him to the United States around 1900. Grandpa and Grandma Miller had seven children, five girls and two boys.

I entered this world in September 1940 and grew up hearing music all the time. My mother and my Aunt Dorothea, whom everyone except me called Mike because Grandpa Miller was hoping for another son, listened to the radio all day long. Aunt Ruth, who worked as a telephone operator for Illinois Bell, began collecting 78's around 1937. She bought two or three records a week and stored them safely in albums that held 10 records each. Her albums are now stored in my cool, dark hall closet.

In 1946, Eddy Howard recorded a song that everyone in my home loved, including me. Aunt Ruth was especially fond of it. It is called To Each His Own:

Eddy Howard
All across America, millions of others loved this song, too. I'm sure many of you are familiar with it, but perhaps you haven't heard it for awhile. I feel it is one of the most beautiful songs of the 1940's....

George Spink
Moderator - The Palomar
Los Angeles, California
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