Here's a sneak peek of "On The Bandstand"!
Give a listen to Stephen, Amy and the SJO!
Amy Sings "Georgia" (0:51)
Stephen sings "Singin' With The Big Bands" (0:49)
SJO plays "Beautiful Ohio" (0:38)
How do you motivate 19 tired musicians to play a concert the day after a four-hour job on the road? It is easier than you might think, just tell them all the competiton will be there.
On October 1, the Sentimental Journey Orchestra performed
for a four-hour private event in Tate, GA. Five hours for those four SJO brass players who formed a brass ensemble for a wedding performance, followed by a full reception and dance afterward. Less than 24 hours later the band was
onstage at the Roswell Cultural Center, in Roswell, GA (just north of Atlanta), for a "Big band Battle for the Big
Easy!"
This was a concert featuring SJO, the Atlanta Seventeen. The
Modernaires, and the Atlanta Swing Orchestra. Some reporters have
referred to the event as "historic" as no one can remember when four big
bands have appeared in the same show here in the Atlanta area...or anywhere else, for that matter! There likely have never been so many musicians in one place on the same stage without a violinist.
So there was the challenge: play your best stuff the next day after playing your best stuff the night before, this time for a completely sober and attentive audience plus at least 60 or so (fairly) sober fellow musicians. A daunting task to say the least.
Every member of the four bands was fully aware the average audience member knows little of the finer points of playing in a big band. At the same time, every member of the bands was also excruciatingly aware that the other big band musicians were completly attuned to those fine points, and were very capable of spotting any imperfections or subtle mistakes. Now that's what you call MOTIVATION! It is safe to say that all four bands raised their respective performances by several notches!! This in turn, raised the excitement level for the audience AND the musicians. It was a performance event to be remembered...and savored!
The SJO swingin' with its "opener," Harry James' "Two O'Clock Jump."
As you might imagine, planning a show with four bands took some
coordination. The entire event went from concept to fruition in just under three weeks!
In consideration of the audience, the bands didn't want to
duplicate tunes so some effort was made to coordinate playlists so that each
band could play a representative sample of its best music. If you are
a fan of big bands, the Roswell Cultural Center was the place to have been on
October 2!. While the show was inevitably long, a majority of the enthusiastic and knowledgeable
audience stayed the whole time, which is a credit to the loyalty of fans
for these bands and of "real music!"
Amy Holloway and Stephen Martin doing their thing!
It is a tribute to the musicianship and style of these bands, that a
tremendous variety of music was played. There were representative samples
from the great bands of the past, such as Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Count
Basie and Gene Krupa as well as more contemporary bands such as Buddy
Rich, Ted Heath and Doc Severinsen's "Tonight Show" orchestra.
All of the bands presented one or
more singers. SJO of course featured Amy Holloway and Stephen Martin,
The Seventeen with Lani Sibley, The Modernaires with Amy Sherwood, and
the Atlanta Swing Orchestra with Susan Hargus.
All the bands looked
great and sounded great. The collegiality and fellowship among the musicians after the performance was sincere and memorable. It was a fun evening for a good cause and it was
generally agreed that everyone had so much fun that we ought to do it again
sometime.
(above)Charlie Sammons soars on the Doc Severinsen version of "Georgia!"
while SJO pianist Dan Turner lays down the "changes."
SJO FEATURED AT THE 75th
ANNIVERSARY OF THE FABULOUS FOX
It would be difficult to find a more beautiful setting for a party.
Onstage, guest vocalist Steve Cardone belts out a great ballad.
The SJO played to a packed house in the Fox Theater's Egyptian Ballroom on Sunday 26th of December. The five-hour marathon performance was just one part of the 75th anniversary celebration of one of Atlanta's most famous landmarks. The performance began at two in the afternoon and continued until seven. Dancers filled the dance floor and listeners stood shoulder to shoulder around the rest of the room and up in the balcony as well. This fabulous audience roared its approval and appreciation of the band's efforts after every selection. It didn't take long for this reaction to have its effect. The performance level was raised several notches just by the infectious nature of the audience's feedback.
To say we enjoyed it would be a serious understatement. We were told later that the total number of visitors to the Fox Theater Anniversary approached some 30,000 Atlanta area residents...there were moments during our performance when it seemed that all 30,000 were in the Egyptian Ballroom at the same time but, truth be known, we likely played to a total audience of at least 5,000 of those visitors during the afternoon and early evening. A very respectable and much appreciated audience indeed! We loved every minute of it!!
SJO Drummer Billy Moore wows the audience during "Sing, Sing, Sing"!
PHOTO by Pamela Herring
Here are a few photos of the Fox Anniversary
Party taken by The Nightly Planet.
Photo by Rocky Hanes of The Nightly Planet
Photo by Rocky Hanes of The Nightly Planet
Photo by Rocky Hanes of The Nightly Planet
Photo by Rocky Hanes of The Nightly Planet
Remember Our Friend
Christophe Vancostenoble?
A few years ago, when we were playing monthly at the Shrine Auditorium, we had a guest from France. Christophe Vancostenoble is his full name, but we fondly call him Chris. Chris has 
been singing for several years with the Couleur Swing (a band from Lille, France, a city located very near Belgium). While on vacation in the USA, Chris stayed with an SJO member who invited him to sing one or two song with the band. He was a huge hit with the audience who found his lightly accented English charming.
We recently heard some great news from Chris about the Couleur Swing. They were asked to appear in Paris, to be a featured act in the celebration remembering the liberation of Paris. They were to play the part of an American swing orchestra. There were parades that recreated the entry of American troops into Paris with authentic old vehicles, uniforms and bands. It was a huge celebration. The following is an excerpt from an e-mail received from Chris after the event.
The show took place from 9 PM to 10.30 PM and featured a troup of parisian singers
and dancers led by Jerome Savary, a famous french director. It
was called "zazou" and depicted the mood and life of young Parisians
during the german occupation, called the "zazous". There are lots of
famous french songs of this period that they were singins and dancing. The show was captured on vidéo and aired a few hours later on
TV.
Just after the show, the enormous crowd of 40 000 (yes, no typing fault)
was invited to dance to the sound of an "authentic period american big
band". You know what ? that was the Couleur Swing !!
So we had the opportunity to play and sing with an absolutely wonderful
sound system in front of a sea of audience... just in front of us, there
were 1000 people dressed in 1944 style (civilian and military) that were
swing dancing on a special stage (they were part of the show). And during
the sets, we saw in the "sea" of audience a lot of "space circles" : that
were people who asked for some room to dance on the pavement.
the mood was really good, everybody was dancing and smilling, under a
wonderful light show... till midinight. Suddenly, the police decided to
stop the event because there were too many people. So the big band had to
stop before the end, we had 45 minutes to play... the crowd keept cheering
and shooting for "more, more" for long minutes... but they had shut off
lights and music. So all my lindy hopper friends decided to dance a
routine without music... The mood was like crazy...
It was really a fantastic event, I will never forget the moment I sang my
songs alone in front af a sea of 40,000 dancers. And the quartet... !
A fantastic crowd pleaser !
Even during the day, i had good time by following a military vehicles
column that commemorated the entrance of the Americans in Paris.
Jean-françois played some music with 5 members of the big band on a
military truck. They had to play during 4 hours all afternoon ! Lots
of people in period costume were also present, I was there (as a 1944
reporter) with Line and Dialina from our quartet.
I have attached a few pictures of us, and the stage, for you to enjoy. I
was really thinking of you during this day, you would have had a wonderful
time !
I hope everyone is fine in atlanta, say hello to all our
friends! Like we said a lot during this wonderful day : VIVE LES AMERICAINS !!
A bientôt,
Christophe
