It's Not Rock and Roll, But it Sure 'Rocked'!

Sometimes, an idea pops into your head, and boy, it sounds good; then you go and do whatever it was you thought of, and it turns out to be a waste of time or a disappointment. Other times, the stars align, everything clicks into place, and your good idea actually turns out to have been just that. This is the story of one of those good ideas. Yesterday afternoon, Tom and I went out to Patchogue, to the Patchogue Theater for The Performing Arts, to see The Glenn Miller Orchestra.

Now, I know what you're all thinking, this isn't the music of my generation, and you're right. It's the music of Mom and Dad's generation, the great swing bands of the late 1930's and 1940's. But it's the music that our generation heard a lot of while we were growing up. The radio, when it wasn't tuned to 770 WABC, had one of the big band stations on, in the car, and in the house. And when our family got the huge stereo console that dominated the living room, Mom and Dad brought out the old records, and purchased new compilations of their old favorites. So I've been familiar with a lot of this music for most of my life. While I wasn't a regular listener to it, back in the mid 1980's I heard a 'new' recording called Glenn Miller In The Digital Mood.

My buddy Steve, who's a wedding DJ had bought it, and at the time, I was working with him doing weddings and parties. This was a new recording that had been put together using musicians who had been part of the Glenn Miller Orchestra through the years. It was carefully arranged to be true to the charts that Glenn used, was recorded in the huge CBS studio in New York City, and was done as a true digital project, meaning it was recorded on digital tape and transferred directly to CD and LP from that tape. The CD version of this album has such a clear, crisp sound that it was like you were in the room with the band as they played. And the songs! In The Mood...Chattanooga Choo Choo...St. Louis Blues March...American Patrol...Moonlight Seranade, all the most popular tunes from both the Glenn Miller Band, and the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band were on this record. I bought a copy on LP for Mom and Dad, and they were thrilled at the sound as well. Through the years, I played this CD a lot, and bought a few other big band cd's as well.
And of course, I'd seen the movie "The Glenn Miller Story" a few times, and seen some clips of his band on those PBS 'beg week' shows, and always thought it would be fun to actually see a big band perform. One time, must have been close to 20 years ago, the Glenn Miller Orchestra came through town, playing a free summer concert at a park nearby. But for some reason, I couldn't go; I think I was working, or maybe playing softball, And I didn't really give much thought to it through the years, until I caught a special on one of those cable channels last winter, and I decided I wanted to see this band.
You'd be amazed, or maybe you wouldn't, at how much information is available on the internet, about Glenn Miller past and present. I signed up for the Orchestra's newsletter, and was thrilled to find out that they would be playing here on Long Island. As soon as they went on sale, I bought two tickets, figuring that I could get someone to go with me. Karen was willing to go, but she and I thought that my son Tom would really enjoy it. For those who don't know, he's a music teacher, and is also a darn good musician, who can play several instruments. So yesterday afternoon, I picked him up, and off we went.
The Patchogue Theater is a beautiful old theater, which has been lovingly restored to it's original condition. Over the years, the theater was transformed from a live performance venue to a movie house, and back again. Fortunately, when it was made into a movie theater, the operators didn't remove any of the architectural features, they just covered them up with plywood. 

So when it was time to renovate, the new owners just pulled off the plywood, and all of the great acoustics that were engineered into the original theater were still in place.
 The show was billed as The Glenn Miller Orchestra Salute to Veterans, and it got off to a rousing start as the band played our National Anthem. And then, into their theme song, Moonlight Serenade, and off the went, playing a great combination of traditional big band songs, as well as some military themed tunes.
The Orchestra is currently a 16 piece unit, with a 'Director', Nick Hilscher, who is also the lead male vocalist. Such a well trained and experienced band doesn't need a lot of 'direction', but Nick added to the performance with some great vocals and a good presence on stage, giving details and information about the songs the band was playing.

The female vocalist, Maria Shaeffer, is fairly new to the band, having joined them last summer. Maria has a terrific voice, very strong, yet also very well rounded. She sang fast uptempo tunes as well as she did slow songs, and even a couple of 'torch songs'. Very talented, she really sounded great both as a solo, and when she was part of the "Moonlight Serenaders", made up of three of the musicians plus Maria. They sang the parts that would have been done years ago by The Modernaires, who sang with the band for many years.

But, of course, the real stars of the show were the guys in the band. And boy, could they play! 16 talented players, from all over the country, who brought the feel of being at a 40's show alive. The band plays with very little amplification, just two microphones on either side of the band, and one for the musicians to 'solo' into at the front of the stage. Of course, back in the 40's, there wasn't much in the way of amping a full band; microphones and amplifiers were reserved for the vocalists, who would have had a hard time being heard over the sound of all the instruments playing. And so, when it was time for one of the players to solo, they'd move to the front of the stage, in front of the band, and play out into the audience. And the current band does the same thing, soloists come out to the front of the stage, play their part, then go back to their position. Very cool. And some of the solos were quite good! For the most part, the band consisted of a piano, and upright bass, drums, four trumpets, four trombones, and four saxophone/clarinet players. I was amazed at how well the guys playing the saxophones could switch over to a clarinet, and then back again, and they sounded great regardless of which instrument they played.

Even without amplification, this is one powerful band. When they played "In The Mood" and they hit the final portion of the song where the band goes all out, you could feel the intensity of the music in your chest, it was terrific! And they played a nice long show, a full hour, followed by a short intermission, and then a second full hour. Two hours long, full of songs that are truly timeless, played by musicians who obviously love what they do, and do it damn well. On our way in and out of the theater, we passed their tour bus, and I realized that these guys not only play the tunes of the great Miller bands of the past, they live much the same way - gig to gig, bus to hotel, hotel to show, show to bus. In looking at their event schedule, this band plays about 200 dates a year, traveling mostly by bus. Gotta be a rough life, and you've got to have a real love and commitment to the music and the culture to be able to do that!
To sum up, this show was a terrific one, great songs, great players, in a setting that brought all the sounds together. Tom and I left the show just amazed at what we had seen and heard. The band was off to New Hampshire last night for a show today, and then back out across the country they go. However, they're booked back into the Patchogue Theater for a date next December, a "Christmas" show, and boy, I sure do plan to be there!