Noontime Jamboree

So I'm in Oregon for a wedding a week ago Sunday and Monday, right? The wedding takes place Sunday evening, and because I know I'm going to be encountering a number of people I haven't seen in a while, I've scheduled my flight home for Monday evening. This leaves all day Monday free in case any friends or family are available to get together.

But by 11 o'clock Monday morning, everyone else has checked out of the hotel and is on the road back to the airport. Still, there can't be many places more scenic than Hood River in which to kill a few hours, so I start off on a hike toward the hills overlooking town, my Sony Walkman radio in tow.

Now I'll be blunt: Most terrestrial radio these days sucks. In fact, it frequently suuuucks. But around noon, I'm suddenly on a station that's playing Bob Wills, followed by Fats Waller, followed by Chet Atkins, followed by Pearl Bailey (!), followed by Martha Raye (!!). And it goes like that for the next couple of hours; one great record after another from the '20s into the '60s. There have been similar programs on L.A. radio, but not in many years. I felt as if someone had heard my plea.

The show is called "The Noontime Jamboree" and it airs every Monday from noon to 2 on public radio station KBOO 90.7 FM in Portland. Local vocalist Retta Christie hosts the first and third Mondays of every month and was behind the mic for the installment I happened upon. Wade Hockett hosts the other Mondays, though in September Retta will be at the helm each week, including a live show on Labor Day.

This being the year 2012, distance is no obstacle to your discovery of "The Noontime Jamboree." 

• Of course, KBOO streams its programming live: kboo.fm/Listen

• If you're unable to catch the broadcast as it happens, the show page makes the two most recent episodes available on demand on a continuing basis: kboo.fm/TheNoontimeJamboree

• And if you like what you hear anywhere near as much as I did, kicking a buck or two back to KBOO wouldn't be a bad investment either. As much of a labor of love as this obviously is for Retta, Wade and the radio station, it costs money to keep the lights on and the webcast operating: kboo.fm/MembershipForm 

So, yeah, I wish my relatives hadn't hustled out of Hood River so fast. But let's think about it: Lunch or a mid-afternoon snack in some greasy diner with family members who weren't really crazy to see me versus a walk in God's country, accompanied by the dulcet tones of Smith Ballew:

Maybe things worked out for the best.

It Was Al All the Time

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!

*************

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! 

Summer Reading

Need something to read while you're relaxing this summer by the pool or the beach or the river or the toxic landfill? Why not give Terry Tickle's "Second Tenor: A Story of the Swing Era" a try? 

The first novel in a projected big band trilogy, "Second Tenor" tells the story of a young musician, his goals, romance, the Great Depression and World War II.

Terry doesn't take on small subjects, does he?

"Second Tenor" is now available in paperback from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine retailers. Amazon also offers a preview of the novel. Click here, then on "Search inside this book."

And I am personally honored to have written the foreword. Congratulations, Terry. The Big Band Academy wishes you the best in this endeavor!