By Dave Babbitt – Special to the Sydenham Current
I consider myself the luckiest guy alive when I get together with my musical compatriots in the Brass Factory Big Band.
Last week, 15 of us plus another 10 family members all made a trek to Brantford to catch a performance of the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a day with my friends.
The days of the big band are, of course, long gone, but a few remnants remain, including the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Anyone familiar with the Big Band Era is no doubt aware of Glenn Miller and his story.
I do not have the space here to tell his complete story, but what matters is that his band was without question the most successful big band in history. At the height of his band’s popularity, he was flying across the English Channel for some advance planning for entertaining WWII troops in France when his plane went missing. Glenn was never seen again. The airplane was never found, and the answers as to what happened and where remain unanswered to this day.
At the time, there was no bigger music star than Glenn Miller and his orchestra. Hollywood even made a movie about Glenn that is a pretty accurate depiction of his rise to fame, the different versions of his orchestras, and his sudden disappearance. And who doesn’t like a movie starring Jimmy Stewart?
Glenn’s music was so incredibly popular that a few years after his disappearance, his widow Helen authorized the reassembling of his orchestra, and it has been actively touring in one form or another ever since. The orchestra is part of a company owned by two individuals and authorized by the Glenn Miller Estate.
As recently as a few years ago, the band was still performing well over 300 dates per year, but they’ve now cut that back a bit.
Last Sunday was pure magic for all of us. From the opening strains of Glenn’s theme song *Moonlight Serenade* behind the curtain, the sound was incredible. The sonic quality was so good that we thought it might be a recording at first.
For the next hour and a half, we were treated to hit after hit of Glenn Miller’s multi-million-selling songs, with over-the-top great instrumentals, vocal solos from the Great American Songbook, and a real treat: the vocal group The Moonlighters, fashioned after Tex Beneke and the Modernaires, as they sang Chattanooga Choo Choo.
While the Music Director makes up the setlist for each concert, it’s contractual that 75% of the music must be original Glenn Miller charts.
It’s understood that a group of musicians such as us, who all play in a big band, would enjoy the concert, but it was much more than that. The experience was inspirational as we each took away some of the incredible elements the musicians and vocalists displayed that we would like to work into our own playing.
This is an example of inspiration turning to aspiration.
I have had the pleasure of experiencing the GMO several times, but this was a new experience for several of our Brass Factory members.
From the merch table, I purchased a copy of the book The Glenn Miller Orchestra: What Goes on Behind the Scenes, and I haven’t been able to put it down since I brought it home.
What hits home for me is just how authentic and true to Glenn’s original music the operation of the band still is.
This is a very strict, old-fashioned operation. The sound is classic, and the expectations are still very much “old school.”
I found it shocking that none of the professional musicians performing or singing in the orchestra are under the umbrella of a contract. They commit to the band with a mere old-fashioned handshake to this day.
There are very strict dress codes that the Music Director enforces. Shoes must be highly polished, shirts must be pressed, hair can only be grown to a certain length, and facial hair, while currently allowed, must be neat. There are even fines for non-compliance.
An interesting story in the book tells of how there used to be a very strict policy of no facial hair, but at one point, the band had so many 21–25-year-old music grads that they changed the policy, allowing them to grow facial hair so they looked older!
There are fines for members if they are late for the bus, soundcheck, or anything requiring punctuality. It’s also a requirement that members smile while on stage.
Clothing colors are dictated, and musicians rotate relatively often as life on the road makes family life nearly impossible. Every replacement musician is well-vetted for both their musicianship and their ability to get along with the bandmates they spend every day with.
As members leave the band, new members are ready to take their place and meet up with the band on the road. Each section has a designated leader with musical responsibilities, and individual musicians must answer to the Music Director for the quality of their playing.
The section leader for the reeds, for instance, ensures that the musicians play with the proper vibrato so integral to the Glenn Miller sound.
Every big band had a distinctive sound crafted by its leader. I recall sitting in a movie theater when *Blazing Saddles* was released. As the movie played, a big band began to play on the soundtrack. I instantly said, “That sounds like the Count Basie Orchestra!” Sure enough, as the camera pulled back, there was the Count Basie Orchestra absurdly playing in the desert. Such was the distinctive sound of the Count Basie Orchestra.
Glenn Miller’s band was easily recognized by both the vibrato he demanded of reed players and the integration of clarinets into the saxophone choir.
While most think of this as “old people’s music,” there were many younger folks in the crowd as well.
The highlight of the concert, however, was, as always, the encore. The moment the first strains of *In the Mood* sounded, the audience cheered, stood up, and started dancing in the aisles. Even young people today know this piece, whether they recognize it by name or not.
An 85-year-old woman was dancing away in front of us when she took a serious tumble. We gasped, but with a bit of help, she was back on her feet in seconds and danced until the final note! Nothing was going to keep her from dancing to a big band again!
