from Dan Gabel's website
DO NOT
MISS the current Vaughn Monroe Show tour presented by Dan Gabel and his
magnificent orchestra and singers: their next stop is this coming Sunday, October 15th, Worcester, at the Holy
Name High School from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The program is an extraordinary
opportunity to experience live Big Band music as it was meant to be performed,
and is a notable tribute – perhaps the best kind of tribute—to Vaughn Monroe
and his orchestra.
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But the
two hours is more than foot-stomping entertainment from an 18-piece orchestra
with brass so exhilarating it practically lifts you off your seat. It’s a recreation of the old Camel Caravan live radio remotes. It’s October 1949, and you are there.
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Last
weekend I was delighted to attend their gig at the Springfield Technical
Community College, sponsored by the Springfield Armory National Historic
Site. The only disappointment was that
the show as not as well attended as it should have been. All fans of Dan Gabel need to spread the word,
for this Vaughn Monroe Show is as much about skill and musicianship of this
young orchestra leader, arranger, and musician and his superlative band
members, as it is about Vaughn Monroe and the heyday of the Big Bands.
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The
program began with a warm-up act, so to speak, of vintage video clips – a cartoon,
some early television commercials, to set the stage for 1949. It was a good lead-in; the audience laughed,
particularly at the cigarette commercial, which Gabel and his troupe later
reprised in a teasing “commercial” for their live program.
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Specialty
numbers included Gabel’s regular featured vocalist Elise Roth, who always
impresses me not only with her 1940s-look in dress, hair, and makeup, but that
she sings with the style of the best of the swing singers of that era. She displays great control and range, “selling”
the songs in the classic manner of back in the day. For this program, she was joined by a
recreation of Monroe’s “The Moon Maids” – Sarah Callinan, Annie Kerins, and
Emily Greenslit. Their vocal blend and
dreamy expressions during the romantic numbers—and a lot of Vaughn Monroe’s
hits were romantic—gracefully lends the perfect combination of charm and talent.
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Craig
Robbins, who plays first trombone, also steps up to the mic and displays a
terrific baritone voice, particularly the romantic number, “There, I’ve Said it
Again.”
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Steve
Gagliastro, who plays second trombone, wowed ‘em with his comic rendition of “The Maharajah of Magador.”
He was Jerry Colonna on steroids—but his tenor voice is outstanding.
Katie Piselli and Steven Plummer, a
pair of lively jitterbugs, brought a novelty and physical expression to the
music. Ms. Piselli had a featured role
as the “Ballerina” of Vaughn Monroe’s hit song while Monroe himself was seen in
video singing, Gabel’s orchestra backing him up, a nice effect.
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Leader Dan Gabel also croons, and
was joined by his “girl singers” and “boy singers” for a spirited “Ghost Riders
in the Sky.” Gabel is a genial host, and
his youth may strike some fans of this kind of music—mostly middle-aged to
quite elderly seniors—as being something of an anomaly. However, that is doing Gabel, and for those
of us who grew up loving music that was popular long before we were born, a
disservice, for such completely misunderstands the attraction of this
music. Gabel’s The Vaughn Monroe Show is
not simply nostalgia. That’s part of it,
to be sure, especially for those older folks who actually remember dancing to
this music. But it’s more than
that. It takes the music and the
musicianship of this era and recreates it, plays it as it should be played so fans new and old can appreciate the magic of it.
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This is not just an exercise in parody. This, despite it’s being 2017, is the real thing. This is genuine Big Band music. Gabel’s orchestra is that good.
To call it nostalgic is to dismiss
all that is excellent about this music.
When we hear of a symphony orchestra performing Bach, we don’t think, “Oh,
how cute they’re doing nostalgic music from the sixteen century!” No; we accept it as an art form. So, too, is Big Band music an art form, a
cultural expression from the first half of the twentieth century. Dan Gabel’s critical success is that he
understands that and respects that, and has become a most skilled interpreter.
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Here is Dan
Gabel’s website for more information. Here are links to two previous posts we’ve
discussed on Gabel’s
music and on Vaughn
Monroe’s New England base.
Don’t miss the rest of The
Vaughn Monroe Show tour!
