People who are nostalgic for a certain type of big band often ask me that question. The big bands that they hunger for are the bands of their youth. With few exceptions, the only bands playing that music on a national scale are the “ghost bands” of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, et. al. So, the big bands of their youth are gone and can never return. But big bands never went away, and just evolved with the times.
Because of the uncertain economics of the music business, there are only a few nationally known, touring bands that are not “ghost bands.” The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra tours extensively, playing big band classics along with original compositions. Probably, the most interesting big band playing today is the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, which tours occasionally. Other modern jazz big bands that tour occasionally are the Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, The Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Orchestra and the Carla Bley Big Band. A lot of these bands tour in Europe and Asia.
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Throughout the history of jazz, its young musicians trained in big bands. It was where they learned to phrase and read and interpret music beyond lead sheets that might be used in combo playing. That learning experience has also never gone away, but it has morphed into a progression of high school and college big bands. Nearly every high school and college or university has at least one big band. That is a lot of big band music going on in this country. Whether the musical quality is high is another matter. Eventually, I hope that these bands and their training will raise the general level of pop music in this country.
A big band is like an athletic team. We have all seen teams raise the level of their game when faced with a superior opponent and sometimes play at their opponent’s level. I have seen this happen with college bands. The best example I know of is a concert by the Webster University Big Band big band several years ago featuring the music of Charles Mingus. Mingus was known as the angry man of jazz and it seemed that his spirit took over the band as the musicians played way over their heads in a rage I have seldom heard from a big band, except for the Mingus Big Band out of New York. Those who came to the concert hoping to hear Glenn Miller music must have been shocked, to say the least.
Above the college level big bands, there are those that play in towns and cities all across the country. In the major cities, the top bands are usually staffed by highly trained professionals who work full-time at music as studio musicians or in clubs or symphony orchestras. Below these bands are big bands staffed by music teachers, other working musicians and people who work in other professions. I call these big bands “community big bands.” They all have a common purpose: for the players to have fun and sharpen their skills by enjoying the challenge of reading and interpreting big band music. These “community big bands” play music in every style, from the dance music of the Big Band Era to quite modern music.
St. Louis has several “community big bands.” All of these bands occasionally have The Gateway City Big Band has been in existence since 1966 and plays both dance music and concerts, specializing in the classics of the Big Band era. They play two or three engagements a month. The Gateway City Big Band has issued a number of recordings. The Blue Knights are an offshoot of the Gateway City Big Band that plays a somewhat wider repertoire. The original Knights of Swing band was started in 1949 and remains active today. The Ambassadors of Swing also mines this area. All of these bands play the Casa Loma Ballroom for swing dancing.
The Sessions Big Band was started around 1995 as a band to play Monday nights at BB’s Jazz Blues & Soups. It has had that gig since then, but the frequency has been reduced lately. The band made two recordings. After leader Keith Ellis died suddenly in 1999, the band has been run by Contemporary Productions. The music of the band is jazz classics and jazz standards composed since the mid-1950’s. It uses arrangements from a variety of well-known arrangers as well as from its members.
The St. Louis Jazz Orchestra is led by bassist Jim Widner and has a Stan Kenton feel to its music. For a couple of years, it had a monthly gig at Jazz at the Bistro. The band features many of the top professionals in St. Louis.
There are two big bands that are semi-professional associated with colleges. The Genesis Jazz Project band is based at UMSL and is under the direction of Bob Waggoner. The band was originally the Meramec Community Jazz Lab Band and many professionals played along with some students since the 1960s. Waggoner moved to UMSL several years ago. The Meramec band, now led by Bob Boedges has continued its semi-professional tradition. Both bands give several concerts a year.
Will the big bands come back? They never left.
