Big Band Fans come to the National Warplane Museum this Saturday September 20
From the NWM in Geneseo NY,
The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra is coming to the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY! After a successful concert in 2022 featuring The Glenn Miller Orchestra, the museum is opening its hangar doors for this extraordinary concert and dance, Saturday – September 20th at 5PM.
Swing music, a version of Jazz that developed in the 1930’s and 40’s, set the stage in what many remember as the Big Band Swing Era. New musicians evolved, ignoring the traditional 2/4 or 4/4 beat. It became an easy genre to dance to as many new steps came to light to match the new bouncy beat. Swing was synonymous to the sounds of World War II.
Band leaders such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Harry James, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Artie Shaw, and so many more graced the airways with the new invention of radio.
In Big Band history, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra is recognized as one of the best all-around dance bands. It could swing with the best of them, and no other band could come close to Tommy’s when it came to playing ballads. Tommy Dorsey, “The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing”, was a master at creating warm, sentimental, and always musical moods – at superb dancing and listening tempos.
From 1935 until 1946 he directed his band into fame with hits like Gettin Sentimental Over You, Boogie Woogie, Stardust, Marie and countless others!
Big time singers became famous by singing with Tommy Dorsey like Jack Leonard, who recorded over 200 songs w/ Tommy Dorsey. Then in 1940 a young crooner from Hoboken New Jersey joined the band. Tommy hired (or perhaps stole) none other than Frank Sinatra from the Harry James Orchestra and Frank went on to record over 80 songs helping to launch his career as we know it today! And as they say…. The rest is history!
Interestingly by the end of 1946 many of the big band leaders decided to call it quits – Benny Goodman, Harry James, Les Brown, Woody Herman, and even Tommy Dorsey – some say this was the end of the Golden Age of Swing Big Band Era! However, less than two years later, Tommy Dorsey started his band back up and they haven’t looked back! Even after his premature death at the age of 51 in 1956, his band has continued to perform under different leaderships, but under the same style and beat of Tommy Dorsey! Today, the band is under the leadership and talent of Mr. Jeff Bush.
Swing and dance enthusiast alike will have an opportunity to travel back in time and hear the sounds and rhythm of one of Big Band’s most prominent bands. The One and Only Tommy Dorsey Orchestra will be performing in the big aircraft hangar at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, Saturday, September 20th! Music begins at 5 PM. Dress will be casual; however, period dress is encouraged. But most importantly, everyone will be encouraged to bring their dancing shoes as there will be a large space devoted to swing to the music.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit their website, Nationalwarplanemuseum.com.
