The Palomar

Charlie Spivak is another in my long list of Swing Era performers who never really made it to the first tier but still created a lot of great music during their careers. By all accounts "cheery, chubby Charlie", as he was known, was the kind of person we ...

Misty - Erroll Garner "Misty" written in 1954 by pianist Erroll Garner, has become one of the great jazz standards of the last century! It was originally composed as an instrumental piece following the traditional 32-bar format that was the standard ...

The staff at the Big Band Chronology wishes everyone a joyous and safe Thanksgiving. Nov 28 Trumpeter Dick Vance was born on this day in 1915. Was lead trumpet and did some vocals for Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra (1936-38) Vance joined Chick Webb's ...

Nov 21 I Can't Believe That You're in Love with MeColeman Hawkins, Benny Carter, and Roy Eldridge Tenor saxophonist, Coleman Hawkins, often referred to as the Bean and Hawk, was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, 1904. Hawkins joined Mamie Smith's Jazz ...

How High The Moon, The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise, and Vaya Con Dios Les Paul and Mary Ford Just a little over three months ago, one of music’s greatest legends passed away -- Les Paul of the famous duo Les Paul and Mary Ford. George Spink ...

Nov 14Singer Matha "Liltin' Miss" Tilton was born in Corpus Christi, Tx, 1915. An audition at a local radio station led to work singing at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove, followed by a stint touring with Hal Grayson's band. In 1937, she was singing ...

Nov 7Trumpet and flugelhorn player Milton "Shorty" Rogers, 70, dies in LA, 1994. Rogers played with Will Bradley, Red Norvo, Woody Herman, and Stan Kenton. He was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz.Trumpeter Al Hirt was born in New Orleans. ...

Most of us who were born too late to have heard the original big bands in person have long ago become accustomed to the narrow sound of most 78s. We try to imagine what it must have sounded like to hear the music as it was meant to be. Processes such as ...

Oct 31Stardust was first recorded as an up-tempo instrumental by Hoagy Carmichael in 1927. The band which consisted of the Emil Seidel Orchestra and the Dorsey brothers appeared on the record label as Hoagy Carmichael and His Pals. In 1929, Mitchell ...

Juke Box Saturday NightLarry O'Brien and The Glenn Miller Orchestrawith Nick Hilscher, Julia Rich, and The Moonlight SerenadersIn recent months, I have been building Juke Box Pages for our sister big band site, Tuxedo Junction. You'll now find nearly 50 ...

Oct 24Trumpeter Edawad Farley and Mike Riley record their composition The Music Goes Round and Round, 1935. Lyrics were provided by Red Hodson. Tommy Dorsey recorded the hit in 1936. The song was later used that year in a the musical interlude for the ...

Oct 17Drummer William Randolph "Cozy" Cole was born in 1909 in East Orange, New Jersey. His first music job was with Wilber Sweatman in 1928. In 1930, he played for Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, recording an early drum solo on Load of Cole. Cole ...

George SpinkModerator - The PalomarLos Angeles, CaliforniaEmail Me

Mildred Bailey, the Rocking Chair Lady and her husband Red Norvo the celebrated vibraphonist with The Paul Whiteman orchestra were having a jam session at their home in Queens, New York one evening in 1935. Some of the guests included pianist Teddy ...

Suppose you peeked at the pop music section of your local newspaper and found that, as an honor to our servicemen and -women, the songs at the top of the charts were American Patrol and Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition - and even more fantastic, ...

by Henry HollowayOccasional ContributorThe first time I met Peanuts Hucko in person was in a hotel lobby in Glasgow in November 1976. My wife-at-the-time, the internationally-renowned singer, Eve Boswell, was about two-thirds through a 40-concert series, ...

Here's something to help you enjoy the beginning of Labor Day weekend if you live in the United States and a regular weekend elsewhere! is the link to our new Ted Heath Juke Box Page, where our British buddies and everyone else can enjoy 60 songs by one ...

Sept 5Ellington records In a Mellowtone, 1940: Also recorded in that session were Five O'clock Whistle (v -Ivie Anderson) and There Shall be No Night (v-Herb Jeffries).Band RosterTrumpets: Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams, Rex StewartTrombones:Joe Nanton, ...

Tommy Dorsey knew as well as any bandleader that having the best arrangers was as important to his orchestra's success as the musicians and the songs they played. The breadth of arranging talent he hired was responsible for the polish his band showed ...