SJO News
In 2006, the Sentimental Journey Orchestra gathered in one of our member’s school music room and brought in a mobile recording studio to the site. It took us about 7 hours total time to set the room up, run some sound checks and record fourteen (14) songs. It took this long because we all listened to our first take, then critiqued the performance, and re-recorded the tune. We did this for all 14 charts, ending up with 2 recordings of each song.
A few of us then spent 25 plus hours fine tuning the recordings to get the best balance and sound acoustics for our CD mastering. We think you will be pleased with our selections. Of course, both Amy Holloway and Stephen Martin are prominently featured.
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On October 1, the Sentimental Journey Orchestra performed for a four-hour private event in Tate, GA. Five hours for those four SJO brass players who formed a brass ensemble for a wedding performance, followed by a full reception and dance afterward. Less than 24 hours later the band was onstage at the Roswell Cultural Center, in Roswell, GA (just north of Atlanta), for a "Big band Battle for the Big Easy!"
This was a concert featuring SJO, the Atlanta Seventeen. The Modernaires, and the Atlanta Swing Orchestra. Some reporters have referred to the event as "historic" as no one can remember when four big bands have appeared in the same show here in the Atlanta area...or anywhere else, for that matter! There likely have never been so many musicians in one place on the same stage without a violinist. So there was the challenge: play your best stuff the next day after playing your best stuff the night before, this time for a completely sober and attentive audience plus at least 60 or so (fairly) sober fellow musicians. A daunting task to say the least.
Every member of the four bands was fully aware the average audience member knows little of the finer points of playing in a big band. At the same time, every member of the bands was also excruciatingly aware that the other big band musicians were completly attuned to those fine points, and were very capable of spotting any imperfections or subtle mistakes. Now that's what you call MOTIVATION! It is safe to say that all four bands raised their respective performances by several notches!! This in turn, raised the excitement level for the audience AND the musicians. It was a performance event to be remembered...and savored!
As you might imagine, planning a show with four bands took some coordination. The entire event went from concept to fruition in just under three weeks! In consideration of the audience, the bands didn't want to duplicate tunes so some effort was made to coordinate playlists so that each band could play a representative sample of its best music. If you are a fan of big bands, the Roswell Cultural Center was the place to have been on October 2!. While the show was inevitably long, a majority of the enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience stayed the whole time, which is a credit to the loyalty of fans for these bands and of "real music!"
It is a tribute to the musicianship and style of these bands, that a tremendous variety of music was played. There were representative samples from the great bands of the past, such as Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Count Basie and Gene Krupa as well as more contemporary bands such as Buddy Rich, Ted Heath and Doc Severinsen's "Tonight Show" orchestra.
All of the bands presented one or more singers. SJO of course featured Amy Holloway and Stephen Martin, The Seventeen with Lani Sibley, The Modernaires with Amy Sherwood, and the Atlanta Swing Orchestra with Susan Hargus.
All the bands looked great and sounded great. The collegiality and fellowship among the musicians after the performance was sincere and memorable. It was a fun evening for a good cause and it was generally agreed that everyone had so much fun that we ought to do it again sometime.
while SJO pianist Dan Turner lays down the "changes."
ANNIVERSARY OF THE FABULOUS FOX
It would be difficult to find a more beautiful setting for a party.
Onstage, guest vocalist Steve Cardone belts out a great ballad.
The SJO played to a packed house in the Fox Theater's Egyptian Ballroom on Sunday 26th of December. The five-hour marathon performance was just one part of the 75th anniversary celebration of one of Atlanta's most famous landmarks. The performance began at two in the afternoon and continued until seven. Dancers filled the dance floor and listeners stood shoulder to shoulder around the rest of the room and up in the balcony as well. This fabulous audience roared its approval and appreciation of the band's efforts after every selection. It didn't take long for this reaction to have its effect. The performance level was raised several notches just by the infectious nature of the audience's feedback.
To say we enjoyed it would be a serious understatement. We were told later that the total number of visitors to the Fox Theater Anniversary approached some 30,000 Atlanta area residents...there were moments during our performance when it seemed that all 30,000 were in the Egyptian Ballroom at the same time but, truth be known, we likely played to a total audience of at least 5,000 of those visitors during the afternoon and early evening. A very respectable and much appreciated audience indeed! We loved every minute of it!!
SJO Drummer Billy Moore wows the audience during "Sing, Sing, Sing"!
PHOTO by Pamela Herring
Party taken by The Nightly Planet.
Photo by Rocky Hanes of The Nightly Planet
Photo by Rocky Hanes of The Nightly Planet
Photo by Rocky Hanes of The Nightly Planet
Photo by Rocky Hanes of The Nightly Planet
Christophe Vancostenoble?
A few years ago, when we were playing monthly at the Shrine Auditorium, we had a guest from France. Christophe Vancostenoble is his full name, but we fondly call him Chris. Chris has
been singing for several years with the Couleur Swing (a band from Lille, France, a city located very near Belgium). While on vacation in the USA, Chris stayed with an SJO member who invited him to sing one or two song with the band. He was a huge hit with the audience who found his lightly accented English charming.We recently heard some great news from Chris about the Couleur Swing. They were asked to appear in Paris, to be a featured act in the celebration remembering the liberation of Paris. They were to play the part of an American swing orchestra. There were parades that recreated the entry of American troops into Paris with authentic old vehicles, uniforms and bands. It was a huge celebration. The following is an excerpt from an e-mail received from Chris after the event.
The show took place from 9 PM to 10.30 PM and featured a troup of parisian singers and dancers led by Jerome Savary, a famous french director. It was called "zazou" and depicted the mood and life of young Parisians during the german occupation, called the "zazous". There are lots of famous french songs of this period that they were singins and dancing. The show was captured on vidéo and aired a few hours later on TV.
Just after the show, the enormous crowd of 40 000 (yes, no typing fault) was invited to dance to the sound of an "authentic period american big band". You know what ? that was the Couleur Swing !!
So we had the opportunity to play and sing with an absolutely wonderful sound system in front of a sea of audience... just in front of us, there were 1000 people dressed in 1944 style (civilian and military) that were swing dancing on a special stage (they were part of the show). And during the sets, we saw in the "sea" of audience a lot of "space circles" : that were people who asked for some room to dance on the pavement. the mood was really good, everybody was dancing and smilling, under a wonderful light show... till midinight. Suddenly, the police decided to stop the event because there were too many people. So the big band had to stop before the end, we had 45 minutes to play... the crowd keept cheering and shooting for "more, more" for long minutes... but they had shut off lights and music. So all my lindy hopper friends decided to dance a routine without music... The mood was like crazy...
It was really a fantastic event, I will never forget the moment I sang my songs alone in front af a sea of 40,000 dancers. And the quartet... ! A fantastic crowd pleaser !
Even during the day, i had good time by following a military vehicles column that commemorated the entrance of the Americans in Paris. Jean-françois played some music with 5 members of the big band on a military truck. They had to play during 4 hours all afternoon ! Lots of people in period costume were also present, I was there (as a 1944 reporter) with Line and Dialina from our quartet.
I have attached a few pictures of us, and the stage, for you to enjoy. I was really thinking of you during this day, you would have had a wonderful time !
I hope everyone is fine in atlanta, say hello to all our friends! Like we said a lot during this wonderful day : VIVE LES AMERICAINS !!A bientôt, Christophe