Woody 'N Les: Show Notes 5/27-31

Two of A Kind

Woody Herman & Les Brown

This week, In the Mood brings you two of the Swing Era's great reed men: Woody Herman and Les Brown. Both were masters of the clarinet and alto sax. Both were conservatory-trained musicians. Both were popular and successful bandleaders in the 1930s, 40s, 50s and beyond. Both enjoyed long careers stretching into the 1980s. And both were relentless about encouraging young musicians. 

We open the show this week with about 20 minutes of great singles from Woody Herman's First Herd. That band recorded mainly for Columbia, and those 1940s Columbias can be problematic to restore. Columbia's EQ curve was a little bizarre compared to those of other record labels, with lots of honky-sounding mid-range, a dead top end, and very little bass on the record. Once you get them clean, you have to EQ the hell out of them to make them sound rich and full. It's always a contest between the bass player and the turntable rumble; it's hard to get enough of the first one without also getting too much of the second. But I think you'll find that we've hit a great-sounding "sweet spot" in that regard.

For our Herman segment, we chose some exciting sides, which was easy to do, since Herman's Herd specialized in that very commodity. We kick off the show with Caldonia, a song written and originally recorded with a hotter-than-hell boogie beat by Louis Jordan. Woody's vocal is just as outrageous as Jordan's, but the band has the boogie tempo smoothed out to a solid, hard swing. And the solos delivered by Woody's upstart sidemen are strictly up-to-date with a strong tinge of Bop. We also hear Woody's soulful tenor sax on Laura, another of his trademark vocals. Along with a handful of potent sides by this band, we also pause to throw back to Woody's earlier assemblage, known as The Band That Plays the Blues, for some enchanting small-group action from his Decca days.

Hour 2 begins with 20 minutes of high quality pop from Les Brown and the Band of Renown. Les started his band at Duke University in 1935, and after a storied string of one-nighters up the East Coast, it gelled into an experienced, swinging, stable outfit. We'll play the band's first hit record, Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, on this show. The record celebrates the Yankee Clipper's historic 56-game hitting streak of the 1941 season. Les and the band enlisted as a unit into the US Army Special Services, and spent the next four years entertaining US military personnel and their families all over the US and around the world. This is why Les's band posted no hit records from December of 1941 until the spring of 1945. 

Doris Day had sung with the band for about a year in 1941, and spent her time getting married and starting a family while the band was touring military bases. After the end of hostilities, everybody got back together in LA and got back in the band business. Butch Stone's version of Robin Hood  was their first hit after the war, and the second was Sentimental Journey, a song co-written by Brown that spent 13 weeks at the top spot on the charts. 

Most of Les's hits from the 40s are also on Columbia, and these 78 singles were a challenge, but the results are quite enjoyable. We'll hear an excellent representation of Les Brown hits from the 40s, and even reach into the 50s, when the band charted once again backing up the Ames Brothers. 

So, quite a few similarities between these two bandleaders, Woody Herman and Les Brown. Both reed players and excellent leaders, both on Columbia, both with long careers embracing new faces and new sounds. But these guys had one other thing in common, and that is that they were both extremely well-liked and much-respected by their sidemen. Both were famous for playing high-quality music, routining and rehearsing their bands intelligently, and for treating their musicians the way they wanted to be treated - with affection and respect.

Along with Swingin' Spotlight features on Woody and Les this week, In the Mood brings out all-time favorites from Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Stan Kenton, Glenn Miller, Count Basie and more. We'll hear from the great singers of the Swing Era too, like Helen Forrest, Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Kitty Kallen and Bing Crosby. 

I can't wait to hear this show myself! 

We have new affiliates carrying the show at new times this week, so be sure to scroll our Facebook Page to see the updated schedule. I've also posted it to this Blog Page for your convenience. As always, feel free to leave us a comment or request.

Be good to one another this week, and above all, Keep Swinging!

Scott

       

         

   

Latest Broadcast Schedule

Where Can I Hear In the Mood?

In the Mood has grown again! The world's favorite Big Band show is now broadcast 12 times per week on a total of 9 stations! Here is the latest, up-to-the-minute schedule. All times CDT (GMT -5 hours).

Weekly Broadcast Schedule

Wednesday:
11:00 am - 1:00 pm: 920 WON The Apple in New York City wonnewyork.net/920-won-the-apple

Friday:
8:00 - 10:00 pm: WSSE-DB in Clarksville, Tennessee wsseonline.com

Saturday:
8:00 - 10:00 am: Jazz Hall Radio 91.1 FM in Birmingham, Alabama jazzhall.com
3:00 - 5:00 pm: WKLF AM 1000/FM 95.5 in Clanton, Alabama wklfradio.com
10:00 pm - 12 midnight: Swingin' 105 in Austin, Texas swingin105.com
10:00 pm - 12 midnight: WSSE-DB in Clarksville, Tennessee wsseonline.com

Sunday:
9:00 - 11:00 am: Funky Media Radio in London, UK funkymediaradio.app
10:00 am - 12:00 Noon: SeaBird Radio in Hull, UK seabirdradio.co.uk
3:00 - 5:00 pm: WVAS 90.7 FM in Montgomery, Alabama wvasfm.org
6:00 - 8:00 pm: The Fox Oldies in Burleson, Texas thefoxoldies.com
6:00 - 8:00 pm: Swingin' 105 in Austin, Texas swingin105.com
8:00 - 10:00 pm: Jazz Hall Radio 91.1 FM in Birmingham, Alabama jazzhall.com

Leave us a comment or a request here OR on our Facebook Page.

Glenn Miller and the BG Sextet: Show Notes 5/20-24

One Record at a Time

Glenn Miller had been in there swinging for years. He'd been part of the Jazz Scene almost from the very beginning. Glenn was 12 years old when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band made the first jazz records in 1917. He was already a beginner trombone student. And as Glenn matured both musically and personally, so did jazz. 

By 1924, jazz was starting to take shape as a musical genre with legs under it  This was also the year that Glenn Miller decided to drop out of college and get into the music business as his full-time pursuit. Within a few years, the trombone-playing arranger was quite busy indeed, putting together bands and combos for record dates, dances and radio shows. He saw the music itself developing rapidly. He also saw the dance craze reaching peak velocity. Literally hundreds of dance bands were flourishing across the country. And by 1935, Glenn Miller wanted a piece of the action. 

A new band has to get a lot of things right. It also has to have some good luck. Glenn's first three bands, in 1935, 1937 and 1938, were not able to put it all together. But Glenn learned important lessons with each attempt. By this time, Glenn had amassed a wide support network, encompassing players, other bandleaders, agents, publicists, financial backers, music publishers, theater, ballroom and hotel operators, radio producers, record executives and A & R men. 

But the final piece of the puzzle didn't fall into place until 1939. You can build the greatest support and distribution network in the world, but it all goes for naught without the product. Until 1939, Glenn;s bands had been missing that one element that would set it apart from all the rest: a signature sound. Glenn finally achieved that in spades when he hit on what came to be known as The Miller Sound. It was a sound that was tailor-made for dancing, with lush ballads and swingy pop tunes set forth by a shimmering reed section arranged with Willie Smith playing lead clarinet on top. Duke Ellington was leading the way with improvisational jazz at the time, and Glenn wisely wrote into his new arrangements plenty of solo opportunities for his talented sidemen, especially Tex Beneke on tenor sax and trumpeters Bobby Hackett, Clyde Hurley and Dale McMickle. Once Glenn had satisfactorily codified the Miller Sound, he brought on arrangers Bill Finegan and Billy May to add their trademark touches.

And then there were the singers. Ray Eberle (brother of Jimmy Dorsey's popular boy singer Bob Eberly), was part of the band from the beginning. He was joined by Paula Kelly, Marion Hutton and the Modernaires. And of course, there was also Tex Beneke, who sang most of the band's novelty numbers. 

We will enjoy some of the Miller band's most memorable sides to begin the show this week, including PEnnsylvania 6-5000, Glenn's original arrangement of the Johnson Rag, and a picture-perfect delivery of A String of Pearls from a live radio broadcast. We might even break down and play our show's alma mater for good measure.     

We begin Hour 2 this week with a loving listen to some seldom-heard swingers from the Benny Goodman Sextet. This chamber jazz group has its roots in the free-swinging jazz combos of the 1920s...but with an always-fresh coat of polish from Goodman and his ever-changing array of sidemen. 

I think it's interesting to note that, after the Sextet's first recording session in October of 1939, Benny began tinkering with the lineup of musicians almost immediately. First he changed pianists. Then drummers. Then, he began experimenting with different combinations of instruments. The result was that the Sextet had a perennially fresh sound, always benefiting from the synergy created by combining different musicians. 

We will spend the first 20 minutes or so of Hour 2 enjoying a playlist of Sextet numbers that we have never played on the show until this week. And I think our selections will shed some new light on the remarkable franchise that was the Benny Goodman Sextet. The audio quality is particularly satisfying, I think, because we have bypassed Columbia's mid-1980s reissues of these masters, going back to the label's first LP reissues from the early 1950s on the Columbia Six-Eye label. These releases were processed with a fatter, richer sound that I personally find much more satisfying. I hope you will agree. In any case, the material itself is compelling and revealing in its own right, regardless of compression ratios or EQ curves. 

In addition to our Swingin' Spotlight features on Glenn Miller and the Benny Goodman Sextet, this week's In the Mood brings you a generous swerving of the best of the Big Bands of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. We'll hear solid swingers from Tommy Dorsey, the Gene Krupa band, Ella Fitzgerald, and Big Joe Williams with Count Basie. We'll hear vocal classics from Bing and Gary Crosby, the Ink Spots, Frankie Laine and Billie Holiday. Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra will make a couple of appearances, as will Benny Goodman and his Big band. 

Yes, it'll be a lip-smacking tasty treat for every Big Band fan, so please invite a friend to listen to the show with you this week. And if you know a young player or band student, make it your business to be certain that they hear this show. They'll thank you for it, I promise.

As always, feel free to leave us a request or comment here or on our Facebook Page. Be good to one another this week, and above all, Keep Swinging!

Scott    

        

The Duke & Casa Loma: Show Notes 5/13-17

Amazing at Every Age

Duke Ellington - 1964

Talent, I think, is an oft-misunderstood commodity. I consider talent a gift that makes learning and developing proficiency at certain tasks easier for some than for most. Talent is a gift freely given without consideration of merit: you have certain talents whether you deserve them or not. 

Talent is not to be confused with skill or proficiency, which are learned and earned. Skills are built with time and experience, repetition and rote. But talent is simply a gift, and it is yours whether you use it or not. 

Which brings us to the acknowledgement of a still higher and nobler attribute, inspiration. Thomas Edison once famously observed that "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." And tiny though it may be, that spark of inspiration is what separates the creators from the replicators. It takes talent, skill and proficiency to play a piano concerto; it takes inspiration to write one. 

I'm a replicator. I don't really have a creative bone in my body. I'm very good at picking up ideas and techniques from others, and then applying them or combining them to suit my purpose. But as far as actually creating something new? Once, maybe twice. In my entire life. 

That is why it is such a rare pleasure to contemplate the work of Duke Ellington. His inspiration index was off the chart. He did occasionally steal musical ideas, but mainly from himself, borrowing phrases from one of his compositions to use in another. But, as a composer and arranger, his sheer creativity was immense. Fresh ideas and (at the time) unexpected turns in melody, harmony and chord progression are common hallmarks of his work. 

Ellington assembled a group of musicians in his band and built a symbiotic relationship with each of them. His tunes and his arrangements drew inspiration from the players themselves, building on their individual strengths and talents. Many of his compositions were originally designed as showcase pieces for specific players, many of whom rose to lasting jazz stardom in the Ellington band. 

As you might imagine, this created a set of circumstances so satisfying for the players that mere cash could not compete. Over the fifty-two years of the Ellington band's existence, the personnel remained incredibly stable. By 1945, many of Duke's sidemen had been with him for nearly twenty years.

Ellington left us in 1974, leaving a legacy of over one thousand original compositions, many of which have become jazz standards. In addition to the compositions themselves, his arrangements of those songs for his own orchestra were groundbreaking in their own right, and are studied today with as much interest as his compositions.

 

We will spend the first twenty minutes or so of Hour 1 this week enjoying a few gems from one of Duke's most productive periods - the early 1940s. We'll hear from famous Ellington sidemen Cootie Williams, Barney Bigard, Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown, Jimmy Hamilton, Joe Nanton, Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges. Hold on. The inspiration might just blow you away.  

Hour 2 begins with a loving listen to some of the best sides from Glen Gray & the Casa Loma Orchestra. This was perhaps the best of the Dance Bands of the early 1930s. They played a combination of music that was either very hot or very sweet. But the players were so good that they could play both ends of the spectrum with equal appeal. 

Casa Loma was renowned for its book of "killer-dillers," hot dance tunes that required extreme technical proficiency, with the arrangements calling for entire sections of the band to play intricate riffs and runs in unison at breakneck tempos. We'll hear some fine examples, including the original recordings of such flag-wavers as Casa Loma Stomp and Black Jazz. We'll also hear some of this band's beautiful ballad work, including the unique and impressive vocal stylings of Kenny Sargent. 

Casa Loma started in 1929 and held together for nearly twenty years - that's like 110 in people years. Critics and commentators sometimes remarked that Casa Loma's records just didn't really capture the band's true excitement. If that's the case, I think I would pass out listening to them in person. I think you should listen and judge for yourself.

In addition to the opportunity to savor the delicat essen of Duke Ellington and the Casa Loma band, this week's In the Mood brings you tasty treats from Harry James, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and many others. The Andrews Sisters will harmonize, Ella Mae Morse will swing sassily, and Clyde McCoy will wah-wah the old Sugar Blues for us one more time. And please, try not to blush when Bix and the gang swing into Barnacle Bill the Sailor! It might be a good idea to get the kids away from the radio about 40 minutes into Hour 2. You've been warned.

I love In the Mood because, for two hours every week, we have no differences among us. At least none that matter. We can sit back together and enjoy this great music and the nostalgia that goes with it. We can listen with our kids and grandkids, delighting in their discovery. Know a young musician in the high school or college band? Call them and invite them to listen to the show with you. They NEED to hear this music!

Want to leave us a comment or request? Do it right here or visit our Facebook Page. You'll also find a complete and up-to-the-minute Broadcast Schedule there.

Above all, remember to be good to one another this week, and Keep Swinging!

Scott       

          

Show Notes 5/6-10

An Overnight Success that Took 20 Years

How does one do it? How does one burst onto the scene, fully developed and swinging rampantly? Well, of course, the answer is that one does no such thing. Most overnight successes are, in fact, achieved over time - often a great deal of time. That was certainly the case with Frank Sinatra. 

Sinatra, as are many who sustain success over the long haul, was a refined, "new-and-improved" version of himself, having re-invented himself more than once before achieving lasting success. First, there was the "boy singer," a shy, skinny band singer with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. After three years with Dorsey, Frank was finally developing a substantive style of his own. 

Then, there was the "pop crooner," a humble, still-skinny kid who sold a pretty decent number of singles for a while, delivering dewy-eyed love ballads and an occasional clunky swing tune. This Sinatra's career hit the skids after a two-year slide in 1951. For the next couple of years, Frank wasn't cool - he was cold. Columbia kept him paired with arranger Axel Stordahl, who had worked with Sinatra when both were in the employ of Tommy Dorsey. As the 1950s wore on, Stordahl's arrangements sounded ever more stuffy and old-fashioned. And so did Frank's records.

So, in 1953, with seemingly nothing to lose, Frank opted out of his contract with Columbia and signed a new record deal with Capitol. He was 38 years old. Capitol teamed Sinatra with arranger Nelson Riddle and producers Voyle Gilmore and Sonny Burke. The result was the "Swingin' Sinatra" of the next 20 years. And this is the guy we spotlight in Hour 1 of In the Mood this week. We'll hear some of Frank's swingin'-est sides for Capitol, all with the genius of Nelson Riddle and his hand-picked band of studio studs backing him up. 

Frank Sinatra could not have achieved what he did without the experience he gained as a "boy singer" in the Big Bands. Of course, he moved beyond that, becoming a fully-realized talent in his own right. But his values as a performer were firmly rooted in the Big Band Era, when the business was so tough as a performer, you had to really love what you were doing; it was the only way to survive.

Hour 2 begins this week with some swinging 78 sides from the great band of Chick Webb. It was a real pleasure to comb through the 78 section of the World's Greatest Record Library to select the tunes for this feature. Most of the songs in this 20-minute segment come straight off of the original Decca shellac singles. We've used every means at our disposal to help these historic recordings from the mid-1930s sound their best.

Chick Webb was a talented and tireless drummer who led a band that rocked the "killer-dillers" and delivered ballads with a swing that the dancers found irresistible. They reigned supreme as the house band at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom for years, striking fear in the hearts of any band that might challenge their dominance. The band "cutting contests" of the day were the stuff of legends. And Chick did it all while suffering with a lifelong hunchback condition caused by spinal tuberculosis, a malady that would claim his life at the tragically young age of 33 in 1939.  

Through it all, Chick Webb set a standard of excellence in jazz drumming that is still respected today. You'll understand when you hear his innovative and propulsive drive on these recordings. But Chick Webb gave us much more than a legacy of fine and inspired drumming. Chick Webb left us the gift of Ella Fitzgerald. She made her first professional appearances with his band, and made her first recordings with him also. It was under his direction that the teenage Ella Fitzgerald rose to her first fame, capturing the hearts of America's jitterbugs and swing-a-roos. 

The cutesy double-entendre in the lyric of her first #1 hit, A Tisket, A Tasket, is lost on most people nowadays. She is singing about having lost her "little yellow basket." At one point, she sings, "That itty-bitty basket was a joy of mine.". But the way she swings the lyric, it sounds like, "That itty-bitty basque , it was a joy of mine," referring to a type of ladies' undergarment. Later, she sings, "Oh, gee, I wish that little girl I could see..." to which the guys in the band respond, "So do we, so do we, so do we, so do we." 

But you have to read this blog to hear about that!!

We'll enjoy a generous helping of Chick Webb's finest work, both with and without Ella Fitzgerald, on this week's show. As you might guess, his band was populated with some of the most talented swing musicians, composers and arrangers of the day, and their body of work commands a high level of respect. If you're not too familiar with Chick and his band, I hope you hear something new that you like in this segment.

In addition to these special Spotlight features focused on Frank Sinatra and Chick Webb, In the Mood brings you the best of the Big Bands of the 1930s, 40s and 50s this week, with superb entries from Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Harry James, and many others. We'll hear the iconic voice of Mildred Bailey singing with the King of Jazz, Paul Whiteman and his orchestra in 1932. We'll hear Bix Beiderbecke on cornet with the Jean Goldkette Orchestra from 1927. And we will also play the rarely-heard Blues from William Grant Still's Lenox Avenue Suite in a landmark recording by Artie Shaw and his orchestra from 1940. 

Reach out to a band student or young jazz player and ask them to listen to the show with you this week! These young players NEED to hear this music! As always, you're invited to leave us a comment or request here or on our Facebook Page. 

Remember to be kind to one another this week, and above all, 

Keep Swinging!

Scott                   

Updated Broadcast Schedule!

"Where can I hear In the Mood?"

In the Mood is growing! The show is now getting a total of 10 broadcasts per week over 8 terrestrial and Internet radio stations. Needless to say, we are thrilled! With the recent additions to our weekly broadcast schedule, we thought it wise to update everyone.

WHAT'S NEW?
A close look at the new schedule will show some changes to existing stations, as well as information on new stations now carrying the show:

• In the Mood moves from WSMX-LP in Clanton, Alabama, to WKLF AM & FM/Clanton, Saturday afternoons at 3 pm
• In the Mood moves from Thursday at 11 am ET to Wednesday at 12 Noon on 920 WON The Apple in New York City 
• In the Mood  is now carried on The Fox Oldies.com Sunday evenings at 6 pm CT
• In the Mood is now airing weekly on Funky Media Radio in London, UK every Sunday afternoon at 3 pm BST

 As of this date, here is the full "Where and When." All times CDT (GMT -5 hours).

Wednesday:
11:00 am - 1:00 pm: 920 WON The Apple in New York City https://www.wonnewyork.net/920-won-the-apple

Friday:
8:00 - 10:00 pm: WSSE-DB in Clarksville, Tennessee wsseonline.com

Saturday:
8:00 - 10:00 am: Jazz Hall Radio 91.1 FM in Birmingham jazzhall.com
3:00 - 5:00 pm: WKLF AM 1000/FM 95.5 in Clanton wklfradio.com
10:00 pm - 12 midnight: WSSE-DB in Clarksville, Tennessee   wsseonline.com

Sunday:
9:00 - 11:00 am: Funky Media Radio www.funkymediaradio.app
10:00 am - 12:00 Noon: SeaBird Radio seabirdradio.co.uk
3:00 - 5:00 pm: WVAS 90.7 FM in Montgomery wvasfm.org
6:00 - 8:00 pm: The Fox Oldies thefoxoldies.com

8:00 - 10:00 pm: Jazz Hall Radio 91.1 FM in Birmingham jazzhall.com   

Many thanks to one and all for your support of the music and this show! As always, we welcome your comments and requests either here, or on our Facebook Page.