August 22, 2010
Honoring Les Brown
Joel Guldin has written to notify me that the next Les Brown Jazz Festival is scheduled for March 25-27, 2011. The event will be held in Tower City, Pennsylvania, Les's boyhood home. They'll have entertainment by college and high school jazz ensembles, and there will be a jazz worship service at a local church. If Les were alive he'd be 99 years old next year. You can count on an even bigger celebration when his centennial comes around in 2012.
Remembering the Texas Playboys
I rarely get feedback from audiences regarding my programs. When I scheduled an interview with the son of the pianist with Bob Wills' Texas Playboys, my wife told me to prepare myself for a deluge of negative comments. "That's not the kind of music you usually play," she said. "People are going to be turned off." For once, she was wrong. I got all of two comments after the program aired, both of them positive. That form of music known as Western swing brought back pleasant memories of sitting before the radio and listening to fiddles and guitars. I'm glad I did it.
I'm reminded of an earlier time, probably 15 years ago. A listener said I never played Western swing and asked that I put together a program. I thought "Why not?" and put on an hour of songs like The Yellow Rose of Texas, Along the Santa Fe Trail and Stan Kenton's Theme to the West. The next week my listener showed up at my office with a plastic cube filled with 78-rpm Bob Wills records and a biography of the leader. "This is what I meant when I asked for Western swing," he told me. I got the message and put together a program that contrasted Wills' interpretation of big band instrumentals with the bands that created those pieces originally: Tuxedo Junction, Summit Ridge Drive and Big Beaver.
Your Hit Parade Remembered
Dave Balaban, a frequent winner of our trivia contests, sent me an interesting article about the long-running radio and TV program, Your Hit Parade. His note was inspired by a recent trivia question about the conductors of that long-running series. It was interesting to learn how many bandleaders had conducted for that show. The original leader was Lennie Hayton, not Mark Warnow as I would have thought. Hayton was followed in order by Al Goodman, who at various times from 1935 to 1938, was relieved by Peter Van Steeden, Ray Sinatra (Frank's cousin), Carl Hoff, Abe Lyman, Freddie Rich, Harry Salter, Harry Sosnick, Richard Himber and Leo Reisman. Mark Warnow was the conductor through most of the 1940s, to be followed by Axel Stordahl with his associate from the Tommy Dorsey days, Frank Sinatra. Raymond Scott took over the baton during the '50s, when the program switched from radio to TV.
August 12, 2010
The Raymond Scott Story
Yesterday I interviewed Stan Warnow by phone in preparation for what I thought would be a program celebrating his father's 100th birthday. Various sources give different dates for the birth of Raymond Scott. Contemporary Biographies, 1941 Edition says he was born in 1909. John Chilton, in Who's Who of Jazz, begs to differ; he says Scott was born in 1915. My most trusted source, Leonard Feather in the New Encyclopedia of Jazz, sets the year at 1910. Without checking further, I accepted Feather's testimony and scheduled the centenarian broadcast for August 2010.
I should have consulted www.raymondscott.com before scheduling my program. I recommend it to all who have even the most passing curiosity about the life and works of this talented gentleman. At the very top of the home page there's a reference to celebration of 101 years of Raymond Scott, thus confirming that he was born in 1908 and, if alive today, would be fast approaching his 102nd birthday.
My tribute to him will be broadcast on schedule, though actually two years late. Episode #1464 will air the week of September 6. It will include several of Scott's quintet records with zany titles and also introduce my audience to some of the big band recordings he produced later in his career. All this will be interspersed with a conversation with his son Stan.
August 6, 2010
Catching Up
August? Whatever happened to the rest of May plus June and July? A lot, much of it unrelated to big bands. But a few items are worthy of mention. So here goes:
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May: At the invitation of Pat Henry, a multi-talented piano and horn player, I was featured speaker at a church's annual choir recognition dinner. I pulled out a presentation originally presented on cruise ships. It's called "The Roots of the Big Bands" and traces the popular music of America from Paul Whiteman's Whispering to Stan Kenton's Peanut Vendor.
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May: I had a delightful breakfast with Stan Pilshaw, a member of the SDL Club whom I'd never met before. We found a lot in common in addition to our love of big band music. I hope to spend more time with him when I next return to Princeton, New Jersey, in October 2011.
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May: I visited with the Amstutz family, who were kind enough to stash a collection of LPs and 78's in their New York City apartment. The collection was kindly donated by Paul Goodman, an Elite member of the SDL Club. Paul was moving from his Long Island home to an apartment. With no room left over for recordings in his new digs, he decided to give them a good new home, where I'll integrate them into the playlists for my weekly broadcasts. In fact I've already scheduled a December broadcast (Episode #1468 Goodman Bonanza) drawing exclusively on these new additions to my archives.
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June: My wife and I paid a visit to a dear friend in New Hampshire who is nearly blind and is bed-bound due to severe osteoporosis. We brought her a portable CD player and a stack of big band CDs. The Sony unit, which I found at BestBuy, is ideally suited for a person with limited vision. It has the minimum number of controls, which are raised so that they can be located by touch alone.
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June: I interviewed Steve Beasley, author of a book about the Ole professor, Kay Kyser (see below). This led to Episode #1458, aired on July 27.
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July: The Dreamland Ballroom in Little Rock was the site for many black bands that came through town during the 1930s and '40's. It has fallen into a state of disrepair. The roof collapsed several years ago. It has since been replaced, but there is still much to be done to restore the ballroom to its former glory. I met for lunch with Amber Jones, who has taken on the monstrous assignment of finding funds to complete the restoration. The ballroom, which is on the top floor of a building that now houses a flag and banner manufacturing company, is well worth preserving. The bandstand is still there. Just looking at it conjures up images of the Basie, Jay McShann or Cab Calloway band belting out jive while a hundred or more jitterbuggers strut their stuff on the rockin' dance floor.
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July: I met with David Stricklin, author of a book about Louis Armstrong (See below). We talked about Louis and also chatted about David's father Al, who played piano with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. I originally planned a single episode to cover both subjects. David had so much interesting information on each subject that I'll cover the Texas Playboys in an August 17 broadcast and Louis Armstrong on October 12.
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July: News of the death of Daniel Schorr brought to mind an incident of 2008. On "Weekend Edition" on NPR, Schorr was comparing today's economic situation with the Great Depression of the 1930's. With a little prompting he burst into song, running through the entire chorus of Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? I was so inspired by his rendering of that song that I produced a whole hour of music from that era (Episode #1366 The Great Depression). When host Liane Hansen re-played Schorr's vocal rendition after his death, I dusted off a copy of my two-year-old program and sent it off to Ms. Hansen. She gets tons of mail each week, but maybe she'll have time to listen to my personal tribute to Daniel Schorr, may he rest in peace.
May 25, 2010
"Backwards in High Heels: The Ginger Musical"
Over the weekend a friend brought a playbill from a show in which her daughter, Elizabeth Ward Land, played the role of Ginger Rogers' mother Lela. The show has just finished an engagement at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida. Produced by Lynnette Barkley and Christopher McGovern, the musical includes dance sequences and songs reminiscent of the movie career of Miss Rogers.
As I looked over the playlist it occurred to me that an episode of "Swingin' Down the Lane" featuring covers of the songs would be a delight. Included are these gems: Change Partners, A Fine Romance, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off and I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket.
Not counting reprises, the show contains 18 songs. That should be just about right for a one-hour show. One small problem: Four of those songs were written for the show by Christopher McGovern. As far as I can tell, they've not yet been recorded. At this writing I'm hoping that the composer will provide recordings that can be added to the broadcast. The four original songs are Tame These Feet, The Domesticity, The Art of Sport and But...When?
Wish me luck!
Kay Kyser Biography
Yet another book about a big band pioneer arrived in the mail today --- just in time to become my daily reading during an upcoming vacation. I'll write more about the book when I return, but a first inspection indicates that Steven Beasley, author of "Kay Kyser: The Ol' Professor of Swing," has done a thorough job of chronicling the life of this extraordinary showman. Included are many photos from the author's private collection, which surely add to the enjoyment of this book.
For those who would like to read the book along with me, I invite you to go to www.kaykyserbook.com. My interview with author Beasley is scheduled to air on July 27.
Dani Felber Honored
From my good Swiss friend Max Wirz comes news that Dani Felber, trumpet/flugelhorn master, is the 2010 recipient of the Swiss Jazz Award. Herr Felber merits a full chapter in Max's recent book, reviewed below. As soon as I complete my crash course in German, I'll be able to expound on Felber's career. In the meantime I'm content to enjoy the several recordings by his band that have found their way into my collection.
May 7, 2010
New Big Band Book --- Just Published
Full disclosure: 1) The author is a friend of mine, and 2) He devotes a chapter in the book to my program. There, having said that, I want to tell you that Max Wirz's new book is a true work of art. The title: "Big Bands --- Einst und Jetzt." Yes, it's in German, as befits someone who makes his home in Frauenfeld, Switzerland, just south of the German border. Even if one has only a smattering of knowledge of the language (like me, for instance), the book is a delight. It is chock-full of photos of musicians past and present from both sides of the Atlantic. In collaboration with Richard Grudens, an American, Max has put together a compendium of the brightest stars from the U. S., Germany and Switzerland, all of them well steeped in the big band sound. I found it particularly interesting to see photos of some leaders whom I had heard but never seen their image. Folks like Pepe Lienhard, Thilo Wolf, Dani Felber and Wil Selden (pictured on the cover, below). To balance the picture, the back cover includes images of Basie, Goodman, James, Les Brown, Glenn Miller and Ray Anthony.
Contact me for information about purchase of this book.
Upcoming Programs
May 4, 11, 18 Artie Shaw Centennial -- Tracing the musical progression from Artie's early days as a bandleader through the glory days of 1939-40 and again his successes with a large band with strings.
May 25 Road Trip -- Third in a series of episodes simulating a journey through the 50 states with appropriate music for each one. This episode covers the West, Southwest, Alaska and Hawaii.
June 1 Oscar Nominees -- Latest in a series featuring songs nominated for Academy Awards. Period covered: 1941-42.
June 8 Swingin' The Classics -- How would Chopin, Ravel and Rubinstein react to jazzed-up versions of their masterpieces?
June 15 Ray McKinley Centennial -- Sideman with the Dorsey Brothers, co-leader with Will Bradley, drummer in Major Glenn Miller's band, leader of an innovative band in post-war years --- Ray did them all.
June 22 Desert Island -- #48 in a series featuring listeners' favorite big band recordings. Gil Monos of Yorktown, Indiana likes the swing classics.
June 29 Long Play -- Sometimes the three-minute limit on 78-rpm records was too restrictive. We'll hear examples where Dorsey, Barnet, Kenton, Miller et al. expanded to play a melody on both sides of a record.
July 6 The Flip Side -- Ever wonder what was on the other side of big hits? We'll play more than a dozen B sides.
July 13 Desert Island -- #49 in the series involves favorites of Don Hardin, a listener from Hot Springs, Arkansas.
July 20 Tribute To Dr. Long -- This Belton, Texas physician, who died several months ago, was a keen supporter of the big bands, including especially Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey. We'll remember him by playing some of his most beloved melodies.
July 27 (tentative) Kay Kyser Biography -- Conversation with author of a book that chronicles the life of this fascinating bandleader.
May 5, 2010
Kaempfert and Williams
O.K., now, what's the connection between jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams and German bandleader Bert Kaempfert? This odd question arose when I was putting together Program #1453, Desert Island 48. That segment includes favorite recordings selected by Gilbert Monos, a member of the SDL Club (for club details see notice at the end of this blog). He had listed Steppin' Pretty by Andy Kirk as one of his favorites. I reached for the LP of Kirk tracks as released by MCA. To my surprise I saw that the listed co-composers were B. Kaempfert and H. Rehbein.
That couldn't be BERT Kaempfert, could it? The original recording was made on March 4, 1936. Bert was born in --- let's look it up --- 1923. That means he would have been no older than12 when he wrote the melody. But who knows, maybe he was precocious.
An e-mail request directed to the Kaempfert website yielded a prompt reply. The representative noted that Herr Kaempfert and Herr Herbert Rehbein released a recording of their melody, Steppin' Pretty, in 1968 on Decca Album DL 74986, "Love that Bert Kaempfert". I happen to have that album in my library. I listened to that track and confirmed that it was an entirely different composition.
So who wrote the song recorded by Kirk? I took what might be called an educated guess that it was the handiwork of Kirk's pianist, Mary Lou Williams. It sounded like the kind of material she was famous for in the 1930s. My search engine hit paydirt! A song with that title was credited to her.
So, mystery solved (I think). Two songs with the same title, written three decades apart. My theory is that MCA (successor to Decca) got a bit careless when they compiled the Kirk album. They saw the song title, presumed it was the one written by Kaempfert/Rehbein, and gave them credit in the liner notes instead of Ms. Williams.
To hear Mary Lou's composition, tune in the week of June 21.
April 14, 2010
Visit with Clark Terry
Can there be a nicer guy on the planet than Clark Terry? While my grandson was visiting us during his spring break, I arranged to take him to meet Clark in his home. From the moment Clark's wife met us at the door we felt right at home. Clark had just finished giving instruction to Quincy, a college student who, like my grandson Michael, plays alto sax. Quincy is already an accomplished musician who wants to make his career in music both as a jazz soloist and as a teacher.
While we waited for Clark to make his appearance, Quincy and Michael engaged in a little follow-the-leader routine on their horns that helped to put Michael at ease. Then Clark spent a half-hour or so coaching Michael as he struggled to master the initial jazz phrasing from Terry's recording of Pea Eyes. If you listen to those opening bars you'll realize that it wasn't an easy task for an accomplished instrumentalist, let alone a 16-year-old high school student. Yet I was doubly impressed --- by the patience and teaching skills of Terry and the quick response from my grandson.
We didn't stay long. At the age of 89 Clark isn't as spry as he used to be. Physical ailments have forced him to set aside his horn, but he retains his engaging personality.
Want to know more about this fine gentleman? Check out his webpage. And go on YouTube to watch his performances with the Tonight Show band.
Clark's writing his autobiography. It's almost done. His wife has promised to let me know the moment it goes into publication. Should be a fascinating read.
Louis Armstrong: The Soundtrack of the American Experience
And speaking of good reading, I heard a presentation last week by David Stricklin, author of the above-mentioned book about America's premier jazz star. The book is part of a series entitled The Library of African-American Biography. Of course it's not the first book to tackle this subject. It distinguishes itself by giving equal emphasis to Louis's musical genius and his life as a black man in a predominately white society.
Stricklin has agreed to be a future guest on my program. We'll talk about Armstrong, of course, but I'll also quiz him about his father's career as the piano-playing member of the western swing band, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
For information about purchase of Stricklin's book, click here.
Artie Shaw Centennial
A year
ago, when I noticed that the 100th anniversary of Artie Shaw's birth
was coming up, I decided to give it the royal treatment, with three
whole episodes devoted to this "King of the Clarinet." Now that the
actual anniversary is fast upon us (May
23), I regret that I didn't plan a fourth episode because there's so
much good material to offer. To summarize, Program #1446 covers
Artie's days first as sideman and then as leader of a band that
never seemed to catch fire. Program #1447 covers the Bluebird years,
1938-39, when his band was the swingingest one around --- until that
day in late 1939 when he stomped off the bandstand and chilled out
in Acapulco. Program #1448 is designed to cover the rest of his
career, which turns out to be an impossible task if I want to do it
in any depth. First are the sessions he did with strings,
interspersed with the Gramercy Five jazz-tinged pieces. Then there
are the sessions he did for the Musicraft label including guest
appearances by Mel Torme and Kitty Kallen. Then we need to cover, if
only briefly, the small-group sessions that he organized in the
early 50s. An awful lot of territory to cover in one hour, but we'll
manage somehow. Who knows, perhaps we'll revisit the subject on this
101st birthday!
April 6, 2010
Live Streaming
Browsing the 'Net
yesterday I found a link that will enable us to listen to last
week's episode of "Swingin' Down the Lane." It's offered by NPR
affiliate KTXK-FM. The link:
http://www.texarkanacollege.edu/ktxk/big band programs.html
April 5, 2010
Memory Lane #2
In 1977 I was living in Houston, Texas. I was scheduled to attend a business conference in New York City. As long as I was in that part of the country it seemed a good idea to drop in to see how my daughter was faring at college. She was in her freshman year at Smith, in Northampton, Massachusetts.
A couple of weeks before my visit, my daughter called to say she noticed that Benny Goodman was going to give a concert at Amherst, about ten miles from her campus, on the weekend I would be visiting. Would I like to go? "You bet," I said. I had never been at a Goodman concert, and it was a very exciting prospect.
My daughter called back a couple of days later. She had taken the bus over to Amherst, only to find that the concert was sold out. "I'm sorry," she told me. "I didn't move fast enough."
On the appointed weekend I arrived in Northampton as scheduled. My daughter and her friends were having a dance on campus on Saturday evening. On a whim, I decided to drive over to Amherst. Who knows, maybe I could get in to see Benny after all.
I arrived at the box office a
half-hour before show time.
“Are there any tickets left for tonight?” I asked the
woman in the box office.
“No, I’m sorry, sir, it’s a sell-out.”
“Well, I’ll just wait around in case someone arrives
with an extra ticket.”
“Suit yourself, sir.”
“How about standing room only” I asked the woman.
“Sorry, but that isn’t allowed. Fire regulations, you
know.”
What to do? I had nowhere else to go, so I stuck
around. Maybe someone would leave early and they’d let me in. A
half-hour went by and still no signs of anyone leaving. Finally it was
intermission time. The center’s doors opened and a few people stepped
outside for a smoke. I approached the box office once more.
“Are you sure there isn’t a place
for me? I came all the way from
“There is a
ledge at the very
back of the auditorium,” she said,“where all
the spotlights are. But there’s not much room
to move around, and the lights are likely to be pretty hot.”
“I’ll take it,” I said eagerly. She charged me the
regular ticket price. Without hesitation I handed over my money. I was
in no mood to dispute it.
I found my way to the makeshift seat as the intermission came to a close. As I sat down on bare concrete at the very back of the auditorium, an offstage voice announced, “And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Benny Goodman and his Sextet!”
I hadn’t missed a note of his concert. An opening act
had consumed all the time before the intermission,
Benny shuffled out on stage, clarinet in hand. He
looked a lot older than in photos, even recent ones, and he moved slowly
around the stage. But over the next hour he played superbly, as I
expected he would.
As the strains of his closing theme, “Goodbye,” faded
away, I joined the throngs of people who had REAL seats for the concert.
It was a wonderful, unforgettable experience for me. On the way in I had
noticed a couple of posters announcing the concert, and I thought it
would be the perfect topper for the evening to take a poster as a
souvenir. But none were to be seen. Someone else had got to them first.
I sought out an employee of the arts center and asked if he knew where I
might find another poster. He said the only one he knew of was tacked up
on the bulletin board in the manager’s office.
“But what the heck, the concert’s over,” he said. “We
don’t have any use for it anymore.” He led me downstairs to the office.
“Take it. It’s yours.”
Wonderful! A first-class souvenir
and, as a bonus, in my school colors:
The arts center was nearly deserted by now. I had to
find the dressing room on my own. I succeeded, and just in time. Through
a partially open door I saw the maestro himself. Benny was putting on
his overcoat and was ready to pick up his clarinet case when I walked in
and introduced myself. I showed him the poster and asked if he would be
kind enough to sign it for me.
As he reached for a pen I decided to tell him something
that might help me stand out among all his adoring fans.
“I teach a course on the big band era, and I spend an
entire lecture talking about you and your music.”
“Very good,” Benny said. I couldn’t have felt more
proud. My idol was praising me! Then I saw that Benny was admiring the
poster. I don’t think he heard a word I said. He was enthralled with the
sketch of him on the poster, which he proclaimed to be “very good.”
No matter. I had my souvenir,
suitable for framing when I got back to
To set the record straight, I must say that the poster
was not “very good” at all. They had taken a caricature done by Al
Hirschfeld and reversed it. As a result Benny’s fingers are reversed.
He’s playing the clarinet backwards! I wonder why Benny never noticed
it.
Poster from October 1977 Benny's Autograph
January 27, 2010
Memory Lane #1
Some folks in my neighborhood were holding a two-day estate sale. As was my custom, I checked it out to see if there were any records I might want to add to my collection. There was a big stack of 78-rpm records. I quickly browsed through them but didn't see why I should pay 50 cents. That seemed a bit excessive.
I returned the next day. What the heck, I thought, maybe the prices have gone down. I went over to the bin of records. Sure enough the price had dropped to a quarter. I went through them more carefully this time. Nothing from the big band era that I didn't already have. But then my eyes lit on an old Victor ten-inch recording. Ordinarily I would have paid little attention, but this one had something written in white ink on the label. I examined it more closely. It was Washington Post March and El Capitan played by Sousa's Band. And the white ink? It read in flowing script "John Philip Sousa." Could it actually be an autographed copy? I risked 25 cents and took it home.
The next day I headed over to the Houston Public Library during lunch hour. I found a biography of Sousa that included an autographed picture among its illustrations. No question about it, the inscription on the record matched the writing on the photo. It was put there by the March King himself!
The woman who held the estate sale told me that they were selling the possessions of her father. When he died, they shipped all his household goods to Houston, where they thought they would get a better price. He had been a high-ranking executive at Cities Service, the petroleum company headquartered in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. That rang a bell for me. I recalled that there was a weekly national radio program during the 1930's, the Cities Service Band of America, featuring march music.
It's my theory that Sousa was invited to appear on the program as guest conductor. While he was in town the top brass of the sponsoring company probably held a reception for him, where he graciously autographed a stack of records.
It's only a theory, but that's my story and I'll stick to it. I still have the record, which will go along with all my other recorded materials when the appropriate time arrives.
January 4, 2010
Tune Me In
I phoned a friend in Indiana to wish him a Happy New Year. In the course of the conversation he asked whether he could receive my weekly broadcasts on a nearby station. I told him that's not possible at the moment but offered an alternative, which anyone anywhere in the world can use. If one clicks on the following website, http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgibin/program.pl?programid=1388, there's a listing of all the stations that live-stream "Swingin' Down the Lane," along with day and time of broadcast.
December 26, 2009
Upcoming Broadcasts
December is typically a slow business period. Prospective clients routinely say, "Let's talk again after the first of the year." In some instances it's because they've already reached the year's budget limit and have no more money to spend until January. In other cases, people are wrapped up in the holiday season and in no mood to take on new research ventures. That has left me free to plan to produce several programs to be aired the second half of January and the first three weeks in February.
January 19: Jurgens and Reinhardt, a study in contrasts. They were born in January 1910, within two weeks of each other. They were both musicians. Otherwise they had little in common.
Dick Jurgens was born in Sacramento, California. He took up trumpet at an early age, attended Sacramento Junior College and The University of California. He was a composer and bandleader who enjoyed great popularity during the big band era. His biggest commercial hits were One Dozen Roses, Elmer's Tune and his theme song, Daydreams Come True at Night.
Django Reinhardt was born 5,000 miles away, in a village in Belgium where his family's caravan was situated. He grew up in a family of gypsy entertainers. He took up the violin and guitar at an early age. He became mesmerized by jazz when he heard a Louis Armstrong record. He and violinist Stefan Grappelli formed a duo emulating the style of Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang, members of Paul Whiteman's orchestra. They constituted the nucleus of the Quintette of the Hot Club of France, which recorded both American and French melodies. Django's musical career nearly came to an end when he was severely burned in a fire. Doctors thought they would have to amputate one arm, but he would have none of that. He convalesced for 18 months, keeping himself occupied by devising a re-fingering procedure to allow him to play the guitar again using only his thumb and first two fingers.
January 26: Milwaukee Mini, a souvenir of a four-day college mini-reunion in Wisconsin. I play music by two natives, Woody Herman and Hildegarde and reprise some commercials for beers that made Milwaukee famous --- Blatz, Pabst, Schlitz and Miller.
February 2: You Asked For It, an all-request program. Last fall I taught an eight-week course in big bands to a group of students in the 50-plus age group. I devoted the last session to requests from the class. It makes for an interesting potpourri of music ranging from The Drinking Song from "The Student Prince" to The Old Piano Roll Blues by Joe "Fingers" Carr. It's the 86th in a series that dates back to 1983.
February 9: Swiss and German Swing, a session with Max Wirz, who, like me, presents a once-monthly big band program on a Hamburg, Germany radio station. Max presents examples of outstanding music created by bands in Switzerland and Germany, starting in the early 30's and bringing things right up to date.
February 16: May I Borrow a Tune?, another in a series that presents different arrangements of songs associated with a particular vocalist or band. We hear Tom Jones' hit, What's New, Pussycat?, as performed by Sammy Kaye. The Glenn Miller orchestra under the direction of Buddy DeFranco give us their take on Herb Alpert's mega-hit, What Now, My Love? And Doc Severinsen presents an instrumental interpretation of Dionne Warwick's Walk On By. A really fun session!
December 9, 2009
Misinformation
I've been busy preparing the first two broadcasts of 2010. It's been a tradition over the past few years to salute musicians who would celebrate their 100th birthday if still alive. There's such a large number who were born in 1910 that it'll take two consecutive broadcasts to cover them all.
It's not as easy as one would think to determine whom to honor. For instance, I had Bob Zurke on the list since one trusted source said that he was born on January 17, 1910. I had everything set to play one of his piano recordings when I noticed an account of his death in 1944 at the age of 32. Oh-uh, I thought --- something doesn't compute. Upon further research I determined that he was born in 1912. I'll have to wait till 2012 to play Honky Tonk Train Blues in his honor.
I ran into a similar problem with Chu Berry. I had his birth date as September 13, 1910. Yet one source says that he died in 1941 at the age of 33. If so, he must have been born in 1908 and I missed my chance to honor him on his 100th birthday.
A fan magazine of the 1940's reported that Sammy Kaye was a track star at Ohio State. NOT TRUE. Sammy attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, not the Big Ten powerhouse.
You gotta take everything with a grain of salt.
November 25, 2009
Just in Time for Christmas
Today I processed a new membership to the SDL Club that will run through 2010. The order was placed by a lady who wanted to present the membership as a Christmas present to her in-laws. I can't reveal anything more since she wants it to be a surprise. But it occurs to me that this is an easy way to honor one's parents on special days -- Christmas, Hanukkah, birthday or anniversary. Details on signing up are included at the end of this blog.
November 17, 2009
A Comment about Twittering
I can't help wondering how people find the time to Twitter. It's been two months since my last blog entry and I'm just now getting around to another report. To make up for lost time, here are some of the activities that have grabbed my attention over the last few weeks:
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9/16: I presented the first of four lectures featuring songs nominated for Academy Awards. My audience consisted of about 50 people in the 50+ age group. I intend to reproduce the lectures as episodes of "Swinging Down the Lane" early in 2010.
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9/22: I was contacted by a gentleman who some months ago had loaned me his LP collection so that I could make CDs for both of us. In the interests of simplifying his life, he has since decided that he doesn't need to have the original LPs anymore. Would I be willing to take them off his hands? I was glad to do so, and they now are part of my archives, which will go to a university library upon my death.
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9/23-27: I attended a college reunion in
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10/14: I began planning a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Johnny Mercer's birth. I took special care in selecting the playlist, skirting his most famous songs like
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10/18: I attended a concert put on by alumni of a local high school jazz band. One of the members who graduated in the 1960s came up with the idea of holding a reunion with his fellow musicians. Soon they broadened the idea to include alumni from other years. They began to rehearse once a week, and the Sunday afternoon concert represented the culmination of their efforts. They did very well, and I applaud their choice of material, which included the old standards as well as a few more contemporary arrangements such as some of the Basie charts.
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10/20: A member of the SDL Club from Long Island, New York phoned to say that he was in the process of downsizing and wondered whether I would be interested in his collection of 78-rpm and LP records. "There's some great material here," he assured me. I took him up on the offer at once. I called a friend who lives in
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10/23-27: My wife and I welcomed into our home two friends from
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11/1: It took a half day, but the time was well worth it. I added an etagere to the archives to accommodate the additional LPs I have acquired through donations. I took the occasion to gather up outdated electronics and arrange to have them hauled away by the city.
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11/3: Al Bernard contacted me by e-mail. Max Wirz and I had discovered that we both knew Al, a bass player who leads a trio in
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11/4: I conducted a telephone interview with Van Alexander to talk about his recently published memoir, "From
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11/7: An e-mail from Jan Eberle Schaberg brought me up to date on her activities. She is the daughter of Ray Eberle, long-time vocalist with the Glenn Miller civilian band. Jan is now involved in satellite radio and can be heard every Saturday night at
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11/14: An e-mail from Steve Beasley informed me that he has completed a mammoth biography of bandleader Kay Kyser. I met Steve 10 years ago, when he started that project. The fact that a whole decade has passed serves to stress how difficult it is to write a thoroughly researched book. Steve has set up his own website: www.kaykyserbook.com.
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11/16: Yesterday I received an e-mail from a gentleman who heard "Swingin' Down the Lane" while driving through north-central
So there it is, a review of two months of big band-related activities. I'll make a sincere effort to post on a more timely basis in the future.
September 17, 2009
Oscar for Best Song
Yesterday was Week One of my big band class, with about 45 seniors enrolled. By "seniors" I mean people over 50 rather than people in their fourth year of college or high school. I gave them a pop quiz to show I meant business from Day 1. I played the songs nominated for Academy Awards in 1934 through 1937. Their job was to pick out the song in each year that won the Oscar. I'm glad to report that four students got three out of four. The correct answers are listed at the end of today's blog. See if you can get them all right without clicking on your search button.
It was such an interesting roster of songs that I plan to present them on a forthcoming episode of "Swingin' Down the Lane." In checking my records I find that I did two hours of Academy Award winners back in 1984. The difference this time is that I'm going to give due credit to the "also-rans," songs that tried hard but didn't catch the judges' attention.
More About Major Miller in 1944
I have received two photos that date back to August 28-29, 1944 when Major Glenn Miller and his orchestra gave concerts in Plymouth, England. One photo shows a group outside the Officers Club at the U. S. Naval Advanced Amphibious Base. The group includes three naval officers, Major Miller and another Army Air Corps officer, and three enlisted men. The other photo shows a scene inside the Officers Club. It's unremarkable except for the fact that Major Miller splashed his autograph across the photo. Facsimiles of both photos have been forwarded to Alan Cass, curator of the Glenn Miller Archives at the University of Colorado.
Oscar winners: 1934 The Continental; 1935 Lullaby of Broadway; 1936 The Way You Look Tonight; 1937 Sweet Leilani. Let me know how you did by e-mailing me.
September 12, 2009
Filling In the Time Gap
Whaddaya know, a whole month has passed by without any report from me. As usual, that means it's been a busy time. Besides turning out a one-hour program each week, I've been incorporating new acquisitions into my collection. One member of the SDL Club sent a list of all his LP's and offered any and all albums that were missing from my collection. They arrived a couple of days ago and will, over the next few weeks, be integrated into my collection, duly catalogued so that I can find them easily when future broadcasts call for those songs.
I'm wrapping up plans for Program #1416 Art Tatum Centennial, scheduled for broadcast on October 6. I found in my files an article from The New Yorker reviewing a recently released LP of rare Tatum tracks. Back in 1940, Jerry Newman, a student at Columbia University, made recordings of Tatum's piano playing, some of them in Newman's apartment. Newman owned a portable disk recording player that he also took to Harlem nightspots to record Tatum and various other musicians. In 1972, the estate of Jerry Newman gave permission to release these tracks on a series of albums. the first one, reviewed in The New Yorker, was released as Onyx 205.
(Halfway through the last paragraph, the doorbell rang. Our postman delivered Onyx 205. I had been high bidder for it on eBay.)
My wife received the program of classes offered by LifeQuest, our local organization that offers courses for individuals over 50. "Did you know you're giving a big band course this fall?" she asked. I told her I had no such plans. "Well, it's listed here," she said. Sure enough, there it was. I was listed as giving eight lectures between mid September and mid-November. Only problem was that they forgot to ask me whether I would be available. Somehow it'll all work out. I plan to present the Oscar-nominated songs for 1934 - 44 and run it as a contest, to see who can correctly name the winners year by year. Only one small glitch: I can't find some of the nominated songs. Maybe someone reading this can help me out. The ones I'm missing are: From 1938, The Cowboy and the Lady, Merrily We Live and A Mist on the Moon; from 1941, Out of the Silence; from 1942, Pennies for Peppino; from 1943, Saludos Amigos; and from 1944, Remember Me to Carolina, Silver Shadows and Golden Dreams and Rio de Janeiro.
I also have in mind a series of lectures entitled "Road Trip." Using songs that have the names of states in their title, I'll cover "Fifty Nifty States," to borrow a song title from composer Ray Charles. I'll start with Rudy Vallee singing The Maine Stein Song and travel to bordering states. Here again I have some problems, missing Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico. I may have to depend on fight songs from state universities, such as On, Wisconsin.
Incidentally, I filled some gaps by downloading material from amazon.com. The artists are not big band performers, but I feel some deviation is in order. Thus I'll present Dan Fogelberg's Illinois, Wild Montana Skies by John Denver and Emmylou Harris and Larry Gatlin's If I Ever See Utah Again. Come to think of it, this medley of 50 songs will make a great three-part series on "Swingin' Down the Lane."
Last month I was pleased to have dinner at the home of Ingrid Davis, widow of Howard Davis, who played with several of the big bands before focusing his attention on studio work in California. Another guest was Alan Cass, who is curator of the Glenn Miller archives at the University of Colorado. We chatted about an upcoming addition to the archives. Next week I'll receive copies of photographs taken in Plymouth, England when Miller and his orchestra played there in 1944. Martin Schwartz, father of a friend of mine, was assigned to escort Major Miller while he was in town. The scheduled one-day visit turned into two when foggy weather prevented the orchestra from making their next stop in another English community. Mr. Schwartz spent the entire next day with Miller and has photographs to mark the event. That meeting took place about four months before the major's disappearance in a plane flight over the English Channel.
August 14, 2009
An Interesting Week
I had a nice long conversation with Daryl "Flea" Campbell, who at age 85 has put his trumpet aside in favor of enjoying his hobbies, including stained glass artistry. Flea had a remarkable career with the big bands, beginning with one led by Bob Astor. I've heard of Astor but don't find any of his recordings listed in my reference books. No matter, because Flea soon graduated from that band into others who reached the heights of success --- Tony Pastor, Charlie Spivak, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman. I first met him when he was playing first trumpet with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra under Buddy Morrow's direction.
My conversation with Flea will be the cornerstone of Episode #1411, to be broadcast the week of August 31st. The program will include items from his personal collection, including a vocal duet with his former wife, Lynn Roberts, and a rousing finale to Well, Git It, where Flea reprises the role of Ziggy Elman in the original Dorsey recording.
Yesterday I received a call from a lady who has been on a quest for the drum solo that's part of Bigelow's march, Our Director. It seems she heard the town band playing it but was disappointed not to hear that part. When she questioned the band director, he said that they didn't have the drum part. She called me because she recalled that some big band drummer --- maybe Gene Krupa or possibly Buddy Rich --- had adapted it for a swing number. I couldn't imagine what she was thinking of but went to the web and listened to a YouTube presentation of Our Director. Then it hit me --- the drum solo was precisely the one that Ray McKinley uses to start off St. Louis Blues March, the arrangement he did for the Army Air Corps orchestra under Glenn Miller's direction. I burned a CD and passed it along to her when she met up with me at my barber's.
July 28, 2009
Van Alexander's Memoirs
Yet another of the pioneers of the Big Band Era has set down his life story. Van Alexander has titled his book "From Harlem to Hollywood: My Life in Music." It should make for fascinating reading. The Harlem reference goes back to Van's stint as arranger for Chick Webb, with his special assignment to put together arrangements for Ella Fitzgerald vocals. As for Hollywood, well, Van has spent more than a half-century in Southern California, conducting orchestras backing up many of the top vocal stars of the 20th Century. I'll bet he has some fascinating tales to tell. After I've read the book, I'll interview him for my program, if he's willing.
If you want to read the book along with me, it's available at Amazon.com or directly from the publisher.
78-rpm Records Available
I received a communication from a lady who is trying to find a good home for a treasure chest of 78-rpm records that have been in her mother's possession since the late 1940's. Could be some real gems there, I don't know. She welcomes inquiries from anyone who lives in the Los Angeles metro area. She can be reached at marcianelson@fastmail.fm.
Keepin' Busy
It's been a busy six weeks since my last blog entry. I've been doing four things simultaneously --- in addition to the regular activities of eating, sleeping, turning out weekly radio programs and pursuing my real profession in marketing.
Over the past 25 years I've produced more than 1,400 one-hour big band programs. I'm in the process of converting them to CD. The time-consuming part is separating the hour into tracks corresponding to each musical selection. Many of the more recent ones are already on CD, so that limits the size of the task somewhat. The target is to complete the conversion by the end of 2010. That means converting one program a day --- come rain or come shine.
As a consequence of publicity surrounding my 25th anniversary on-air, I've been granted access to three people's collections. I've made a deal with these individuals --- loan me your vinyl records, I'll convert them to CDs and make two copies, one for my archives and the other for the lender. Two days ago I finished a batch of 58 LP's that were of interest. There's more than enough good material to make another special episode of "Swingin' Down the Lane."
Several years ago a fellow collector who lived in suburban Philadelphia died, leaving a large collection of recorded music. The LP's have long since been integrated into my archives. He also left over 1,000 cassettes, many of them acquired through a "tapers group" he belonged to. They've been in my archives now for --- what is it, ten years? --- and I know that cassette tape deteriorates over time. Slowly, painstakingly, I'm loading them onto the computer, doing sound restoration, cataloging them and burning them to CDs. There are some marvelous gems in the collection, including live concert recordings that were never commercially distributed.
I'm also writing my memoirs, which is a daunting task to say the least. I've worked my way up to 1986. I'm only 23 years behind times!
Join the SDL Club
Consider this your personal invitation to become a member of the SDL Club. SDL stands for Swingin’ Down the Lane. It also stands for a dedicated effort to preserve one of America’s proudest art forms --- big band music.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND: For over a quarter century I’ve hosted a weekly radio program spotlighting the big bands --- everyone from Goodman to Garber, Miller to Mancini and Ellington to Elgart. Each week I reach into our database of 100,000 song titles to select recordings that fit the theme of our program. We may play music to accompany an interview with a big band vocalist or leader. We may salute women in jazz or mark the 100th birth anniversary of big band pioneers like Artie Shaw, Eddy Duchin and Ray McKinley, all of whom left a rich heritage of recordings that will keep their memory fresh for all time.
Though we’re
adding new stations all the time, many people who regularly visit our
website don’t live in areas where they can receive our weekly
broadcasts. If Swingin’ Down the Lane isn’t broadcast in your area, the SDL Club
offers the opportunity to hear the program on a regular basis. On the
other hand, if it is broadcast
near you, we provide a chance to hear a program as many times as you
wish.
CLUB BENEFITS. As a member of the SDL Club, you will receive each month the CD of your choice from among programs broadcast during the previous month. You’ll also be eligible to purchase additional programs for only $6.00, a 60% discount over the prices quoted in our Music Store..
ON-AIR CLUB MEETINGS. Once a quarter we’ll present a broadcast featuring requests from SDL members --- recordings that you and your fellow members have asked for.
ALL THIS AND TRAVEL, TOO!
From time to time we announce special music-oriented trips on-air and on
our website.
In recent years we’ve
taken an Alaska cruise on the Radisson Seven Seas Mariner
with the Glenn Miller Orchestra on board.
We’ve cruised down the
MEMBERSHIP DUES. Regular membership in the SDL Club is $75 a year. Imagine, each month you’ll receive a one-of-a-kind CD. Over the course of a year you’ll receive 12 CD’s valued at $180 – more than twice the amount of the dues!
We’ve also established an elite member category, which offers all 52 programs on CD for annual dues of $250. This category is limited to 12 people --- one for each month of the year. In recognition of their support, each Elite Member is designated on-air as program underwriter of the month.
As a special introductory offer, a 3-month trial membership in the Club is available for only $25. If you elect to continue, we’ll extend your membership for an additional nine months for an additional payment of $50.
So join now, and become a member of a club dedicated to the glorification of big band music of yesterday and today. Show your interest by e-mailing me at swing@bigband-era.com.
Links to Other Websites
http://www.bigbandlibrary.com
A storehouse of information about
leaders, sidemen and vocalists.
http://www.bermudahouse.com
CD's of music by Henry Busse and Orrin Tucker
http://www.NewMusicLabel.com
http://www.hudsonmusic.com
http://www.tuxjunction.net
Your Ticket into the
Music Business. Where Singers, Musicians and Artists meet Record Labels,
Music Managers and Scouts. New Music Label is a one-stop solution for
seeking, finding, and managing all types of Music careers.
They offer a series of DVD's about Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich, Gene
Krupa and other drummers.
Tuxedo Junction offers more than 1,000 MP3s of big band classics, plenty
of photos, and several dozen articles about the big bands and the Swing
Era.
http://www.memory-lane.org
and
http://www.examiner.com/x-2623-Swing-and-Big-Band-Examiner
Rick Busciglio offers a most
interesting blog that covers big bands, swing and then some, with new
entries going up online almost daily. Check it out!
http://www.hamburger-lokalradio.de
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