"BIG BAND NEWS": MARCH 2005
                     reported by Christopher Popa
Desi Arnaz, "Conga!," Collectables 8095 [formerly available in
    1999 as Sony Music Special Products A 33105]
Johnny Desmond, "'The G.I. Sinatra': All Those Wonderful Years,"
    ASV Living Era 5544
Dorsey Brothers, "Stop Look and Listen," Naxos Jazz 8120762
Ella Fitzgerald, "Live: Lady Be Good," Just Jazz / Black Label
Dizzy Gillespie.  "Dizzy: The Music Of John Birks Gillespie," Verve
Benny Goodman, "Red Horse Boogie Woogie," Sounds of
    Yesteryear 662
Billie Holiday, "The Billie Holiday Story," USD [ 4 CDs ]; "The
    Original Authentic Recordings," Just Jazz / Black Label
Sammy Kaye, "Midnight Serenade / Ballroom Date," Collectables
    7698
Ray McKinley, "Howdy Friends," ASV Living Era 5517
Bobby Sherwood, "Sherwood Swing," Sounds of Yesteryear 663
Charlie Spivak, "One Way Passage," Sounds of Yesteryear 661
Rex Stewart, "Baden 1966 and Montreux 1971," Sackville 2061
Jack Teagarden, "Big T," Proper Box 82 [ 4 CDs ]

DVDs:
Count Basie, "Norman Granz' Jazz At the Philharmonic: Count
    Basie Big Band [ 1977 ]," Eagle Eye Media  
Duke Ellington, "West Coast Swing," Passport
Dizzy Gillespie, "Norman Granz' Jazz At Montreux [ 1977 ]," Eagle
    Eye Media; "Groovin' with Diz & Co.," Passport
Red Norvo, "Jazz Master Series," Shanachie
Clark Terry, "Norman Granz' Jazz At Montreux [ 1977 ]," Eagle Eye
    Media

ITINERARIES - SELECT LIST:
Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra directed by Bill Tole:  Mar. 6-11,
    Mississippi Queen riverboat cruise; Mar. 12, Flint, MI;
    Mar. 27-Apr. 2, American West steamboat cruise
Woody Herman Orchestra directed by Frank Tiberi: Mar. 3,
    Auditorium, Sanibel, FL
Gene Krupa Orchestra directed by Michael Berkowitz: Mar. 25,
    Vilar Center, Beaver Creek, CO
Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Larry O'Brien: Mar. 1,
    Midlothian Concert Center, Midlothian, TX; Mar. 3, Washburn
    Auditorium, Topeka, KS; Mar. 5, Renaissance Hotel, Oklahoma
    City, OK; Mar. 6, Carpenter Performance Hall, Irving, TX; Mar. 7,
    Howard Payne University, Brownwood, TX; Mar. 8, McMahon
    Memorial Auditorium, Lawton, OK; Mar. 9, Terrell High School,
    Terrell, TX; Mar. 10, Kilgore College, Kilgore, TX; Mar. 11, Paris
    High School, Paris, TX; Mar. 13, Arend Art Center, Bentonville,
    AR; Mar. 16, Sharpsville High School, Sharpsville, PA; Mar.
   18-19 (with The Columbus Symphony Orchestra), Ohio Theater,
    Columbus, OH; Mar. 21, LaComedia Dinner Theatre, Springboro,
    OH; Mar. 31, Education & Arts Center, Willmar, MN
Russ Morgan Orchestra directed by Jack Morgan: Mar. 5,
    Las Palmas Grand, Mesa, AZ; Mar. 6. Phoenix Country Club,
    Phoenix, AZ; Mar. 10, Trilogy at Power Ranch, Gilbert, AZ; Mar.
    12, Las Palmas Grand, Mesa, AZ; Mar. 13-14, Quail Creek,
    Green Valley, AZ; Mar. 16, Dun Dial Dance Club, Sun City, AZ;
    Mar. 18, South Bay Community Concert, Redondo Beach, CA;
    Mar. 19, Mayflower Ballroom, Inglewood, CA
Artie Shaw Orchestra directed by Dick Johnson: Mar. 1,
    Pensacola, FL; Mar. 2, Shreveport, LA; Mar. 3, Greenville, TX;
    Mar. 4, Livingston, TX; Mar. 5, Kerrville, TX; Mar. 7-8, Harlingen,
    TX; Mar. 9, McCallen, TX; Mar. 10, Houston, TX; Mar. 12,
    Pampa, TX; Mar. 13, Liberal, KS; Mar. 14, Garden City, KS;
    Mar. 16, Durango, CO; Mar. 17, Butte, CO; Mar. 20, Beaver
    Creek, CO; Mar. 22, Albuquerque, NM; Mar. 23, Scottsdale, AZ;
    Mar. 24, Yuma, AZ; Mar. 28, Laughlin, NV; Mar. 29, Tucson, AZ;
    Mar. 31, Napa, CA
Lawrence Welk's 'Champagne Music Makers': [ featuring
    accordionist Tim Padilla ] Mar. 3-6, Orleans Hotel and Casino,
    Las Vegas, NV; Mar. 8, Fort Center, Dearborn, MI; Mar. 9,
    Forum Center, Hershey, PA; Mar. 12, Civic Center, Savannah,
    GA; Mar. 13, Ruth Eckard Hall, Clearwater, FL; Mar. 16,
    Stranahan Theatre, Toledo, OH; Mar. 17, Hemmens Cultural
    Center, Elgin, IL; Mar. 18, Meyer Theatre, Green Bay, WI;
    Mar. 19, Crystal Music Theatre, Wisconsin Dells, WI; Mar. 20,
    Civic Center, Peoria, IL; Mar. 21, Leid Center, Lincoln, NE; Mar.
    23, Rushmore Center, Rapid City, SD; Mar. 24, Paramount
    Theater, Denver, CO; Mar. 26, Sundome, Sun City, AZ

NECROLOGY:
Lou Halmy, trumpeter - arranger (Fields '36-'37), 93, Mar. 14, 2005
Don Durant, vocalist, 72, Mar. 15, 2005, chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Chuck Travis, tenor saxophonist (J. Dorsey '44-'46), 84, Mar. 18,
  2005, jaw cancer



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BUNNY BERIGAN
    If you missed it when it came out in 1993, now's your chance to get the critically-acclaimed first comprehensive biography about one of the big band trumpet immortals.  Bunny Berigan: Elusive Legend of Jazz, written by Robert DuPuis [ shown, r. ], is again in-print, this time in paperback, from the Louisiana State University Press.  Upon its initial release, the book was reviewed in Mississippi Rag, which stated, “Well researched and passionately written . . . A must-read not only for Berigan fans but for any serious student of the swing era.”
DIZZY GILLESPIE
   Another book about a different jazz legend, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, is now available from Harper Entertainment.  In Dizzy: The Life and Times of John Birks Gillespie, a 432-page biography, author Donald L. Maggin follows him on the road with the big bands, to the 52nd Street jazz clubs of New York City, and into concert halls around the world.  Gillespie expanded the rhythmic and harmonic foundations of jazz, when he helped to create bebop and later fostered a revolution in Afro-Cuban sounds. 
ARTIE SHAW
    BBC Radio 2 in England
celebrated the life of Artie Shaw
[ pictured r., ca.1938 ], who passed away recently.  Their
1-hour documentary, "The Artie Shaw Story," hosted by Russell Davies, aired at 8:30 pm on Mar. 8th.   
    According to BBC publicity, the program included "new interviews with surviving musicians who played in his many bands . . .  including . . . Joe Lippman (piano and arranger), Hank Jones (piano), Dick Johnson (clarinet) and Johnny Mandel (arranger)."
CDs:
    No less than seven titles of Duke Ellington's music are among new compact disc releases:

"Ellington '65," Collectables 6728
"Ellington '66," Collectables 6729
"Afro-Bossa," Collectables 6730
"The Symphonic Ellington," Collectables
  6731
"Plays with the Original Motion Picture
  Score From Walt Disney's 'Mary
  Poppins,'" Collectables 6732
"Greatest Hits," Collectables 8064 [10
  tracks; formerly available in 2002 as
  Sony BMG Music A-58146]
"Vol., 1, 1926-29: From Mrs. Clinkscales
  to the Cotton Club," JSP   [ 4 CDs ]
IN-PRINT:
Belton, Brian.  "Artie Shaw 1910-2004," In Tune, Mar. 2005.
Fenton, Jacob.  "Swing-era crooner  [ Harry Prime ] still packs in the crowds,"
    thereporteronline.com [ Philadelphia, PA ], Mar. 4, 2005.
Flowers, Jennifer.  "The Artie Shaw Orchestra promises big band, more," Shreveport Times
    [ Louisiana ], shreveporttimes.com, Mar. 1, 2005.
Fratallone, Stephen.  "Hail, King Louie: Drumming Great Louis Bellson To Be Honored With
    Golden Bandstand Award," Jazz Connection Magazine, jazzconnectionmag.com, Mar. 2005.
Harvey, Jay.  "Images [ Duncan Schiedt ]," Indianapolis Star, indystar.com, Mar. 4, 2005.
Kilgannon, Corey.  "...And All That Jazz Memorabilia! [ about Frank Driggs' photograph
    collection ]," New York Times, Mar. 1, 2005.
Kipnis, Jill.  "Capturing The Smooth Sounds Of Sin City: EMI Launches Imprint To Showcase
    Classic Performances At Las Vegas Venues [ incl. Frank Sinatra, Louis Prima and Keely
    Smith, Peggy Lee, etc. ]," Billboard, Mar. 5, 2005, p.24.
Mackevicj, Eileen R.  "The Crucible of the Cotton Club."  neh.fed.us/news/humanities/2005-03/
    cruciblecotton.html.
Martens, Todd.  "The Last Word: The Welk Name Didn't Mean Anything, To Be Honest: A Q&A
    With Kevin Welk," Billboard, Mar. 19, 2005, p.66.
McDonough, John.  "End the Beguine: The Unapologetic Genius of Artie Shaw 1910-2004,"
    DownBeat, Mar. 2005, p.52+.
Schlosser, Jim.  "Greensboro musician [ Ted Thompson ] still true to his big-band roots,"
    (Greensboro, NC) News Record / news-record.com, Mar. 28, 2005.
Spillman, Benjamin.  "City renames parth for 'Bronze Buckaraoo': Singin' black cowboy blazed
    own trail in '30s," (Pal Springs, CA) Desert Sun / desertsun.com, Mar. 28, 2005.
Stewart, Zan.  "A Rich repertoire: Buddy's Buddies play tunes from songbook of famed
    drummer's band," Star-Ledger / nj.com, Mar. 11, 2005.
Steyn, Mary.  "Ex-Husband of Love Goddesses: Artie Shaw (1910-2004)," Atlantic Monthly,
    Mar. 2005, pp.138-139.
WAYNE KING
    Thanks to the latest technology and the continuing efforts of historian "Scott" Law, big band great Wayne King may soon be heard through two novel means!  Law is putting together a special, new  tribute to King, for airing on WCCI-FM 100.3 in Savannah, IL, which was the bandleader's hometown.
    "We should broadcast one hour of Wayne King and His Orchestra over the local radio station in late March or April.  I'm working with the station owner who is allowing me to put the hour together," he told me. 
    In June 2004, Law hosted a one-of-a-kind dance and celebration in Savanna, with King's wife, Dorothy; son, Wayne Jr.; and two former King band vocalists present.
    The project now going on will be welcome, too.
    "I'm currently recording several local musicians who read very brief scripts relating their dance band history.  We'll use some this year and others in future years to advertise the broadcasts a week or two in advance so people will learn about when to tune into the broadcasts on WCCI FM 100.3.  The station usually broadcasts the same hour at two different times a day or so apart," Law explained.
    "The second special thing about this year's broadcast will be the first hour of a three hour recording that I'm hoping to have professionally produced and released in 2008 as a 25th commemoration CD recognizing the disbanding Wayne King and His Orchestra which was in March of 1983," he continued.  "My plan is to let the local folks hear the first hour in 2005, the second hour in 2006, the third hour in 2007 and then make the entire CD available for purchase in 2008.  The recording is of Wayne King and His Orchestra LIVE at the Willowbrook Ballroom on October 6, 1968."
    The Willowbrook is still in business, operating in the Chicago suburb of Willow Springs, IL.  (Dance bands led by Steve Cooper and Teddy Lee Jr., both area favorites, each make an appearance at the ballroom this month.)
Wayne King entertains
(photo courtesy of "Scott" Law
and used with permission)
Nancy Evans sings
with Wayne King's band
(photo courtesy of "Scott" Law
and used with permission)
    King died in 1985, but his music continues to attract fans nationwide who will surely be excited about Law's planned CD package.
    "My hope is that it will be recognized as the most important live big band recording discovered and mass produced in more than a quarter century," he shared.  "It's wonderful music mixed with Wayne's enthusiasm heard throughout the three hours, including teasing and a special five minute closing with his old friend Franklyn MacCormack."
    Meanwhile, it's good to hear that Nancy (Evans) Lenny, one of King's longtime vocalists, continues to regain her health, after a fall in late December 2004.  Best wishes, Nancy, for your complete recovery!
wife Dorothy accompanies Wayne King
on tour, aboard a bus, ca.1981-82
[ note the band itinerary taped nearby ]
(photo courtesy of "Scott" Law
and used with permission)
LES BROWN
    Two musicians were among the honorees Mar. 23rd, when the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved 27 new historical markers, which commemorate diverse people, places and events across the state.  A marker for Les Brown is to be located in Schuylkill County (he was born in Reinerton, PA), while one for Fred Waring will be placed in Blair County (he was a native of Tyrone, PA).