The Musical Joy of the Big Band!

Music is a universal language. That is why I write this blog. For most people, whether they know it or not, music effects some part of their life.  We associate people and places and memories with the music we listen to.  But, when we experience something in a live sense, it can be even more powerful.  One such genre of music is the Swing of the Big Band Jazz era.  This past Thursday night, I was lucky enough to hear a fantastic big band called the Jazz Guardians and Loose Cannons as part of the Army Ground Forces Band. This band was directed by my college friend John Jacobs.  The band took the stage with songs like In the Mood, Sing Sing Sing, the Mambo Swing, Orange Colored Sky and Minnie the Moocher.  You may think that’s typical Big Band songs that are usually heard. But, when was the last time you heard an actual big band in a live music setting or concert hall?  That is an aural experience that I would recommend to music fans of any age.  From the intonations and subtleties to the dynamics of a powerful horn section, there is no other sound. In fact, rock drummers such as the Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts and Phil Collins have likened the experience of drumming for a big band is like driving a Ferrari…it’s that powerful!
Usually, I write a memory blog that is specific to a certain album from the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.  Unfortunately, the book chronicles high fidelity album recordings that go back to 1955. By that time, the Big Band genre was no longer the “pop” music of the masses. This was the beginning of early Rock n’ Roll and Rhythm and Blues with artists such as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Fats Domino and Chuck Berry.  Therefore, most of the Big Band jazz albums highlighted in the book are Duke Ellington: Ellington – Live at Newport 1956, Count Basie – The Atomic Mr. Basie and swing vocal albums like Frank Sinatra’s Songs for Swingin Lovers and Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Songbook.  I would even include the swingin’ music of Louis Prima’s The Wildest.  I include Louis Prima because he wrote one of the iconic songs of the swing era Sing Sing Sing! and Sinatra because he started his career in the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
 
For most of my peers, the primary source of Big Band music we heard from an early age was the music of Doc Severinsen’s Tonight Show Band when Johnny Carson was the host. To me, that was part of the magic of the Tonight Show in the 70’s and 80’s when I would watch it.  Johnny even said when he aired his final show (back in May of 1992) that it’s a shame that the home audience would no longer hear one of the great Big Bands of all time any more.  Johnny Carson was a huge fan of Big Band music and a drummer himself. He would book artists like Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald and (of course) Buddy Rich. When I first expressed an interest in the drums, my parents would occasionally let me stay up to watch Buddy Rich play with Doc Severinsen and the band. I still remember the magical beginning of the Tonight Show where you could see the hands of Ed Shaughnessy playing the drums on the bandstand.  Even the times that I didn’t see Buddy on the Tonight show, it was a big deal for my friends in the percussion section in band the next day at school.
Growing up, I took for granted the appeal of the Big Band. In High School and College, I performed with Swing Choirs, Show choirs, High School Jazz Band and then the Jazz Rock Ensemble in college. So, the music of the Big Band was always present. That was the mid to late 80’s.  I added many Big Band CD’s to my music collection over the years. Most of them were Buddy Rich CD’s. Buddy Rich could also be credited for keeping the Big Band alive (from 1966 till his death in 1987). When many Jazz musicians were forming small groups and Rock musicians were all the rage, Buddy started his own big band and toured the country playing colleges and high schools with young musicians that he would recruit from music schools and colleges. In fact, I saw Buddy Rich in the fall of 1986 at Gibbon High School in Gibbon Nebraska. This was almost 6-7 months before Buddy passed away in April of 1987. I actually ran into my college friend John Jacobs at this concert too. It’s an experience I’ll cherish forever.  I did broaden my tastes with stuff like Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Satchmo and Ellington. There’s an old saying: “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”.  Big Band music has never really gone away. It’s just that it’s not as much in the public eye as it once was. In my opinion, It seemed to fade out of the mainstream scope after Johnny Carson retired from the Tonight show.
Even as a rock lover, I continued to keep myself educated about the world of Big Band Jazz mostly through my subscription to Modern Drummer magazine that was always writing about the great Big Bands and the drummers that had played for them.
In the late 80’s, Harry Connick Jr came on the scene when he had a hit with It Had to Be You from the Rob Reiner movie When Harry Met Sally.  Harry became a new face from New Orleans that appealed to a mainstream audience. But, he was also very steeped in his Jazz (and New Orleans) upbringing. Then around 1997-98, Jon Favreau directed a movie called Swingers about a group of friends that would hang out at a burgeoning swing scene in LA.  To me, this was very instrumental in a new Swing resurgence.  Brian Setzer, who had started his career with (80’s rockabilly revival band) the Stray Cats. In 1998, Setzer came back to the forefront with his new Brian Setzer Orchestra with a cover of Louis Prima’s Jump Jive and Wail.  Prima’s version was enjoying a revival too with the use of the song in a GAP commercial. Both versions propelled Setzer and a new swing revival in the late 90’s and into the early 2000’s.

Another notable band at the time include the Royal Crown Revue (which had a song featured in the soundtrack for Jim Carrey’s movie Mask). RCR also toured the country as a support act for the reunion of KISS in the late 90’s. My roommate Matt became a fan of the Squirrel Nut Zippers with their small hit Hell.  Other notable bands would be the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.  It was really cool to hear big band swing blaring out of radios with a new energy and people were interested in learning swing dancing too.  Even former progressive rock and pop drummer Phil Collins recorded a live album with his own Big Band at the Montreux Jazz Festival. But, as the 90’s passed, the popularity of the swing revival waned too. 
Around 1998-99, I attended a cast party for a musical I was in for Kearney Community Theatre.  There, I began to talk to Kearney artist – Nick Ratzlaff. I honestly don’t remember how we began talking about Big Band and Swing music. But, Nick began playing music by Louis Prima. I recognized Jump Jive and Wail and Just a Gigolo.  But, what I didn’t realize was that Louis Prima also wrote Sing Sing Sing which Benny Goodman had made one of the biggest Big Band “hits” of all time.

Suddenly, I became a huge fan of Louis Prima. I loved his gruff raspy voice and his music was…well…”Swingin!”
I also became a fan of Frank Sinatra. I always thought Frank was the epitome of hip and cool. I found a used copy of Songs for Swingin Lovers. I remember playing it in the car as I drove home to Hastings from Kearney and singing along to it. Frank's vocal range was similar to mine and it felt good. That next summer, I knew that KCT was putting on a production of Guys and Dolls. I wanted to play Nathan Detroit like Sinatra had in the movie version. What I didn't realize is that Nathan Detroit never sings Luck be a Lady which would eventually become one of Frank's trademark songs. A small bit of trivia is that when Frank Sinatra started his career in the Tommy Dorsey band, he and drummer Buddy Rich were roommates on the road. They also were legendary in their fights with each other on the road. But, they remained friends and Frank financed Buddy’s first Buddy Rich Big Band. Buddy even toured with Frank’s band too. I remember in 83-84 that Frank Sinatra was to be playing in Omaha and Buddy was going to be a featured player.  My friend Mick and I momentarily contemplated going just to see Buddy Rich. But, Mick said that tickets to Sinatra for old people would be like us trying to get tickets for Van Halen.
I went through a time of fondness for Swing and Big Band artists especially during the time I was dating my ex-wife.  We both gravitated towards this style. We would take trips and listen to Louis Prima’s Capitol’s Collector’s Series.  We would sing along to the songs. I would sing the Prima lines and she would sing along with Keely Smith’s lines.  One of my personal favorites to sing together was Prima’s version of That Old Black Magic.  She was a fan of Ella Fitzgerald and actually bought a copy of the three discs that Ella did with Louis Armstrong. They are absolutely great recordings and they feature both drummers Buddy Rich and Louis Bellson on Ella & Louis and Ella and Louis Again respectively.  In fact, I think Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is a jazz instrument in itself.  Her improvisational scat singing on the At Newport album with Billie Holiday and Carmen McCrae is just phenomenal to hear.
I still love to hear Big Band music.  Even as I searched for examples to inspire me for this blog, I came across some very innovative Big Bands that cropped up in the 70’s.  Jaco Pastorius had his own “Word of Mouth” Big Band that featured an awesome horn section along with Latin Congas and Steel drums. Michael Brecker and his brother Randy Brecker had an incredible Big Band with their Brecker Brothers band. The Breckers have recorded with Jaco and also on Frank Zappa’s Live in New York album.
When I saw the Jazz Guardians and Loose Cannons, I was reminded of the subtleties of the Big Band. The dynamics were incredible to behold. My friend John is now Master Sergeant John Jacobs and he was a great master of ceremonies and band leader.  John told of his travels playing music all over the world and the two things that are universal. One is music. Even if you don’t speak the language, music translates. The other is a smile! A smile translates no matter the language. I remember being in the mall once as a small child was throwing a colossal tantrum in another language. I smiled at the parents because (as a parent myself) I could relate. The parents smiled back at me because we both knew.  So, the Jazz Guardians finished the night with When You’re Smiling! The lyrics are true..

When You’re Smiling….the Whole World Smiles with You!

The night of seeing my friend John was also filled with seeing my friends Scott Murrish and Mick Johnson.  Together, we were four drummers that passed through the halls of the UNK Fine Arts department. But, we were(and still are) friends that enjoy music and (for me) can make each other smile!