Big Bands
Betty Bennett was inspired to pursue a career in music when she was brought along to gigs by her mother and was allowed to sing with her. After Betty’s first paying gig, making 50 cents for singing a song, she would continue singing throughout her high school and college years, hitting it big when...
Morris Diamond sat down with us for his NAMM Oral History interview at the age of 97 and recalled his career in music which started when he was 15 years old. He was hired to be the “band boy” for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra one month after the famous bandleader hired a then unknown singer by the...
Jeff Hamilton is right at home at the drum kit of a big band. While he has had great success and enjoys trios, Jeff considers himself a big band drummer. One key approach to his drumming is to keep the tempo while bringing out the talents of the other musicians in the band. Throughout his career,...
Gene (Cip) Cipriano began his musical career with the big bands led by such stars as Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, and Tex Beneke. He later moved to Los Angeles where he soon began his incredible career as a noted studio musician playing primarily the saxophone, oboe, flute, and clarinet. As a member...
Vaughn Wiester recalls the day he played with the Woody Herman band for the first time. The famed leader called out a tune he knew and Larry was ready to jump right in. "They started playing all of these different notes, playing off each other and making such great music I was lost. I realized I...
John Tumpak is the author and music historian who has focused most of his writings on the golden age of swing during the Big Band Era of the 1930-40s. As a result, John has interviewed and written about many of the big names during that time as well as documenting some of the lesser known...
Bob Bain played with a number of the big bands during the golden era of swing before he became the iconic studio session player in Los Angeles. His session playing is well known for a wide range of famous gigs, such as playing for Audrey Hepburn as she sang "Moon River" in the movie "Breakfast at...
Dick Nash was a first call trombone player in the Los Angeles studios for several decades. He played for over two thousand movies and TV programs and with a list of artists ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Art Pepper. Henry Mancini often used Dick on his movie projects including Peter Gunn and Mr...
Denny Seiwell went along on gigs with his father who was the drummer for the Tommy Dorsey band during the great Swing Era. Denny recalled sitting on the floor and watching his father play. As a young child, Denny took up the drums and loved every minute. During school he played in marching bands...
Jon Andersen has enjoyed playing music nearly his entire life. A jazz saxophonist, Jon played in a number of small and large bands over the years and found work with several noted musicians in and around his neighborhood, Santa Barbara. When he was approached by his longtime friend Nick Rail, to...