SOUNDIES ON PBS
A select group of "Soundies," filmed music videos from the 1940s, will be shown as part of a new program, "Soundies: A Musical History Hosted by Michael Feinstein," scheduled to air during pledge drives this month on PBS-TV. Originally viewed through a special machine called a panoram (like a jukebox, except with a visual component) in restaurants and nightclubs, the Soundies gave the public an opportunity to see some of their favorite performers, simply by dropping a dime into the coin slot.
According to PBS publicity, there were more than 1800 Soundies made, including the very first footage of black and white musicians performing together. Among the ones to be presented during the special are Hot Chocolate (Duke Ellington), Blow Top Blues (Cab Calloway), and Jumpin' At the Jubilee (Louis Jordan).
Feinstein, a pianist - singer, commented in PBS publicity, "Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved what we now call American Popular Standards. My parents played them around the house, and it was music that resonated with me at an early age . . . I think the soundies are so compelling because you see amazing performances from the past that are unique and special and deserve to be preserved."
NEW COMPACT DISCS
Ray Anthony: "Swingin' at the Tower," Montpellier (UK) MONTCD 028 [ = 1956 Capitol LP T-749 +
eight 1953-55 recordings ]
Count Basie: "First Time! The Count Meets the Duke / Count Basie," Collectables
COL-CD-7853 [ = 1962 Columbia LP CS 8515 + 1955 Columbia LP CL 754 ]
Duke Ellington: "Vol.13: Jam-a-Ditty: Original Recordings 1946-1947," Naxos Jazz
Legends (UK) 8.120813; "Duke's Mixture / At the Bal Masque," Collectables
COL-CD-7856 [ = 1955 Columbia 10" LP CL 2522 + 1959 LP Columbia CS 8098 ]
Jerry Gray: "Off the Wall," Sounds of Yester Year ( UK ) 729 [ 28 studio recordings from 1949-53 ]
Buddy Johnson: "Walk 'em: The Decca Sessions," Ace (UK) 623
Hal McIntyre: "Maximum McIntyre: Historic Performances 1944-46," Joyce JRC1026
George Williams: "Beautiful Rhythm," Montpellier (UK) MONTCD029
IN-PRINT AND/OR ONLINE
Anthony, Michael. "The Doc is in," Minneapolis-St. Paul [ MN ] Star-Tribune /
startribune.com, Mar. 23, 2007. [ a Q&A with trumpeter Doc Severinsen (Fio Rito '45; Barnet '47-'49;
S. Donahue '48; T. Dorsey '50) ]
Bentyne, Cheryl. "Farewells: Anita O'Day," JazzTimes, Mar. 2007, p.44.
Big Geez [ sic ]. "Retro Redux: Charlie Barnet - The Millionaire Bandleader,"
blogcritics.org, Mar. 27, 2007.
Clooney, Nick. "Ray Noble preceded Beatles by 3 decades," Cincinnati [ OH ] Post /
news.cincypost.com, Mar. 23, 2007. [ " . . . Noble certainly qualifies as one of those now nearly forgotten . . . " ]
"Doc Severinsen Blows His Horn One Last Time," St. Paul [ MN ] Pioneer Press,
Mar. 31, 2007, p.A9, "Main."
Duckham, Henry. "Dick Johnson - on the Road Again," The Clarinet, Mar. 2007, pp.74-77.
[ recent activities by Johnson, director of the Artie Shaw Orchestra since 1983 ]
Erskine, Peter. "Farewells: Maynard Ferguson," JazzTimes, Mar. 2007, pp.42-43.
Fratallone, Stephen. "First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald Honored On U.S. Postage Stamp,"
jazzconnectionmag.com, Mar. 2007.
---. "Remembering Janet Blair," jazzconnectionmag.com, Mar. 2007. [ Blair, best known as
an actress, sang and recorded with Hal Kemp's band in 1940 ]
Friedwald, Will. "Arts & Letters: Panoram Killed the Radio Star," New York [ City ] Sun /
nysun.com, Mar. 5, 2007. [ 1940s soundies ]
"He May Retire, But Doc [ Severinsen ] Will Always Have the Prescription for Fun,"
St. Paul [ MN ] Pioneer Press, Mar. 25, 2007, p.E9 "Sunday Life."
"Hi-De-Ho," Napa Valley [ CA ] Register / napavalleyregister.com, Mar. 28, 2007.
[ promoting the April 7 Napa Valley Opera House appearance of The Cab Calloway Orchestra directed by C. Calloway Brooks ]
Klauber, Bruce. "Naples Backstage: Bruce Klauber - Ghost bands not out to spook,
but to juke [ sic ]," Naples [ FL ] Sun-Times, Mar. 28, 2007. [ Klauber explains what a typical ghost
band is, and discusses The Lionel Hampton New York Big Band directed by Cleave Guyton ]
Mahogany, Kevin. "Farewells: Jay McShann," JazzTimes, Mar. 2007, pp.43-44.
McIntosh, Linda. "Glenn Miller exhibit swings its way into museum," San Diego [ CA ]
Union-Tribune / signonsandiego.com, Mar. 16, 2007. [ exhibit and historical presentation by Dan Del
Fiorentino at The Museum of Making Music; items loaned by Miller's family on display ]
Moore, Joe. "Manhattan Rag - The American Federation of Musicians Directory of
Musicians; Greater New York, 1929," VJM's Jazz & Blues Mart issue no.145 Spring 2007,
pp.9-10. [ Moore examines listings for various musicians including Ace Brigode and Glenn Miller ]
Nathan, Deborah. "Cab Calloway's Estate Can't Sue Grandson for Copyright Infringement,"
findlaw.com, Mar. 20, 2007.
Sinagra, Laura. "Can I Get an Amen?," New York Times / nytimes.com, Mar. 18, 2007,
"Sunday Book Review." [ Sinagra comments on the new biography of Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Millinder '41-'42 /
'43 "AFRS Jubilee" ) ]
Viebrock, Susan. "A big band guru lives on: Glenn Miller Orchestra swings into Telluride,"
Telluride [ CO ] Daily Planet / telluridegateway.com, Mar. 14, 2007.
ON THE ROAD
Count Basie Orchestra directed by Bill Hughes: Mar. 18, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall,
Sarasota, FL; Mar. 19, Jacoby Symphony Hall, Jacksonville, FL; Mar. 21, Center for
Performing Arts, Wilmington, NC; Mar. 23, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC;
Mar. 26, Muskogee High School, Muskogee, OK; Mar. 27, T.G. Field Auditorium,
Longview, TX; Mar. 29, Fontainebleau High School, Mandeville, LA; Mar. 31, Texas Tech
University, Lubbock, TX
Cab Calloway Orchestra directed by C. Calloway Brooks: Mar. 22, Mississippi State
University, Meridian, MS; Mar. 27, Stuart, FL; Mar. 29-30, Seattle, WA
Jimmy Dorsey orchestra directed by Bill Tole: Mar. 14, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Mar. 25,
Petaluma, CA; Mar. 30, Mansfield, OH; Mar. 31, Charleston, WV
Les Elgart Orchestra directed by Russ Dorsey: Mar. 3, The Hockaday School, Dallas, TX
[ sold-out! ]; Mar. 24, Lakewood Country Club, Dallas, TX
Jan Garber Orchestra directed by Howard Schneider: Mar. 25, Indiana Roof Ballroom,
Indianapolis, IN
Gene Krupa Orchestra directed by Michael Berkowitz: Mar. 3, Yavapai College Community
Theatre, Prescott, AZ [ with The Four Freshmen ]; Mar. 4, Del Webb Center for the
Performing Arts, Wickenburg, AZ [ with the Four Freshmen ]; Mar. 5-6, Cox Performing
Arts Center, St. George, UT [ with the Four Freshmen ]; Mar. 8, Historic Yuma Theatre,
Yuma, AZ
Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians with Al Pierson: Mar. 27, Marion, IL
Glenn Miller Orchestra directed by Larry O'Brien: Mar. 1, Roosevelt Middle School,
Coffeyville, KS; Mar. 3, tba, Oklahoma City, OK; Mar. 5, Ector Theatre, Odessa, TX;
Mar. 6-7, City Center for the Performing Arts, Kerrville, TX; Mar. 8, Paul Poag Theatre,
Del Rio, TX; Mar. 10, Marshall Auditorium, Clovis, NM; Mar. 11, Abraham Chavez Theatre,
El Paso, TX; Mar. 13, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO; Mar. 14, Sheridan Opera House.
Telluride, CO; Mar. 16, Desertview Performing Arts Center, Oro Valley, AZ; Mar. 17,
Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, AZ; Mar. 18, Quail Creek Madeira Country Club,
Green Valley, AZ; Mar. 20, Palm Springs Auditorium, Palm Springs, CA; Mar. 21, East
County Performing Arts Center, El Cajon, CA; Mar. 23, Lancaster Performing Arts Center,
Lancaster, CA; Mar. 24, USS Hornet, Alameda, CA; Mar. 25, Northern CA Center for the
Arts, Grass Valley, CA; Mar. 26, First Baptist Church, Modesto, CA; Mar. 28, Tillamook
High School, Tillamook, OR; Mar. 29, Kirkland Performance Center, Kirkland, WA; Mar.
30, Admiral Theatre, Bremerton, WA
Doc Severinsen and His Big Band: Mar. 10, Civic Center, Des Moines, IA
Artie Shaw Orchestra directed by Dick Johnson: Mar. 17, Willett Hall, Portsmouth, VA;
Mar. 18, Robinson Civic Auditorium, West Point, VA; Mar. 20, Seaford High School,
Seaford, DE; Mar. 22, Rutherford/Spindale High School, Rutherford, NC; Mar. 24,
Niswonger Performing Arts Center, Greenville, TN; Mar. 25, Clayton Center Auditorium,
Clayton, NC; Mar. 26, Glynn Academy Auditorium, Brunswick, GA; Mar. 28, Schreir
Auditorium, Morgan City, LA; Mar. 30, McAllen Civic Center, McAllen, TX
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
Orrin Keepnews, writer (A Pictorial History of Jazz: People and Places From New
Orleans to Modern Jazz) - record producer, b.Mar. 2, 1923
Mahlon Clark, clarinetist (Hudson '40?; Bradley-McKinley '41-'42; McKinley '42),
b.Mar. 7, 1923
Dick Hyman, pianist (Goodman '50 / '55 / '85-'86) - arranger, b.Mar. 8, 1927
Donn Trenner, pianist (Fio Rito '43-'45; Morrow '47?; Brown '54-'56 / '57-'60?),
b.Mar. 10, 1927
Quincy Jones, trumpeter (Hampton '51-'53; Gillespie '56) - composer (Basie '58 Rat Race /
The Midnight Sun Never Sets / Meet B.B.), b.Mar. 14, 1933
George Avakian, record producer, b.Mar. 15, 1919
Bob Wilber, clarinetist - soprano sax (Hackett '57; Goodman '58), b.Mar. 15, 1928
Larry Elgart, saxophonist (Byrne; Les Elgart) - bandleader (Les & Larry Elgart; Larry Elgart),
b.March 20, 1922
Bill Hughes, trombonist (Basie '54-'57 / '63-'84) - bandleader (Basie Orch. '03- ),
b.Mar. 28, 1930
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
One of the musicians in Tex Beneke's band was Gene Cipriano, who played saxophone with Tex from June 1949 to October 1950. He also was later in some of Tex's West Coast pick-up groups. In 2007, Cipriano is still playing, now working prestigious Los Angeles jobs, such as TV award shows and on recordings. Keep going, Gene!
NECROLOGY
Betty Hutton, 86, vocalist (Lopez '38-'39?), d.Mar. 11, 2007, "complications of colon cancer"
Eddie Hubbard, 89, radio disc jockey - announcer, d.Mar. 26, 2007, of injuries from an
automobile accident which occured Mar. 19th
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BIG BAND NEWS
MARCH 2007
compiled by Christopher Popa
CAPE COD CLAMBAKE!
The Vaughn Monroe Society is planning its second get-together, "Still Racing with the Moon II," full of sightseeing, socializing, and recorded examples of Monroe's music.
This time, the locale will be Boston, MA, with the gathering scheduled for May 17-20 at the John Hancock Hotel and Conference Center (in the historic "Back Bay" area, across from Copley Square).
Special activities are planned each day, such as viewing television performances and movie clips featuring Monroe.
Sure to be one of the highlights is a morning at The New England Conservatory in Boston, where Monroe was enrolled in 1935, and today a collection of his music is held.
Also, a charter bus tour will visit a number of other area locations with a connection to Monroe. Included will be the former site of Seiler's Ten Acres, a Wayland, MA venue, where his band made its debut in 1940, and the former site of The Meadows, a restaurant-nightclub he once owned, in Framingham, MA.
For more details, such as other activities, costs, and the deadline for reservations, view the website vaughnmonroesociety.org.
My brother Jay and I send our regards to all participants, and, for fun, suggest a Monroe listening session with Clam Chowder (a 1941 Bluebird side), Harvard Square (from the "Fitch Bandwagon" radio show in 1943), Boston Rocker (the 1945 Langworth transcription), and Cape Cod Clambake (on the 1958 RCA Victor "There I Sing / Swing It Again" album).
Vaughn Monroe (1911-1973)
