Big Band Bash Frank Miller

May 13th is the birthday of Woody Herman and if he were alive today that would have been his 111th birthday. To celebrate this milestone we will be playing some of his early recordings made between the years of 1939 and 1946 on the show today which is part one of two. I was fortunate enough to see the Herman band in person not once but twice. They were a very exciting band and I have been a fan every since I was in high school. I hope you enjoy this salute to one of America's greatest big band leaders.

This week I am continuing with part two of Big Band Remotes from World War 2 with two remotes from the Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands series. At the same time, however, I am having a birthday salute to a favorite bandleader of mine, the late Artie Shaw. Artie was born on May 23, 1910 and he also appeared on the Spotlight band program for five consecutive weeks in 1945. So to honor Artie I would like to play the first two programs in that series. The sound quality is very good and there are some exciting solos from trumpeter Roy Eldridge. I hope you enjoy this look back at some on location performances from the great Artie Shaw as we remember his birthday..

On this week's show I would like to honor a request. A listener asked for some big band remotes that took place during World War 2. Most of the remotes I have during that era are from the Victory Parade of Spotlight Bands program. I found four 15 minute shows so on the program today we will be listening to the bands of Tommy Dorsey, Bob Chester, Benny Goodman, and Les Brown. Three of the shows are from 1943 and one is from 1944. I hope you enjoy this look back at some on location performances from four of America's top bands.

Lionel Hampton was born on April 20, 1908 in Louisville, Kentucky. I first discovered the great playing of Lionel when he was a member of the Benny Goodman Quartet. Join me as we celebrate the birthday of this true jazz master. I have lots of different recordings that Lionel is featured on as well as a look at his career. So get ready to tap your feet as we listen to and celebrate the amazing vibraphonist, Lionel Hampton.

Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899 so to remember his birthday and to listen to some of his amazing music, I am repeating this show from 2013. There is lots of Ellington originals in this show as well as some information on his amazing life. I hope you will join me in celebrating the birthday of one of music's greatest composers, Duke Ellington.

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks have produced their third series about World War Two called Masters of the Air. It is a nine part series about the pilots who flew the B-17 Bombers into Germany during WW2. There are several big band songs played throughout the series so I researched what songs were played and put together this show. There were only a couple of songs that I did not have so I don't think you'll mind my substitutions. I hope you enjoy the songs from the nine part series called Masters of the Air.