At the risk of channeling Red Buttons, many deserving folks have never had a dinner thrown in their honor. That list will be one name shorter after September 12, thanks to the celebration planned that evening by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP) for music industry attorney Al Schlesinger.Al has practiced law for more than fifty years, specializing in intellectual property. Before becoming an attorney, he was a music publisher and record company executive. He was an early member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), rising to the presidency and later serving as national chairman. The California Copyright Conference also benefited from naming Al its president.
Al's commitment to charitable causes is notable, as he served as president of the Society of Singers and as a board member of MusiCares, organizations devoted to assisting music people in need. And Al showed he could take his act on the road, too, representing the soft-rock group Bread ("Make It With You," "If") as personal manager for the entirety of the band's existence.
And on the seventh day he rested.
Today, Al is a sought-after lecturer and panelist, active in teaching the next generation of music professionals.
The dinner saluting Al will take place at the Big Band Academy's old haunt, the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, on Wednesday, September 12. If you're interested in attending, please e-mail Tess Taylor, president of NARIP, at tess@narip.com.
Ticket prices haven't been announced, but I don't expect I'll have to hock "Everything I Own."
Sorry. Hope to see you there!
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The latest request from a reader hoping we can help him or her connect with their past comes from Joe Ditler:
"My father, Jack Ditler, played trumpet during the big band era, both before
WWII and as part of Army entertainment in the South
Pacific.
Prior
to the war, he was with the Hal Grayson orchestra. I've seen photographs of him with
bands in the Catalina Casino Hall of History and I have numerous
anecdotes from him, but I'm looking for further
information.
He performed after the war in Honolulu,
at the Duke Kahanamoku bar, and I've seen him in newsreels when the
camera switches to the pit to show the musicians. One of his post-war bands was the
Swingtwisters.
I'd like to find more of his music, photos and
hopefully some of the newsreels he was in. If it's useful, he sometimes went by 'Dittler' or 'Henry John Ditler.'"
Well, Joe, your request is now being viewed by our wonderfully diverse readership. If anyone recognizes the name Jack Ditler and can provide details of his life or career, please e-mail them to me at the address below and I'll pass them along to his son. And, of course, I'll look forward to posting a follow-up here on the blog!
