Andy Hagan, one of the great lead trumpet players of any era, was lead trumpet for many years on the estate bands of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and one of the last of the Harry James bands led by Harry himself. He worked in Las Vegas for several years and is known in professional big band circles all over the world. He is simply one of the best. We were fortunate enough to meet him through another "road warrior" who had succeeded him on the James band and after he moved to Atlanta, he was kind enough (and patient enough) to sub with us on occasion. Andy would frequently sit in with our band when our lead trumpet had to be out of town on business. (Day jobs can sometimes interefere with the important things, like music!) One day when Andy was going to sit in, I happened to ask if he knew a bass player who could come in on short notice, as our bass man had been called away unexpectedly and could not make the rehearsal. He said " no problem, I just happen to have one handy, we'll have a bass". I knew better than to ask questions. That night, Andy showed up with a bass player that no one in the band had ever met before. He just said "guys..this is Joey and he plays bass". We welcomed him and soon found out that he was about as much bass player as Andy was a trumpet player...that is to say he was in fact what we in music circles mention reverently as a freaking monster on the bass. Having Andy on lead trumpet and Joey on Bass raised everyone in the band to the top of their game and we may have made fewer mistakes than we ever have that night. It was one of those rehearsals where everyone reaffirmed just how much we enjoy playing in a big band and how much we enjoy this music. After the rehearsal I introduced myself to Joey and asked if he had just gotten into town and of course asked if we could call him again. He just laughed and said "thanks but I'm back on the bus tomorrow, I had a ball and thanks for letting me sit in." It turns out that the Miller band was in town and Joey, who had innocently stopped by to visit his old road band friend, had gotten drafted to sit in with us. Andy had managed to shanghai the bassist from the official traveling Glenn Miller Orchestra on one of the few nights when he didn't have to play and brought him over to play with our band at rehearsal. He put up with us with style and grace and between the two of them inspired us with clear examples of what really great musicianship is all about. In case you are as surprised as we were, THAT, my friends is what we call a class act, two of them to be exact. Henry Mason is Lead Tromdone and Founder of the Sentimental Journey Orchestra. Return to Story Archive Menu Send this SJO page to a friend! HISTORY | THE MUSICIANS | OUR MUSIC | PAST CLIENTS | MEMBERSHIP LISTS & LINKS | ANECDOTES | CONTACT US | PHOTO GALLERY SCHEDULE | BOOKING | SOUND FILES | RESOURCES | ANECDOTE ARCHIVE COPYRIGHT© 2003 SJO, INC.