A Salute to the Golden Age of American Popular Music
We salute the music from Broadway, Hollywood, New Orleans, Tin Pan Alley and the "melody makers;" i.e. the bands and singers that brought the music to us via the radio, recordings and live events in the period from the 1920's to the 1960's. This is the golden period of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Larry Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Jimmy Van Heusen, Harold Arlen, Harry Warren, etc.
Doc Severinsen to perform with the Minnesota Orchestra’s pops: Two dates- Fri Dec 9 8PM and Sun Dec 11, 2011 2PM
Minnesota Orchestra
Doc Severinsen, conductor and trumpet
Minnesota Chorale
Twin Cities Bronze, handbell ensemble
It’s warm, it’s cozy—it’s Doc!—ushering in holiday spirit with the festive sounds of our Orchestra. Delight in lovely traditions and join us for the jolliest concert of the year…hot cocoa for the soul!
Orchestra Hall (Get Directions)
1111 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Doc Severinsen became the Minnesota Orchestra’s pops conductor laureate in April 2007, after completing 14 seasons as principal pops conductor. He has enjoyed a six-decade career as conductor, trumpet soloist and bandleader, well-known as the former music director of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a position he held for more than 25 years.
Severinsen made his Minnesota Orchestra debut in 1965, and in 2003 was featured with the Orchestra in the world premiere of Stephen Paulus’ Concerto for Two Trumpets and Orchestra, written for Severinsen and Manny Laureano, the Orchestra’s principal trumpet. In February 2010 Severinsen and his Mexican-based ensemble, the San Miguel 5 (also known as El Ritmo de la Vida), made a return engagement to Orchestra Hall and in June 2011 he returned with his Big Band show.
In December 2011 he will conduct two holiday pops concerts with the Orchestra and its principal chorus, the Minnesota Chorale.
With more than 30 albums to his credit, Severinsen has recorded everything from big band and jazz-fusion to classical works. He received a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance—Big Band for his recording Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Band—Volume I. His most recent recordings include En Mi Corazon with Gil + Cartas, where he was featured special guest (released in 2009) and El Ritmo de la Vida, also with Gil + Cartas, which was released in 2010.
Severinsen currently works with the S.E. Shires Company in Massachusetts, whose line of trumpets include the S.E. Shires Severinsen Destino III, a model developed through Doc’s supervision until his exacting standards of quality and sound were met.
In recent years, Severinsen also served as principal pops conductor of the Milwaukee and Phoenix Symphony Orchestras.
In his non-musical moments, Severinsen enjoys horses, cooking and collecting American art. For more information, visit docseverinsen.com.
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts (West Palm Beach, Florida) today announced a new date for the upcoming performance by Grammy® Award-winning singer Diana Krall. Originally scheduled for February 11, the concert will now be held on March 26 at 8 p.m. in the Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. Concert Hall.
People who have already purchased tickets to see Diana Krall may retain their tickets for the new date of March 26. Should they wish to receive a refund, they must return their tickets to the Kravis Center box office, in person or by mail, for a refund. If they paid by credit card a refund will be issued to their credit card. If they paid by cash or check, a check will be issued and mailed to the address in their account.
About the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts:
Celebrating 20 Years of Artistic Excellence and Commitment to the Community, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality; by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a Palm Beach County home in which local and regional arts organizations can showcase their work; and by providing economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County.
The Kravis Center is located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL. For more information, please call 561-832-7469 or visit kravis.org.
NJ News: State Theatre in New Brunswick will present the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra & The Pied Pipers in A Christmas Gift on Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 3pm. Led by Conductor Bill Tole, and featuring vocalist Nancy Knorr, the program will include a big band selection of holiday songs both old and new as well as the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra hits “Tangerine,” “Maria Elena,” and “I Understand.” This performance is underwritten by Ralph Voorhees. Tickets range from $32-52.
State
The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra was formed by expert Clarinetist/Alto-Saxophonist Jimmy Dorsey along with his brother Tommy Dorsey in the spring of 1934. The band was originally named the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. One of Dorsey’s biggest instrumental hits was entitled “So Rare.”
Jimmy Dorsey CD
Dorsey was given a Gold Record for the song two days before his death in 1957. The orchestra continued on for the next 33 years under the leadership of the great trumpeter Lee Castle.
Today, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra is under the musical direction of trombonist Bill Tole. Tole has recorded with legendary artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and many others over the past four decades. He also portrayed the part of Tommy Dorsey in the movie New York New York in 1977.
The Pied Pipers joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in January 1940, just before singer Frank Sinatra joined the group. Together, The Pied Pipers and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra released their famous song, “I’ll Never Smile Again” which remained a hit on the charts for 15 weeks. This marked just the beginning of their success. Other hits included “This Love of Mine,” “There Are Such Things,” “Stardust,” and “Put Your Dreams Away for the Day.”
In June of 1992, Nancy Knorr, the lead singer of The Pied Pipers, became the featured vocalist with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.
For tickets or more information, call the State Theatre ticket office at 732-246-SHOW (7469), or visit us online at www.StateTheatreNJ.org. The State Theatre ticket office, located at 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick NJ, is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 10am to 6pm; Wednesday 11am to 7pm; Saturday 1pm to 5pm; and at least one hour prior to curtain on performance dates. For information on group outings and discounts, call 732-247-7200, ext. 517. Some additional ticket and transaction fees may apply.
Q. Last year you had a very sad article about Frank Sinatra and Thanksgiving Day dinner at a New York restaurant...please repeat. J.S.
A.This is one story Frank wanted to forget, except for the great kindness he received from Sal; One of Frank Sinatra's favorite eating spots in Manhattan was Patsy’s Restaurant in Midtown. "When Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, friends and fans just showed up at Patsy’s — arguably Sinatra’s favorite restaurant in New York City for decades.
Salvatore Scognamillo, the chef and co-owner, remembered people saying, “I just felt I had to be here today.” It was a place that was strongly identified with Sinatra, who had a special table upstairs in the back. “After he passed away, we needed to celebrate his life,” said Mr. Scognamillo, the grandson of the founder, Pasquale Scognamillo.
On Dec. 12, Sinatra’s birthday, Patsy’s, a New York Neapolitan restaurant, now has a tradition of serving his favorite dishes like clams Posillipo, fusilli with fileto di pomodoro, and ricotta torte for dessert. Another one of Sinatra favorites was veal Milanese. “He loved it paper thin,” Mr. Scognamillo said. “We certainly wouldn’t be in the position we would be today if it wasn’t for him,” Mr. Scognamillo said.
Much of their high-profile customer base is like an exercise in six degrees of separation from Sinatra, he said. For example, he said, “Julia Roberts was brought in by George Clooney, who was brought in by Aunt Rosemary Clooney, and Rosemary Clooney was brought in by Frank Sinatra.” There was one example of Patsy’s level of customer service for Sinatra, also recounted in “Patsy’s Cookbook,” that Mr. Scognamillo said sealed the singer’s loyalty to the restaurant.
One November in the early 1950s, Mr. Sinatra was having a rough time both professionally and personally. His career was in a gradual slide that had steepened after 1948 and hit bottom in 1952. He had divorced and remarried into a tumultuous relationship with Ava Gardner, which was also in decline. It was before his Oscar-winning performance in “From Here to Eternity,” before reinvention as a cosmopolitan crooner of the 1950s from the 1940s starry-eyed boy next door. “Before his comeback, he was down and out,” Mr. Scognamillo recalled. Sinatra was alone at the restaurant the night before Thanksgiving, and many of the other customers walked right past him without acknowledging him. “They are all my fair-weather friends,” he said at the time, Mr. Scognamillo said.
He said he wanted to eat Thanksgiving dinner at Patsy’s. Mr. Scognmillo’s grandfather did not have the heart to tell him that the restaurant was normally closed for the holiday. “He felt like he would have hurt his pride if he had done that, so he didn’t say anything,” Mr. Scognamillio said.
So the restaurant made the reservation. And his grandfather called up the staff and told them to bring their families in for Thanksgiving. “They were moaning and groaning,” Mr. Scognamillio said. But they understood it was for Sinatra.
The restaurant also called in some other guests to fill out the restaurant — though not enough that Sinatra did not notice that it was somewhat emptier than usual the next day. So they opened for Thanksgiving for Sinatra, who had a 3 p.m. reservation. Not until years later did Sinatra find out that they had opened just for him, Mr. Scognamillo said. But no one ever said anything. And the lifelong relationship between Patsy’s and Sinatra was sealed."
Our friend Dennis Spragg has sent this message today from the University of Colorado Boulder American Music Research Center Glenn Miller Archive:
We are pleased to announce the verification of an important discovery that correlates to the events of 15 December 1944 and the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of Major A. Glenn Miller aboard United States Army Air Forces (AAF) UC-64A-type aircraft 44-70285.
The late Richard Anderton was employed at the Miles Aircraft Establishment atWoodley Airfield, England. Mr. Anderton kept detailed daily observations of the movements of aircraft in the skies around the airfield and in all directions. The observations were arranged in a consistent and precise manner that noted the location of passing aircraft, estimated altitude and direction of flight.
On 15 December 1944, weather conditions were overcast which restricted the number of aircraft that Mr. Anderton could log. However, during his 12:00-15:00 BST observation segment, he logged a UC-64A-type aircraft passing to his east, at the horizon and flying below the overcast in a southeasterly direction.
Mr. Anderton's family has preserved his observation notebooks. They learned about the forthcoming publication of a comprehensive report regarding the events of 15 December 1944 and contacted Dennis M. Spragg of the GMA who is the author of the study. Mr. Spragg carefully reviewed the notebooks, confirmed their authenticity and compared the information to the known facts about the flight path of UC-64A 44-70285.
Mr. Spragg is pleased to confirm that Mr. Anderton's 15 December 1944 observation is consistent with the flight path of UC-64A 44-70285, aboard which as a passenger was Major A. Glenn Miller, Director of the American Band of the Allied Expeditionary Forces ("ABAEF"), Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme (Radio) ("AEFP") of Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF).
Major Miller, the famous bandleader, was enroute RAF (Royal Air Force Station) Twinwood Field, Bedfordshire, England to AAF (U. S. Army Air Force Station) Villacoublay, Versailles, France.
UC-64A
UC-64A 44-70285 and its pilot were assigned to the 35th Depot Repair Squadron, Second Strategic Air Depot, VIII AAF Service Command, AAF Abbots-Ripton (Alconbury), Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England. The air depot was located adjacent to the Alconbury airbase and aircraft transiting the air depot operated from the Alconbury airbase.
UC-64A 44-70285 departed AAF Alconbury at 13:17 BST 15 December 1944 and landed at RAF Twinwood Field at 13:45 BST to take on passengers. UC-64A 44-70285 departed RAF Twinwood Field at 13:53 BST. The pilot was required to operate the aircraft along a standard air transport route via the navigation waypoints AAF Bovingdon (England), Maidenhead (England), Beachy Head (England), overwater to Fecamp (France) and thence AAF Villacoublay. The Royal Observation Corps observation station at Beachy Head logged a UC-64A-type aircraft with United
States insignia passing overhead along the standard route and traveling underneath overcast cloud cover during the 14:32-14:47 BST observation log. The Beachy Head observation is detailed along with the RAF Twinwood Field departure in the U. S. Eighth Air Force enquiry into the circumstances of the UC-64A 44-70285 flight (January 1945). Based upon the forward cruising airspeed of the UC-64A-type aircraft and reported surface wind observations, the UC-64A-type
aircraft was observed passing overhead Beachy Head at approximately 14:37 BST.
Woodley Airfield (Miles Aircraft Establishment) was located within eight miles of the Maidenhead navigation waypoint. Maidenhead was a point at which the pilot would make a turn from a compass heading of 210 degrees to 135 degrees. An observer at Woodley Airfield could see an aircraft traveling along this route. The Anderton notebooks have similar such observations for numerous aircraft over many months, so the 15 December 1944 observation is a straightforward and consistent notation. Mr. Spragg estimates that UC-64A 44-70285 passed the Maidenhead navigation waypoint at approximately 14:10 BST.
Therefore, Mr. Anderton appears to have been the next-to-last known observer of UC-64A 44-70285 and Major A. Glenn Miller, although from a distance. His observation is another detail which confirms that pilot F/O (Flight Officer) John R. S. Morgan was operating his aircraft on schedule and on course from RAF Twinwood Field to the Beachy Head observation station at 14:37 BST Friday, 15 December 1944. The aircraft did not arrive at AAF Villacoublay. The aircraft
should have passed overhead Fecamp between 15:03 and 15:07 BST and should have arrived at AAF Villacoublay between 15:47 and 15:51 BST. F/O Morgan, Major Miller and passenger Lt. Col. Norman Baessell, VIII AAF Service Command, Milton Ernest, England were never seen again and aircraft wreckage was never located."
The GMA and Mr. Spragg wish to thank the Anderton family for their courtesy and confidence in turning over this new evidence to us for verification. We are pleased to announce our positive finding and confirmation.
The forthcoming comprehensive manuscript "Major A. Glenn Miller, 15 December 1944, The Facts" is being completed and the publication date is pending.
(Note: the airfield and waypoint terminologies cited in this statement reflect the United States Army Air Forces characterizations used as of 15 December 1944).
