Hello and welcome to our website Big Band Alliance, which is devoted to 175 of the legendary big band leaders of the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. We chose the name Alliance to thank our hometown in Ohio, where we first heard big band music, and also because the word "alliance" means "...
When it comes to describing musicians – in this case, the leaders of swing bands – one (GoRetroGirl) can think of so many cute and naughty double entendres. “He sure knows how to blow that thing.”“He keeps his instrument well lubricated.”“He’s got great rhythm.” And my pers...
and J. Lunceford were among the most important representatives of swing. A number of band leaders, including B. Goodman, T. Dorsey, and G. Miller, borrowed from Negro musicians. In the same period the pianist T. Wilson, vibraphonist L. Hampton, and tenor saxophonists C. Hawkins and L. ...
Big band music in full flight is surely one of the most exciting sounds in jazz! Here's our guide to the best big bands & bandleaders of all time.
(big band music for dancing or that included singers), and the advent of television as a major source of amusement. The result was less and less work for dance-oriented bands. But something else was changing. Writers, arrangers and big band-leaders were developing artistic goals that took ...
remain. Funn has rounded out the roster mostly with other music educators and band leaders. Aside from Funn, 66, who plays trombone as well as directing, band members’ ages range from the early 20s to the early 40s, making it one of the youngest personnel rosters of Baltimore-area big...
Having “already garnered comparisons with the greats” (Jazzwise) after the release of his debut album ‘Home’, Eddie Gripper has been rapidly establishing himself as another young contender on the national jazz circuit. He has worked as a performer, promoter and produ...
Audio: Four Songs From Mars Volta/At The Drive-In Co-leaders New Band, Antemasque April 17, 2014 Video: Bob Dylan, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Do ‘Rainy Day Women 12# & 35,’‘Across the Borderline’ & More April 17, 2014 Video: Bob Dylan’s ‘Americana Tour’ – Memphis, Ju...
Much as the rock quartet X stood as the symbol of West Coast rock integrity in the ‘80s, Sonic Youth served as leaders of a corresponding wing of East Coast bands. There wasn’t a lot in common in the music the groups made--X mixed poetic tales of urban tension with a sparking, hi...
During a radio broadcast of the band's performance, the announcer wanted to give Basie's name some pizazz, keeping in mind the existence of other bandleaders like Duke Ellington and Earl Hines. So he called the pianist "Count," with Basie not realizing just how much the name would catch ...