THE BIG BAND

The Big Band
Sunday, March 15, 2009 - The Ides of March!
This afternoon, I had a very memorable and stimulating experience. I was in good company with Mary and Greg. We went to the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre to see, and listen to, the Big Bands sounds of Glenn Miller and others. The concert highlighted the many talents of the “Moonlight Swing - Big Band” out of Sacramento. The band played re-created musical arrangements of the Glenn Miller commercial band of 1939-42, as well as from his Army Air Corps band during WWII. The music was enjoyed by about 500 of us in the packed theatre.
The band was composed of 17 very good musicians - four trumpets; four trombones; five saxes; a base violin; guitar; drums and piano - plus two vocalists, and the conductor.
Some of the tunes they played were:-
Kalamazoo; String of Pearls; Duke Ellington’s Take the “A” Train; Once in a While (my favorite); Chattanooga Choo Choo; Little Brown Jug; A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square; St. Louis Blues; and Glenn Miller’s theme song - Moonlight Serenade. The band closed with “In the Mood”.
It’s a good thing that they didn’t provide a dance floor, or most of the audience would have been out there “swinging.” As I looked over the gray and white hair of the “mature” audience, it was hard to picture them “jitter-bugging” - even 70 years ago! Yet, Greg’s Mom and Dad loved to dance - especially “jitterbugging” to “In the Mood.” I got to see the two of them dancing at Mary and Greg’s wedding, on September 30, 1978. Gregorio was 70 then, and Isabel was 65!
During the late 1930’s, the various big bands would go on tour - the larger theatres in the winter months, and the outside dance pavilions in the summer. I was living in Ypsilanti at the time. I used to see many of the bands at either Westwood (in Dearborn), or Eastwood (on the East side of Detroit.) My sister Jeanne, and I, rode the train from Detroit to Cleveland, a couple of times, to see Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey (as I remember, Frank Sinatra was singing with the band’s Pied Pipers. I think he was 19.)
During dinner last night, I was discussing the concert with Reva and Jean Mayers, who also attended. Reva asked me an interesting question, “ I wonder why the big bands aren’t around, and touring anymore?” I have thought about this too, and the only thing that I can think of is probably there aren’t enough good musicians. And even if there were, what music would they play? The “Oldies”, I guess. Too, their audience is rapidly fading away. Then, there is the prohibitive travel cost for such large groups. The tickets would have to be priced out of reach! Another thing is the “life style.” Who would rather live out of a suitcase than experience a family life? The time is much different today. So, To answer your question, Reva, I really don’t know!
In 1937, I bought my second car - a 1931 Model A Ford coupe for $165 - (no rumble seat). I had a radio installed in the car, as I really liked to listen to music. It seems a little goofy today, but I used to ride around Ypsilanti in the evening, when Glenn Miller’s orchestra was playing at (and broadcasting from) the Glenn Island Casino in New York. I could never get enough of his music. Today, with the high price of gas, my joy riding might seem a little frivolous. Gas back then was 18 cents a gallon, and I probably got 25 MPG - even around town - with that four cylinder engine. I was working and earning 25 cents an hour (non-union). So, I had to work about 43 minutes, to earn enough to buy a gallon of gas. Today, in California, the minimum wage is $8.00, and gas is around $2.10 a gallon. To buy a gallon of gas, I would have to work only a little over 15 minutes, at this wage rate, to buy a gallon! So, perhaps it was frivolous in comparison.
At any rate life was simple back then. I had a large collection of 78’s (bakelite disks about 8 inches in diameter) of all the big bands. I spent a lot of time listening to them. After I returned from service, the first thing that I did was to look for my record collection. I couldn’t find a single record! I learned that my sister had taken them to parties, and either the records didn’t survive - or they “walked” away! At this point, I thought that I had better check my golf clubs. No golf clubs! It figures! - my brother, Bob, had sold them! He was in the Aleutians, with the Coast guard. Not too bright a family!
What is interesting to me is how powerful the art of music is. Clinical psychologists have found that they can “reach” Alzheimer patients with music that is familiar to them. Supposedly, these patients have been mute and unresponsive, for considerable lengths of time. After they played the music, the patients responded by speaking once again! Amazing!
RCL 3/16/09.