July 5-6, 2008
A FAMILY AFFAIR
As suggested by a listener (see LETTERS TO THE EDITOR) this hour will consist of husband
and wife teams, sister acts, maybe even cousins and uncles or aunts working together. Oh, yes. Brother acts will be included as we hear the Dorsey Brothers perform for the troops during a time when they were barely speaking to each other. Singers working with husband/bandleaders will not be neglected. The variety engendered by this kind of program may just be worth a listen.
July 12-13, 2008
WHOSE BAND IS THAT?
Got to admit, this is a program that's great fun to do. We dug out some fresh recordings by well-known bands, recordings that may be obscure to you. After we play the lesser-known recording we ask you to name the band, then present one of that band's easily recognizable standards. We play this game every couple of months with the fun coming when we dig into each band's file to come up with a gem that hasn't been heard often, but is fun to listen to. No prizes, of course, just the satisfaction of correctly guessing 'Whose Band Is That."
July 19-20, 2008
KITTY KALLEN/BIG BAND THEMES I
What a varied, event filled career Kitty Kallen enjoyed. She was the 'girl' singer with Jack Teagarden, Jimmy Dorsey and Harry James and then on her own into the '50s.
Examples of every stage of her career make up the first hour, including airchecks and a few comments from her along the way.
The themes of the Big Bands consistently rank among the most popular tunes from the era. In this hour we sample twelve themes alphabetically by band name starting with Ray Anthony and ending with Sammy Kaye.
July 26-27, 2008
MARGARET WHITING/BIG BAND THEMES II
It may have been because she only sang briefly with a Big Band before going out on her own, or her flame my have burned too brightly in the beginning, but Margaret Whiting's work
has never been as appreciated as it should have. This hour changes that, delving into her earliest recordings with Billy Butterfield through her '50s output.
The second hour continues the alphabetical survey of selected themes, this hour beginning with Stan Kenton and going through Lawrence Welk. What a rich collection of melody these themes represent, from mysterious to sweet, from romantic to swing.
August 2-3, 2008
PACEMAKERS
There will be considerable repetition here as we look into the Big Band recordings which opened new musical vistas or changed the future of a band or singer. As you
might easily imagine, most of these recordings were highly popular with the public, for it is public acceptance that creates a pacemaker. A few such recordings might have reached notable status because of acceptance by musicians and be less familiar.
All for one reason or another have reached will have reached pacemaker status. Nothing new but a different view in this BBJ session.
August 9-10, 2008
WITH STRINGS ATTACHED
This whole idea began with an LP album by Wild Bill Davison. The album was titled "With Strings Attached" indicating the performance of Wild Bill with a tapestry of strings behind him. That brought to mind the time when Big Bands were adding strings, much to the dismay of swing fans but delighting lovers of romantic ballads. Least suspected are the 'strings attached' recordings of Count Basie, sax man Ben Webster and Gene Krupa but they all recorded at one time or another with strings. The variety of artists is particular fun, all held together by a common bond….a string section.
August 16-17, 2008
JO STAFFORD SPEAKS/ WESTON EASY JAZZ
Down to earth describes the personality of Jo Stafford, one of the top singers of the 20th century. We re-visit her comments and thrill to her recordings in what develops as a verbal and musical Stafford history. Jo Stafford has turned out to be one of the current flag-bearers of the Era, a singer who's performed in a group, as a soloist with a name Big Band and as a featured performer.
Logical to team Jo Stafford with her husband, the vastly talented arranger and conductor who came up with the idea of highlighting some of his studio players offering orchestral-backed solos of standard melodies. The result is aptly described as "Easy Jazz" proving that jazz doesn't have to be loud or fast to earn the classification.
August 23-24, 2008
W-X-Y-Z FILE
Cheating is what we're doing on this BBJ program. It was supposed to be the end of the alphabetical series artists whose names begin with X, Y or Z, but we reached over to the "W" file to fill in since so few musicians and singers have X, Y or Z names. Trombonist and Grammy winner Si Zentner is included as well as Zim Zemeral's band, but we've added Fats Waller, Fran Warren, Dinah Washington and others to fill out the program. To achieve a varied program is the reason behind the alphabetical idea, for the alphabet is no respecter of style, and a varied program is the result. Loose, informal, fun.
August 30-31, 2008
COME WHAT MAY
Every so often it's fun to just play whatever comes to mind, with no format or pre-planning. That's what this program is about. One recording reminds us of another; one artist recalls a different performance by someone else or by the same person. There are no rules in this two hour session, except that the music must be non-rock and filled with melody and sometimes well-crafted lyrics. Most often these kind of programs consist of seldom-heard melodies by well-known singers and bands as we reach deeper into the files. Wish we could tell you what's in store but we won't know until the program begins and we play "come what may."
September 6-7, 2008
SINGING INSTRUMENTALS
Since the King Arthur days of traveling minstrels lyrics have been important to listeners. Some of the Big Band Era recordings, however, were pure instrumentals depending for their appeal on the melody and individual solos. Often those instrumentals were given words by lyric writers who heard more in their mind's ear than just the tune; those writers made the tunes singing instrumentals. CARAVAN, A TRAIN, SUMMIT RIDGE DRIVE, SONG OF INDIA, SKYLINER and IN THE MOOD all began their lives as pure instrumentals. You'll hear the added words on this BBJ, performed by a variety of vocal groups and individual singers.
September 6-7, 2008
GOODMAN ALUMNI
In this program we attempt to squeeze in the stories of some of the many talented musicians who worked for Benny Goodman over the years. For example, we'll hear about Gene Krupa, Harry James, Martha Tilton and Peggy Lee. There are so many singers and players who gained fame as part of the Goodman bands. Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson will be included as will Mel Powell and Charlie Christian. Singer Art Lund comes to mind along with trumpeter Ziggy Elman. We may not be able to review them all but you'll certainly hear about the most prominent of the Goodman graduates in this session.
September 13-14, 2008
SINGING INSTRUMENTALS
Since the days of traveling minstrels lyrics have been important to listeners. Some of the Big Band Era recordings, however, were pure instrumentals depending for their appeal on the melody and individual solos. Often those instrumentals were given words by lyric writers who heard more in their mind's ear than just the tune; those writers made the tunes singing instrumentals. CARAVAN, A TRAIN, SUMMIT RIDGE DRIVE, SONG OF INDIA, SKYLINER and IN THE MOOD all began their lives as pure instrumentals. You'll hear the added words on this BBJ, performed by a variety of vocal groups and individual singers.
September 20-21, 2008
REQUESTS PLUS
Another of those request programs has been scheduled simply because we've received so many requests. On these programs we've found it's fun to play a request and then veer off to another recording suggested by that request expanding the variety, hence the 'plus' added to the program title. Here's an example of how that works: One of the requests is for Tommy Dorsey's THE CONTINENTAL, suggesting inclusion of a second Dorsey recording from his later years. These programs might allow us to see new musical vistas.
September 27-28, 2008
NOVELTY SONGS/UNRESTRAINED SWING
They'll always be with us, the silly songs popping up in all forms of music. Big Band novelty is no exception. Glenn Miller will be represented as will Dick Jurgens, Les Brown,
Alvino Rey and even Vaughn Monroe. Spike Jones, of course, will be part of the mix. Only an hour is devoted to such flippancy, for more would be close to criminal….but fun!
The second hour of this BBJ double-header will be devoted to swing in its many forms. There will be small group swing as well as Big Band swing, gentle swing along with more upbeat swing. Earl Hines, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and an overseas visit from Stephane Grappelli will be part of an hour that's not for the faint of heart.
October 4-5, 2008
ROMANCE
A listener wrote to say there were often too many fast and sometimes loud numbers on BBJ, so we're fashioning this program to be strictly the music of romance. Everything on this program will either refer directly to love, marriage, dating or other forms of romance and no selection will actually swing. It'll be remindful of some of the late-night programs of radio days past, except there will be no syrupy-voiced poetry intoned. We will throw in some background stories, but maybe in a manner not too disturbing to the ears.
October 11-12, 2008
SWINGING ON A V-DISC
Similar to the term 'airchecks' (see below for program of 10-25/26) the term V-Discs has been used casually on the air as if everyone knows what they were. They were 12 inch 78 RPM vinyl recordings made under the auspices of the War Department between 1943 and 1949. They were born at a time when American Federation of Musicians president James C. Petrillo initiated a musician's strike against the record companies, depriving the troops (and civilians, too) of fresh musical entertainment. Despite government assurances that all the V-Discs would be heard only by the troops and then destroyed, copies were stashed away by avid collectors. We hear some of those unique performances including Frank Sinatra, Fats Waller, Sgt. Jack Leonard, Randy Brooks, Les Paul before multiple guitars, Eddie Heywood and Tommy Dorsey.
October 18-19, 2008
THE GLEN ISLAND CASINO
Certain ballroom names became part of the lore of the Big Band Era and the Glen Island Casino was one of those. Overlooking Long Island Sound in New Rochelle, New York, the Glen Island Casino was home to top bands, most notable of which was Glenn Miller whose appearance there with the associated radio broadcasts were an important factor in his early popularity. You'll hear broadcasts from that historic ballroom just as they were heard during the Era as patrons sat at balcony tables for dinners costing as much as two to three dollars.
October 25-26, 2008
GLENN MILLER AIRCHECKS/CHARLIE BARNET RECALLED
Casual reference is made to 'airchecks' one reader wrote to ask what they are. Before tape and digital, they were 16 inch one of a kind transcriptions ordered by either the bandleader or sponsor of a radio program for later review. A few of those airchecks survived and form the basis for this BBJ hour. As often pointed out, the spontaneity of 'live' performance was often superior to the same tune recorded in a sterile studio. This hour contains bits of on-air Glenn Miller excitement preserved all these years.
The second hour is a remembrance of Charlie Barnet, the bandleader much envied by musicians because he played what and how he wanted to play ignoring the commercial consequences. The hour includes comments by Charlie Barnet about singers Fran Warren, Frances Wayne, Mary Ann McCall and Lena Horne, all of whom worked for him very early in their careers. The hour also includes the two largest-selling recordings of his band's history, and even a comment from him about his dozen or so wives.
November 1-2, 2008
ALL-STAR JAM SESSION
Years ago a friend suggested the idea for this kind of program, consisting of recordings by musicians who don't normally work together.
This is another edition of that idea, looking into the fund of material that's become available in the years since the first "Jam Session" was offered. The classic Metronome All-Stars will be part of the program, but so will Count Basie playing outside his band and the opportunities from V-Discs where contractual obligations were set aside, as well as a sampling of the Lionel Hampton Victor jam sessions.
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