Glenn Miller & His Orchestra - Vocalion 5131 (1937-1938)

Some of the last sides before Glenn Miller would disband and shortly thereafter, launch THE band.

Glenn Miller tb, a, speech, dir / Pee Wee Erwin, Bob Price, Ardell Garrett t / Jesse Ralph, Bud Smith tb / Irving Fazola cl, as / Hal McIntyre, Tony Viola as / Jerry Jerome ts / Carl Biesacker ts, a / J. C. McGregor p, speech / Carmen Mastren g / Rowland Bundock sb / Doc Carney d / Kathleen Lane v.

New York, November 29, 1937.

Glenn Miller tb, v, a, dir / Johnny Austin, Bob Price, Gasparre Rebito t / Brad Jenney, Al Mastren tb / Hal McIntyre, Wilbur Schwartz cl, as / Stanley Aronson as, bar / Tex Beneke, Sol Kane ts / J. C. McGregor p / Rowland Bundock sb / Bob Spangler d.

New York, May 23, 1938.

Tex Beneke - RCA Reference Recording D7 VB-1161 (1947)

Just keeping with the test pressing theme of the last few posts.

Tex Beneke & His Orchestra - Concert in the Circle at the City of Orange (1995)

I have always had a soft spot for Tex Beneke. Back in 1995, as someone who had just turned off the radio and discovered big band & swing, I saw a newspaper insert for an upcoming concert in the circle featuring Tex Beneke and His Orchestra saluting Glenn Miller. After coincidentally having just seen Orchestra Wives and Sun Valley Serenade on AMC, I was kinda surprised that anyone from the band was still around...let alone still performing.

I got off work a little early that day and made the trip through the canyon to get there just in time. With my giant Magnavox VHS camera perched on my shoulder, I began to record the very first live big band music I had ever heard. No amount of 78s, lps or even cds of the same music could have prepared me for the sound of a live brass section...chills, I tell ya.

Although Mr. Beneke no longer played the sax, due to a stroke, he got out there for the better part of 2 hours and Chattanooga Choo Choo'd and Kalamazoo'd his heart out. In between a few songs here and there, he would exit backstage while the 'girl singer' gave it a whirl. During one of those spells, my mom took the lp cover I had brought for just such an occasion up to the door where he exited through. Someone from his entourage discreetly took it from her and soon emerged with the cover signed. (Apparently Tex didn't do much signing back then...again due to the stroke. It was asked to keep low key on the autograph while back in the crowd.) When mom made her way back, I slipped it into the camera case without even looking at it. I felt like I had captured lightning in a bottle.

The only regret that day was that the camera battery died about 1 minute before the closing song (In The Mood) had ended.

Here are several clips from that day.

Moonlight Serenade

Medley: At Last / Serenade In Blue

Pennsylvania 6-5000

Perfidia

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Glenn Miller & His Orchestra - HMV 7853 (1938)

Paul Tanner, trombonist and one of the last few surviving sidemen to play in a band led by Glenn Miller (both civilian and military) and THE last of those that took part in the initial recording session by the band that scored almost two dozen number one hits between 1938 and 1942, died Tuesday, February 5, 2013 at age 95.

He would appear on another chart topper in 1966 playing an instrument he invented, the UFO sounding Electro-Theramin on the song, Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys.

Though not absolutely sure what Tanner's very first recording happened to be (and My Reverie may be it), here are two of the first three sides waxed by Glenn Miller's famous orchestra on September 27, 1938.

Bob Peck, Bob Price, Johnny Austin t / Glenn Miller, Al Mastren, Paul Tanner tb / Hal McIntyre, Bill Stegmeyer as , Wilbur Schwartz as, cl / Tex Beneke, Stanley Aronson ts / Chummy MacGregor p / Rowland Bundock sb / Bob Spangler d / Ray Eberle v.

   

Tex Beneke & His Orchestra - RCA Reference Recording (1947)

I have always had a soft spot for Tex Beneke. Back in 1995, as someone who had just turned off the radio and discovered big band & swing, I saw a newspaper insert for an upcoming concert in the square featuring Tex Beneke and His Orchestra saluting Glenn Miller. After coincidentally having just seen Orchestra Wives and Sun Valley Serenade on AMC, I was kinda surprised that anyone from the band was still around...let alone still performing.

I got off work a little early that day and made the trip through the canyon to get there just in time. With my giant Magnavox VHS camera perched on my shoulder, I began to record the very first live big band music I had ever heard. No amount of 78s, lps or even cds of the same music could have prepared me for the sound of a live brass section...chills, I tell ya.

Although Mr. Beneke no longer played the sax, due to a stroke, he got out there for the better part of 2 hours and Chattanooga Choo Choo'd and Kalamazoo'd his heart out. In between a few songs here and there, he would exit backstage while the 'girl singer' gave it a whirl. During one of those spells, my mom took the lp cover I had brought for just such an occasion up to the door where he exited through. Someone from his entourage discreetly took it from her and soon emerged with the cover signed. (Apparently Tex didn't do much signing back then...again due to the stroke and it was asked to keep low key while back in the crowd.) When mom made her way back to me, I slipped it into the camera case without even looking at it. I felt like I had captured lightning in a bottle.

The only regret that day was that the camera battery died about 1 minute before the closing song had ended.

Moonlight Serenade

Medley: At Last / Serenade In Blue

Pennsylvania 6-5000

Perfidia

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Jingle Bells - Glenn Miller & His Orchestra - Bluebird 11353 (1941)

Jingle Bells is apparently the only holiday tune studio-recorded by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra but his 'ghost' band released 2 excellent Christmas cd's called In The Christmas Mood Volumes 1 & 2 that have become staples in my holiday music rotation.

Although this version of Jingle Bells bears little resemblance to the original composed by James Lord Pierpont...it does incorporate his lyrics along with some comically novelty ones. (I don't know why Pierpont's name is not listed in the credits on the label)

Jingle Bells is traditionally sung at Christmas time but was originally penned for the Thanksgiving holiday back in 1850.

So with that in mind...Happy Thanksgiving!

Glenn Miller tb, dir / Dale McMickle, Johnny Best, Ray Anthony, Billy May t / Jimmy Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank D'Annolfo tb / Ben Femen as / Wilbur Schwartz as, cl / Al Klink, Tex Beneke (v), ts / Ernie Caceres bs, as, cl, v / Chummy MacGregor p / Bill Conway g / Herman Trigger Alpert sb / Maurice Purtill d / The Modernaires v.

Bluebird 11353 - Recorded October 20, 1941.