Groovin’ Hard celebrated the big band renaissance that began in the mid-1960s with the emergence of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis and Buddy Rich orchestras. Many of the young musicians who benefited from Stan Kenton’s jazz education efforts were beginning to come of age and a whole new era of big band jazz was born. Groovin’ Hard gathered an incredible array of star soloists and arrangers who all played significant roles in the big band resurgence.
Among the eighteen bands that performed were the Don Ellis Reunion Band, the Louie Bellson Explosion, the Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Rich Alumni bands, and an all-star big band featuring Stan Kenton alumni directed by Mike Vax. All the bands played in top form and were applauded by an excited audience. A high point of the big band performances was “An Evening with Patrick Williams” on October 12.
The legendary composer, music educator and two-time Grammy Award winner played selections from his influential "Threshold" and "Aurora" albums, and between songs talked about his music philosophy and big band history. At the end of his near two-hour set he received a standing ovation.
The outdoor lunch breaks were a unique treat. Each day a jazz band from a local Southern California college played at a sun-splashed poolside concert. Those bands were superb in quality and provided a wide variety of jazz music. For example, at the October 11 luncheon concert the highly talented Cal State Northridge 'A' Jazz Band directed by John Daversa played the music of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis. Their well-received hour-long performance had both excellent ensemble and solo work.
Every year Poston presents a special event on the first day of the concert. This year on October 10 he featured a “Woody Herman 100th Birthday Celebration.” It started with a panel discussion about Herman. The panel was comprised of Herman alumni and moderated by Bill Clancy, author of "Woody Herman: Chronicles of the Herds." Next came the world premiere of Jazzed Media record label founder and president Graham Carter’s new film, "Woody Herman: Blue Flame - Portrait of a Jazz Legend." The 110-minute film that covers both the personal and professional life of Herman in striking detail received an enthusiastic response from the viewing audience. A small-group jam session followed the film premier with eight Herman alumni playing. The celebration closed with a concert by the sixteen-piece Woody Herman Alumni Orchestra conducted by Frank Tiberi. Music from the many Herds that Woody organized during his fifty-one year career was featured.
On October 14, Groovin’ Hard gave well-deserved recognition to the legendary Tonight Show Band formed by Johnny Carson when he took over "The Tonight Show" from Jack Paar in 1962. Skitch Henderson was the band’s director until 1966 when he left to be replaced by Milton DeLugg. A year later Doc Severinsen took charge and remained director until 1992 when Carson retired and the band was reformed down to a smaller size by Branford Marsalis. Saxophonist Tommy Newsom was frequently the band’s substitute director, filling in for Severinsen when he was absent from the show.
The seventeen-piece Tonight Show Band was one of the all-time great big bands. In his book "Lucky Drummer," the band’s drummer Ed Shaughnessy wrote about how Count Basie admired the band and frequently told him so. He said that one time the owner of a club called the Americana on 36th Street in Manhattan told Basie he wanted to book him with the Tonight Show Band. Basie told the owner, “You want me to play against that band?”
The day started with a film showing of rare clips of the Tonight Show Band during its time in New York (1962-72) and California (1972-92). The clips featured great musicians Pete Christlieb, Conte Candoli, Clark Terry, Snooky Young, Doc Severinsen in his early days in the trumpet section, and a guest appearance by Buddy Rich and his orchestra. Carson loved to play the drums since his childhood in Nebraska. There was a clip showing him playing brushes on a tin pail accompanying Benny Goodman playing clarinet.
Next came the Tonight Show Band Reunion, a concert by a roaring fifteen-piece band consisting of mostly alumni from the original band. High-note trumpeter Chuck Findley led the band that was driven by swinging drummer Jeff Hamilton, who sat in for Ed Shaughnessy. At the opening note of the first song, “Johnny’s Theme” (The Tonight Show theme song), the audience erupted in applause. An unquestionable concert highlight was tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts featured on "Body and Soul.” The band played two songs, “April in Paris” and “Take the 'A' Train”, from their album "The Tonight Show Band, Vol. 2." The album won a 1987 Billboard Award for Top Contemporary Jazz Album and “Take the 'A' Train” won an '87 Grammy for the Best Instrumental Jazz Arrangement. Bill Holman did the arrangement.
After the concert, there was a panel discussion about the Tonight Show band. The panel consisted of past band musicians along with Jeff Sotzing, Johnny Carson’s nephew and President of the Carson Entertainment Group, and former band music supervisor Don Sweeney who wrote "Backstage at The Tonight Show" about his near twenty-year association with the program. Los Angeles radio personality and musicologist Ken Borgers was the moderator. Two themes evolved from the discussion. First, the musicians said that playing on "The Tonight Show" was a wonderful experience and the highlight of their musical life. Second, all panel members expressed unanimous admiration for Carson, whom they fondly called “The Chief.”
Many Carson stories were told. Among them, Johnny was generous in promoting his band members’ careers. He would usually mention where they were playing locally in his monologues. Also, there was a bar for the show and Carson often would stick around afterward and swap stories with the musicians at the bar. Finally, Carson was proud of the band and consistently expressed that pride on his show. With a twinge of nostalgia, he said on his last show in May 1992 that this was probably the last time a swing band would appear regularly on television. He was right.
Ken Poston has been conducting jazz conferences since 1991, starting with his "Stan Kenton: Back to Balboa" event. These annual symposiums have provided outstanding jazz entertainment and academically furthered the cause of jazz research, adding to the archives of his Los Angeles Jazz Institute. The Poston events are a must for enthusiasts of large-ensemble jazz. To learn more about the Institute’s past big band and jazz programs, visit www.lajazzinstitute.org.
Thanks, John!
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Judy Chaikin writes:
Just wanted to let you know that "The Girls in the Band" is up for a major prize, the Gotham Award, presented by IFP, the Independent Feature Project. We're competing against some studio films and our opponents for the nomination are hauling out the big PR guns. So we're trying our best to keep up with them. We're asking all our friends if they would go to our Facebook page and post/repost our latest information: facebook.com/TheGirlsintheBand. And retweeting our tweets would be helpful, too: twitter.com/GirlBandMovie.
Anything you could do to help us get out the word out would be greatly appreciated.
Consider it done, Judy. And the best of luck!
