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Jan Slottenäs and his orchestra
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The cost of this CD is not cheap by today's standards for live big
band music, but when you realised that there are 29 tunes on this
CD and it plays for 1 hr 23 minutes then
Cost of this CD is £16.23 Sterling
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http://www.slottenas-musicproduction.se/englska/spelningar.htm To puchase you should email for details on how to buyto: slottenas.@telia.com |
Its 1956 again, and I've just bought my first album of Glenn
Miller records, recorded live at
The Café Rouge, Meadowbrook , Glenn Island Casino, and the Paradise
Restaurant and listening
to these LP's takes me into 1939 and amongst the audience seeing Glenn Miller
play to the
dancers and diners. It was these records then that gave me that same feeling
I would have as a
child on Christmas day, waking up and finding a stocking full of presents
on the end of my bed.
That thrill then was the climax of the year, but the kids of today seem to
have a Christmas every-
day by the looks of the amount of toys they have stacked up in their rooms
or lay rotting in their
gardens. I don't think that excitement even exists today. We treasured our
presents and they lasted,
some of them even to this day. So with that imagination in your mind this
is how I felt when
I open an envelope that I had just received from Europe. No it wasn't the
75,000,000 Euros lottery
win, it was probably better. It was the CD just released by Jan Slottenäs
and his orchestra
called “Glenn Miller's Music Played Live”. Now don't say, “Oh
no! not another Glenn Miller
CD”. Because this is one I have been waiting for and asking for, for
the past 20 years. Here is the
long awaited music that we never get to hear by any modern band today, this
is some of the music
that you know if you have those two Albums of five LP sets released back in the mid fifties.
Many have been released on CD by the
original Glenn Miller orchestra since, but not many have been played or recorded
by the current
big bands in such numbers.
Jan Slottenäs recreations is another one of those great European bands
that are able to play
Glenn's music, all but perfect. We reported in our last magazine that The
Jack Million Band
latest CD was breaking new ground by bringing back some of these oldies that
have been
forgotten, although not from Glenn Miller fans. The GM orchestra directed
by Larry O'Brien also
added some rare numbered to his last releases a couple of years ago, but Jan
Slottenäs has out
smarted them all with this CD that goes on forever with 29 tunes including
some of the popular
numbers naturally, but they are out numbers by a long list of rarities including:-
Daddy- The Rumba Jumps-Introduction To A Waltz- Rockin' Chair-So Many Times
Yours Is My Heart Alone-I Cried For You-This Changing World-Marie-Blue Skies-
Cuckoo In The Clock-Always In My Heart-Are You Rusty, Gate-Too Romantic-Amapola-
Sweet Eloise- What's the Matter With Me-Yesterdays Gardenias- Hallelujah-
One O'clock
Jump-I wanna Hat with Cherries.
Now take a deep breath?. there's more:-
Moonlight Serenade- American Patrol- String Of Pearls-
Tuxedo Junction- Little Brown Jug- I Know Why-Pennsylvania 65000.
That last few being the popular mix that just helps you to get into the
wonderful mood Jan is able to create with this compiled concert made
up from several of his live shows.
The mood set is just like those early recordings I have in those GM albums,
which I still play today. Jan Slottenäs again records his music with
just
two supper Didrik De Geer Microphones, that produce a mellow and pleasing
sound. You can
just enjoy laying back in your recliner dreaming of the days when you were
young and didn't
have a care in the world because you were in love, and had a girl in your
arms.
The CD opens with an approval roar and applauses from the audience
as the intro-
ductory version (Short Version) of Moonlight Serenade is played. There is
a marked
difference in the sound of this recording over the one recorded on his 2006
Cd .
Whether this is due to the acoustic of the venue I can't be sure but the sound
created
hear is pure Miller probably the closes you'll ever get to the original.
A brief applause and the band starts the programme with a familiar Glenn Miller
format, Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue.
I Cried For You, This Changing World, Marie (Borrowed from Tommy Dorsey)
and finally Blue Skies. The Medley taken from a Glenn Miller Chesterfield
show
....January 1940, and a great start to get you in the mood for
what is to follow.
This band has always been able to get very close to Glenn Miller's original
sound circa 1939/40
when it really began to 'Click', as Glenn would say. Today this band is even
better and quite
frankly on some of the numbers I would not wish to be put to the test on answering
which was
which.
Jan is one of us, a dedicated Glenn Miller fan, and thank goodness understands
what we want, he
knows for instants that there are so many tunes in the Glenn Miller library
that never get an airing.
He is in this unique position to be able to transcribe some of these rarities,
and has a really fine
band to play them for us..As the band began to play the song 'Daddy',
I just had the feeling that this was the real thing, a bright new recording
by THE Glenn
Miller orchestra, but no sooner had I thought that, my enthusiasm was suddenly
dampened
because I expected Marion Hutton to burst into song. Its only then that I
came down to
earth and realised, that I was listening to the Jan Slottenäs orchestra,
and girl vocalist
Samuéla Burenstrand.
This is not to say her ability to carry off this song isn't
fine, but is a
statement to show just how authentic sounding the band is, so much
so that I can't stop reminding you of this fact.
Samuéla Burenstrand sings on several of the tracks along with male
vocalist Jens Berggren, Klas Toresson and the bands vocal group called
'The Infourmation'. It is getting used to these singers with their
Swedish accent that has to be accepted because on every song included here
along with the
authentic sound being created by these musicians. I cannot help but expect
the likes of Marion,
Ray and Tex to be there.
American Patrol is again totally Miller and is undistinguishable from the
original and the soloist
play note for note original solo with Lars Almkvist Trumpet and Mikel Ulfberg
Drums. From
American Patrol its straight into A String Of Pearls, the Gerry Gray arrangement
of course with
again some great soloist with Klas Lindquist and Peter Fredman on altos Fredrik
Lindborg and
Björn Jansson tenor sax, Martin Lood trumpet and Stefan Carlberg Piano.
Track 7 is again rarely heard, transcribed by Jan and with himself
playing
Glenn Miller trombone solo in Danny Boy. The next track is just one that
every one plays when doing Miller concerts but no one has played it this
good before, Tuxedo Junction with Lars Almkvist open trumpet solo and
Martin Lood Muted Trumpet.
Marion Hutton expected again but Samuéla singing this fun song and
rare to CD The Rumba Jumps help along by Klas Toresson standing in
for Tex Beneke vocally and tenor Sax.
The band calling out Jug! Jug! And guess what it's Little Brown Jug
follow now by the long film version of I Know Why, a terrific
sound recreation again, that will
make you miss the voices of Pat Friday and John Paine but by now you will
be getting used to
the voices of Samuéla Burenstrand and Jens Berggren.
Jan does not let us eager and hungry fans down, as more of the rarities that
we know so well from
Glenn's book are included. This next one is a collaboration of arrangers,
Dickinson, Miller and
Gray and transcribed by Jan. Introduction To A Waltz.
Martin Lood trumpet opens this next familiar number and you expect Glenn to
say ?Yours
Texas? but then you expect Tex Beneke to come in but, again reality cuts in
and this time its
Mikael Wikström singing Rockin' Chair.
The CD is one I can listen to over and over again as it is such a joy to find
so many of those
originals from the early Glenn Miller recordings.
The orchestra is on tour through 2009/10 into Norway, Denmark, Germany and
of course
extensivly in Sweden.
Highlights will be on the 31st March 09-3rd April and 5th April.09, when Jan
will include
Strings with the orchestra to play tribute concerts to Glenn Miller's AAF
Orchestra.
During April 09 the band will play a number of tribute concerts to Glenn Miller
and Benny
Goodman in Sweden and in Findland as well as September 09, in Germany and
Denmark.
In 2010 Jan Slottenas and his orchestra will celebrate their 25 years in the
business with a series
of special concerts in Sweden
This Orchestra is so good if you can make the trip to Sweden or any of the
other countries the
orchestra is visiting, you will not be dissappointed.
Full details of his concert can be found on the web site below for the English
version: