Big Bands
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jac Winroth was born with a handicap that his mother insisted would never limit her son. She often played the piano for young Jac, which served as a great inspiration for...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Kenny Gardner was a popular vocalist during the Big Band Era who witnessed firsthand the power of music uniting generations of dancers during the golden age of swing....
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Johnny Catron formed his first band in Boston back in 1939, but gained fame as a bandleader and songwriter when he reformed his band following World War II in Southern ...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Doc Cheatham was a blues and jazz trumpeter who played from the early years of recordings all the way into the 1990s. Doc was just a teenager when he recorded with the...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Memo Bernabei led a popular society orchestra during the great Big Band Era. As a saxophonist, Memo cut his teeth within such bands as those lead by Jan Garber and Ray...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Georgia Gibbs, often billed as “Her Nibbs,” enjoyed a successful career as a singer with the big bands beginning in 1936. Over the years she performed with Tommy Dorsey,...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Ella Mae Morse was a vocalist for Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra when she was just 14 years old. She went on to sing with Freddie Slack with whom she recorded a string of hits...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jo Stafford had a remarkable career as both a big band singer and as a solo recording artist after the swing era. Her career included a string of hit popular songs such as...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Paul Weston was an arranger for several dance bands before forming his own orchestra during the Big Band Era. He arranged for Tommy Dorsey's band and wrote several...
Jonah Jones endorsed the HN White King line of trumpets as well as the FE Olds products during his noted career as a jazzman beginning in the 1930s. Jonah played lead trumpet for Stuff Smith and Fletcher Henderson before joining the Cab Calloway Orchestra and recording key trumpet solos for several...