Both of these photos come from the Betty Schnabel estate. I'm guessing they belonged to her father.
There's no information given about when they were taken, just that they were both of the Tony Limardi Band and/or Dance Orchestra.
Click on images to see them larger.
Tony Limardi Dance Orchestra, 76 Inf. Div., Camp McCoy, Wisconsin
Tony Limardi Band, U.S.O., Sparta, Wisconsin
There's always been one thing I feel I missed out on being born when I was and that was the opportunity to hear the big bands play. It's the music I grew up with and the bands my mother went to see. Sadly you can't even find it on the radio anymore. For a long time there was a station in San Francisco that played the music, but I think the station eventually became an internet station. Admittedly those who remember the bands are passing away, but I hate to think the same will happen to the music.
This is my submission to this weeks Sepia Saturday "let's put on a show" theme.
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Fortunately most schools that have a music department have a big band class, even if it is a marching band. It's still the most efficient way to teach music to a room full of children all at once.
ReplyDeleteBig bands have not died but are rumbling in the background and some are quite well known in the jazz circles. Quincy Jones and Henry Mancini have MANY disciples!
I'm glad to know Mancini is remembered. I always liked his film scores. And Jones seems to be one of the few musicians left who are still popular that played in the big bands. Of course, Tony Bennett is still out there singing the good stuff.
DeleteIf you like internet radio, you can probably find some good big band music there.
ReplyDeleteSadly bandwidth issues keep me away from internet radio. But I've got a lot of old records and CDs of big band that keep me happy.
DeleteEntertainment at an all time best. It's amazing how many of them are still out there, playing and making memories for us.
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of the big bands. My Mom sang with a band in the mid '30's in San Francisco. In 1961 or '62 Ella Fitzgerald was performing in S.F. and came to do a show on the Cal campus in Berkeley & it was great. She was absolutely amazing. That woman knew her way around a note & then some!
ReplyDeleteYup, the woman was an instrument of sound.
DeleteSuper photos. Betty's photo albums are a curious treasure.
ReplyDeleteNot many people know that for some time, post WW2, our military have added jazz "big band" units like these to the traditional service bands. They even have rock and country bands too. At one time this made some sense because of the limited entertainment for troops stationed overseas or in isolated military posts. But now the US spends billion$ on the military band system, with thousands of professionally trained musicians who play mainly concerts to promote recruitment and politics. Of course this is much more than what is allocated for the arts in the civilian sector. Something is wrong with this equation.
Funny you mention this. I was actually at a recent concert given by the West Coast Air Force band that is stationed at Travis AFB. They were outstanding and it was fascinating to hear how they are chosen and the requirements for even being in the band.
DeleteI love this music and my parents were of that era so I grew up with it. They both played in bands in their younger days. The Glenn Miller Orchestra UK make a fine sound and are currently on tour to packed houses, so all is not lost.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure big band music will never pass away. Every era has its own soundtrack, but in the near future, with all the accessible digitalizations, there will be more big band music available than ever. When I was young I listened a lot to Glenn Miller (I always thought he played 'In The Moon' instead of 'In The Mood').
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother heard this guy play. I think he was a guest on Lawrence Welk a time or two.
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