Muse 250 Table Of Contents Name/Group Page

Miller, Glenn. Glenn Miller Plays Selections from The Glenn Miller Story, and Other Hits. RCA

Victor, 1956. Vinyl recording.

A Little About “In the Mood” Productions

“In the Mood: A 1940’s Musical Revue” is a group of performers—singers, dancers, and jazz band players—who celebrate the musical styles of the 1930s and 1940s, the “Big Band” era. This was the last time in our history as a country when all Americans were listening and dancing to the same music—jazz. This group formed in 1993, when the USO appointed them the official entertainment for the 50th commemoration of the second World War. The singers and dancers of the group dress in clothes authentic to the time period and the choreography for their musical dances is based on the dancing styles of the time. The thirteen piece “String of Pearls” Orchestra (jazz band) plays authentic musical arrangements of the popular songs and works of that time period. These famous performers of the 1940s were people like Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Erskine Hawkins, The Andrews Sisters, and Frank Sinatra. The production as a whole covers the range of emotions felt before World War Two and after it, waiting for loved ones to return. This production has been touring the country for 22 years, and occasionally performing outside the US, in New Zealand, Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia. While touring in the US, they perform 30 or more shows in a two month time period, including the time spent driving from one state to the next. This group has been recognized nationally and has performed in commemorations for World War Two and for President Clinton’s inaugural ball.

The performers that make up the group hail from very different parts of the United States and a variety of backgrounds, like Washington. Most, if not all, performers hold some type of degree in music and have a variety of field experience in musical performance opportunities outside of “In the Mood”. Two of their current performers graduated from Ball State University in the past, Scott Whitford and James Middleton.

“In the Mood” Show on CD discography sample:

St. Louis Blues March (Handy)

Yes, Indeed (Oliver)

Well All Right (Faye, Kapp, Raye)

In the Mood (Garland)

Big Band Medley

Swinging On A Star (Van Heusen, Burke)

Jeepers Creepers (Warren, Mercer)

That Old Feeling (Fain, Brown)

Taking a Chance on Love (Duke, Latouche, Fetter) and Ain’t We Got Fun (Egan, Kahn, Whiting)

Elmer’s Tune (Albrecht, Gallop, Jurgens) and Chattanooga Choo Choo (Warren, Gordon)

Well, Git It! (Oliver)

I’m Getting Sentimental Over You (Bassman) and Moonlight Serenade (Miller, Parish)

Dream (Mercer)

I Can’t Get Started (Duke, Gershwin)

Begin the Beguine (Porter)

Serenade In Blue (Warren, Gordon)

Hey! Ba Ba Re Bop (Hamner, Hampton)

Skylark (Carmichael, Mercer) and Mood Indigo ( Bigard, Mills, Ellington)

Say That We’re Sweethearts Again (Brent) and Tuxedo Junction (Dash, Feyne, Hawkins, Johnson)

Paper program from one of their shows in 2015

Brass Artist Research Project
This project focuses on both my current instrument (trombone) and my least studied area of music (jazz). In the search for famous jazz trombonists, J.J. Johnson appeared repeatedly. Often considered one of the greatest jazz trombonists of all time, James Louis (J.J.) Johnson was born in Indianapolis on January 22^nd, 1924. He ushered in a new era of bebop music, working with renowned artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

Johnson first began on piano, not moving to trombone until high school. Ironically, he had wanted to play saxophone and did not originally want to play the trombone. He first began performing with “territory” bands in the first half of the 1940s, only four years after he had started playing trombone. He got opportunities to perform with renowned jazz musicians, such as Benny Carter, Count Basie and Illinois Jacquet. He began to perform his revolutionary bebop sound on trombone in the second half of the decade, setting a completely new standard and genre for the jazz trombonist. His unique style quickly gained him attention in the music world. He began composing in the early 1950s, followed by his joining with Danish trombonist Kai Winding. The group had a rather unusual instrumentation of two trombones and a rhythm section. In 1956, Johnson left the group to find a new musical challenge for himself.

Johnson began to focus more on composition, writing for brass ensembles and even beginning to write for television and film scores in 1970. After parting with Winding, he wrote several famous pieces: Poem for Brass, El Camino Real, and Perceptions. He began to break into the film industry with music for Shaft, Cleopatra Jones, and some television such as The Six Million Dollar Man. While he focused on composition at the time, he still made occasional jazz recordings. Johnson spent seventeen years out in Hollywood with his family, writing for television and film scores.

Johnson then moved back to Indianapolis in 1987 to write more for jazz ensembles once again and record jazz. After seventeen years, he came back to jazz full-time. He worked with some ensembles, performing his last album, The Brass Orchestra, in 1996. He retired from trombone performance in 1997, yet continued to work on his compositions. Johnson began to suffer from prostate cancer, and committed suicide on February 4^th, 2001. He married twice during his lifetime, remarrying after his first wife’s death. Johnson has two sons, Kevin and William, and a stepdaughter, Mikita.

Johnson’s work still lives on today, his performances serving as a model for jazz trombonists worldwide. His rich, dark tone and ease of performance deceives the listener’s ear, making his music sound natural and almost easy. His lyric, virtuosic playing with such strong musical flow challenges even the best jazz trombonists today. His ability to play with soul also made his performance as a jazz trombonist such an iconic sound to jazz and bebop. One of Johnson’s most famous pieces is from 1957, and it is called Blue Trombone. The instrumentation (other than J.J.) involves Tommy Flanagan on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Max Roach on drums.

J.J. Johnson serves as an outstanding model for any type of trombonist, jazz or not. His intonation quality and sensitivity to the music demonstrates qualities of any strong musician. Johnson certainly made a significant splash in the world of jazz, and he paved the way for jazz trombonists (particularly in the route of bebop). His virtuosic and free-flowing performance, along with his challenging original compositions, will forever earn him a name in the history of jazz.

References

ClassicalPlus - Jazz Artist - J.J. Johnson. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://www.gmn.com/artists/artist.asp?id=2040

J.J. Johnson - Blue Trombone 1957 [Advertisement]. (2014, January 18). Retrieved April 20, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvgf0yPAqGI

J. J. Johnson: 1924-2001. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2016, from http://www.jazzhouse.org/gone/lastpost2.php3?edit=981455192

J.J. Johnson. (2005). J.J. Johnson: Thirteen Original Songs [CD]. Jamey Aebersold Jazz.

Sullivan, L. T. (n.d.). Discography. Retrieved April 22, 2016, from http://jjjohnson.jazzgiants.net/biography/discography/

Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian trumpet player and bandleader for several jazz big-band ensembles. Music was Ferguson’s life, his passion, and he immersed himself into the discipline. Born in 1928 in Verdun, Quebec, his parents fostered his musical experiences. In his early childhood, he learned to play the violin and piano at the age of four. After receiving special training on the trumpet at the age of 9, Ferguson made his debut as a soloist for the Canadian Broadcasting Company Orchestra at 11 years old.

When Ferguson dropped out of Montreal High School at the age of 15, he played in a dance band led by his brother, Percy, and started his career as a professional musician. A year later, Ferguson led his first jazz and dance band. At the age of 20, he moved to the United States and played in Boyd Raeburn’s progressive band. In 1950, Ferguson developed his reputation as a screeching upper-register trumpeter in Stan Kenton’s brass ensemble. After playing with Kenton for a few years, he made a living as a studio trumpeter for Paramount Pictures, recording film soundtracks. In 1955, Ferguson performed the “Titans,” by William Russo, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Leonard Bernstein.

Maynard Ferguson is best known for his formation of his big-band jazz orchestras, of which he formed thirteen ensembles over the rest of his career after 1955. He had several famous arrangers such as Don Sebesky, Don Menza, and Slide Hampton contribute to his ensembles, catapulting the big-band sound to the mainstream pop charts. One of his best hits, “Gonna Fly Now,” reached listeners across the United States in 1977. This chart was from the blockbuster hit, “Rocky.” This notoriety earned him the title of the Number One Pop Instrumentalist in Billboard magazine. After the movie’s successful run, Ferguson toured the United States over the next few decades playing with one of his jazz orchestras and appearing as a featured soloist for different artists and groups. Ferguson passed away in 2006 in Ventura, California, and had recorded an album titled “The One and Only,” which was released in 2007 by Contemporary Records.

Ferguson recorded dozens of albums for studio musicians, as a soloist, and with different jazz ensembles. His covers of songs such as “Gonna Fly Now,” “Birdland,” and “Chameleon” are a few charts that helped him gain lots of attention in the national spotlight. His most significant albums include his self-titled album accompanied by the Kenton Orchestra, “The Hot Canary,” in 1950. Ferguson’s first big album with his Octet Jazz Ensemble released their covers of “Autumn Leaves” and “Finger-Snappin’” in 1955. In 1963, he released his album under Roulette Records titled “Maynard ‘63” where he performed as a soloist with his jazz orchestra. In 1977, his performance of “Gonna Fly Now” from the movie, Rocky, became one of his best singles.
References
Josephson, Sanford. Jazz Notes: Interviews across the Generations. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2009. Print.
"Maynard Ferguson." Discogs. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.