APRIL 2010
"BIG BAND NEWS"
compiled by Music Librarian
CHRISTOPHER POPA
Bunny Berigan Digitization
Gets Started
Berigan, l.
The big bands are back
in a new and exciting way
The Fox Lake Public Library in Fox Lake, WI has been awarded a Library Servies and Technology Act (LSTA) grant to digitize a portion of its collection of Bunny Berigan materials. Berigan was born in Hilbert, WI in 1908 and raised in Fox Lake.
The grant was written by Rhonda Puntney, Youth Services and Special Needs Consultant for the Lakeshores Library System and also, importantly, a member of the Bunny Berigan Jazz Jubilee Committee.
According to Julie Flemming, Volunteer Coordinator for the Library's Harriett O'Connell Historical Room, where the Berigan materials are held, "The grant will allow for 1,000 archival items, which includes loose pages, newspaper clippings, letters and 250 photographs to be digitalized for a combined total of $5,337 local and LSTA funds."
It is expected that they will be viewable on the Internet by the end of this year, through the "State of Wisconsin Collection."
On the 15th of next month, the annual Berigan Jazz Jubilee will be held in the American Legion clubhouse in downtown Fox Lake. Among the performers will be the so-called "Bunny Berigan Memorial Band."
Berigan died in 1942 at the age of 33, and is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery, two miles south of town on Breezy Point Road.
Tobin's Talk
This is national Jazz Appreciation Month, and a rare opportunity to hear from a former big band vocalist takes place on the 17th in Dallas, TX.
Louise Tobin, 91, will appear at The Women's Museum to "recount personal stories about her associations with such history-makers of jazz as Harry James (her first husband), Ben Pollack, John Hammond, George Simon, Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Lionel Hampton, Fletcher Henderson, Peanuts Hucko (her second husband), Louis Armstong, and so many others. Hers is a unique story of the challenges women musicians faced during the big band era."
The facility is described as "the only comprehensive women’s history museum that chronicles the lives of American women through interactive exhibits." For more information, view thewomensmuseum.org.
Busy Big Bands
Count Basie Orchestra directed by Bill Hughes. Apr. 10, "Valparaiso Jazz Festival,"
Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN; Apr. 25, Blues Alley, Washington, DC.
Tex Beneke Orchestra directed by Jim Snodgrass. Apr. 18, "Tribute to Glenn Miller & the
Vocal Groups," California Center for the Arts, Escondido, CA.
Cab Calloway Orchestra directed by C. Calloway Brooks. Apr. 9, Tuacahn Amphitheatre,
Ivins, UT.
Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra directed by Bill Tole. Apr. 10, Junction City, KS; Apr. 16, Arroyo
Grande, CA; Apr. 18, Glendora, CA; Apr. 23, Pueblo, CO; Apr. 30, Cary, NC.
Tommy Dorsey Orchestra directed by Buddy Morrow. Apr. 30, Central Bucks West High
School, Doylestown, PA.
Les Elgart Orchestra directed by Russ Dorsey. Apr. 3, South Lake Hilton Hotel, Dallas,
TX; Apr. 13, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Alva, OK; Apr. 30, NRH20
Water Park, North Richland Hills, TX.
Duke Ellington Orchestra directed by Paul Mercer Ellington. Apr. 9, Kremlin Concert Hall,
Moscow, Russia; Apr. 11, Kosmos Concert Hall, Ekaterinburg, Russia; Apr. 12,
Philharmonics, Tyumen, Russia; Apr. 14, Premier Concert Hall, Krasnodar, Russia;
Apr. 15, Opera Novosibirsk, Russia; Apr. 16, Grand Concert Hall, St. Petersburg,
Russia; Apr. 17, Grand Europe Hotel, St. Petersburg, Russia; Apr. 19, Finlandia Hall,
Helsinki, Finland; Apr. 20, Nokia Theatre, Tallinn, Estonia; Apr. 21, Lucerna Praha,
Prague, Czech Republic; Apr. 25, Palace Hall, Bucharest, Romania; Apr. 27, National
Palace of Culture, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Harry James Orchestra directed by Fred Radke. Apr. 5, Chicago, IL; Apr. 6, Martinsville,
IN; Apr. 8, Sheboygan, WI; Apr. 9, Menominee, WI; Apr. 10, Fond Du lac, WI; Apr. 11,
Minocqua, WI; Apr. 12, Hibbing, MN; Apr. 13, Park Rapids, MN; Apr. 14, Slayton, MN;
Apr. 15, Grand Island, NE; Apr. 16, Coffeyville, KS; Apr. 17, Hutchinson, KS; Apr. 18,
Norfolk, NE; Apr. 20, Glenwood Springs, CO; Apr. 21, Grand Junction, CO; Apr. 22,
Rock Springs, WY, Apr. 24, Butte, MT; Apr. 26, Rapid City, SD; Apr. 27, Hazen, ND;
Apr. 28, Watertown, SD; Apr. 30, Kearney, NE.
Gene Krupa Orchestra directed by Michael Berkowitz. Apr. 9, [ with The Four Freshmen ],
Napa Valley Opera House, Napa, CA.
Hal McIntyre Orchestra directed by Don Pentleton. Apr. 23, Amazing Things Center for
the Arts, Framingham, MA.
Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Larry O'Brien. Apr. 8-11, Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA;
Apr. 14, Living Sky Centre, Swift Current, Canada; Apr. 17, Paramount Theatre, Denver,
CO; Apr. 18, Pikes Peak Center, Colorado Springs, CO; Apr. 21, Wayne State College,
Wayne, NE; Apr. 23, Beaver Dam High School, Beaver Dam, WI; Apr. 25, Meyer
Theatre, Green Bay, WI; Apr. 27, Seneca Valley Intermediate High School, Harmony,
PA; Apr. 29, Eichelberger Performing Arts Center, Hanover, PA.
Russ Morgan Orchestra directed by Jack Morgan. Apr. 23, Hall of Mirrors, Oklahoma
City, OK; Apr. 24, Moose Club, Tulsa, OK; Apr. 26, First Methodist Christian Life
Center, Starkville, MS; Apr. 27, Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church, Montgomery,
AL; Apr. 28, The Club Atop "Red" Mt., Birmingham, AL; Apr. 29, American Legion,
Clinton, LA; Apr. 30, Chandelier Ballroom, Houston, TX.
Happy Birthday to You
Boomie Richman, b.Apr. 2, 1921. Tenor saxophonist with Paxton '44-'45; T. Dorsey '45-'51
[ off and on ]; Goodman '51 / '52 / '53 / '54 / '55 / '58; Reynolds '55 "Songs for Happy Feet"
album.
Doris Day, b.Apr. 3, 1924. Vocalist with Crosby '40; Brown '40-'41 / '44-'46.
Slide Hampton, b.Apr. 21, 1932. Trombonist with B. Johnson '55-'57; Hampton '58;
Ferguson '58-'59; and leader of the Gillespie All Star Big Band '04- .
Mundell Lowe, b.Apr.21, 1922. Guitarist with McKinley '46-47.
Bea Wain, b.Apr. 30, 1917. Vocalist with Shaw '37 (If It's the Last Thing I Do); Clinton
'37-'39.
Necrology
Mike Zwerin, 79, d.Apr. 2, 2010, "after a long illness." Trombonist with Thornhill '58.
Gene Lees, 82, d.Apr. 22, 2010, heart disease. Wrote Gene Lees Jazzletter and a number
of books including biographies of Woody Herman and Artie Shaw.
New In-Print and / Or Online
Marie Gullard. "Swing in style with the Count Basie Orchestra," Washington [ DC ]
Examiner, Apr. 25, 2010 [ the 18-piece band continues under the direction of Bill
Hughes, who told Gullard, "The energy of the band comes from them; the energy flows
from them . . . And we're still playing swing the way Mr. Basie intended it." ].
Frank-John Hadley. "'My Favorite Big Band Album'," DownBeat, Apr. 2010, p.40+
[ nearly 200 musicians, educators, and others from around the world were asked to
comment about their favorite "big band album"; top choices included Basie "The
Complete Atomic Basie" / "Chairman of the Board" / "Sinatra At the Sands" / "First Time!
Count Meets the Duke" / "Breakfast Dance and Barbecue" / "April in Paris" ; Duke
Ellington "And His Mother Called Him Bill," "Ellington At Newport" / "The Far East Suite" /
"Never No Lament- The Blanton-Webster Band," "Such Sweet Thunder" / "The Great
Paris Concert"; Dizzy Gillespie "The Complete RCA Victor Recordings"; and Woody
Herman "Woody Herman 1963" ].
"Harry James Orchestra to close Concert Association season," Sheboygan [ WI ] Press,
Apr. 3, 2010.
"Les Elgart Orchestra to perform as finale for Northwest Oklahoma Concert Series," Alva
[ OK ] Review - Courier / Newsgram, Apr. 6, 2010.
Robyn Bradley Litchfield. "'Music in the Morgan Manner' big band concert April 27 in
Montgomery," Montgomery [ AL ] Advertiser, Apr. 5, 2010.
Alan luff. "Anec-dotage," Jazz Journal, Vol.63 No.4 / Apr. 2010, p.13 [ recalling
bandleader - arranger Fletcher Henderson ].
Dave Newhouse. "Satchmo -- success, lumps and all that jazz," Oakland [ CA ] Tribune,
Apr. 5, 2010 [ Newhouse reviews Terry Teachout's Armstrong biography, Pops; he
says 'All that's left now is "Satchmo" the movie. And Forest Whitaker would make an
ideal "Pops."' ]
Janice Peterson. "Review of Harry James Orchestra Concert," Murray County [ MN ] News,
Apr. 21, 2010 [ review of Apr. 14th performance ].
Kirk Silsbee. "Clark Terry Snags Lifetime Achievement Grammy," DownBeat, Apr. 2010,
p.19.
Alexandra Silver. "Top 10 Band Break-Ups," Time, Apr. 9, 2010 [ Since this month marks
the 40th anniversary of the break-up of The Beatles, Time looks at the other "most
memorable band splits" of all time, including The Dorsey Brothers ].
George Spink. "Hunton Downs (1918-2010)," thepalomar.blogspot.com, Apr. 19, 2010
[ Spink observes the recent passing of author Downs, who "challenged the long-held
belief about Major Alton G. Miller dying in an airplane crash over the English Channel
on Dec. 15th, 1944" ].
Peter Thornell. "Reviews: Arts & Humanities: Nolan, Tom. Three Chords for Beauty's
Sake," Library Journal, Apr. 15, 2010, p.84 [ review of Nolan's new biography of Artie
Shaw; Thornell calls it "well-written, highly entertaining, and informative" ].
New Compact Discs
Roy Eldridge. "Urbane Jazz," Poll Winners Records 27230.
Duke Ellington. "The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts 1943 / 1947," Prestige
[ 8-CD set incl. concerts from 1/43, 12/44, 1/46, 12/47 ].
Maynard Ferguson. "Expo 67 Montreal," Sounds of Yester Year ( UK ) DSOY813
[ 2 CDs; recorded live in Canada in Jul. 1967 with Ferguson's orchestra and sextet ].
Benny Goodman. "Three Classic Albums Plus," Avid ( UK ) 1004 [ 2-CD set = the LPs
"Benny in Brussels, Vol.1" (Columbia), "Benny in Brussels, Vol.2" (Columbia), and
"Benny Goodman Plays World Favorites in High-Fidelity" (Westinghouse) + bonus tracks
The King and Me (Playboy), Back in Your Own Backyard and Swing Into Spring
(Columbia), and three 1949 airchecks. NOTE: The "Benny in Brussels" material was
already issued on CD in 2001 as Collectables COL-CD-6897 ].
New DVD
Louie Bellson. "Murray Spivack: A Lesson with Louie Bellson," Alfred Music Publishing
[ formerly a VHS tape; produced in 1992 ].
go to Big Band Library homepage
Earl Hines. "Three Faces of Earl Hines," Jazzology
379 [ 21 tracks recorded in 1967 by Hines solo,
with a trio, and with a big band ].
Stan Kenton. "Swinging in San Francisco," Sounds of
Yester Year ( UK ) DSOY814.
Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Band. "Medley
Time," Sounds of Yester Year ( UK ) DSOY812
[ 2-CD set with liner notes by Tony Eaton, a Miller
expert and longtime member of The Glenn Miller
Society in London ].
Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Ray McKinley.
"Movin' Along," Montpellier ( UK ) 61 [ select RCA
Victor recordings ].
Fats Waller. "Performance Radio Recordings From
1931 to 1943," Universal 61826 [ 2-CD set ].
