THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501260168
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: John Harper
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
Dick Johnson, often called the world's best clarinet player, is coming to the Outer Banks.
Johnson leads the Artie Shaw Orchestra, which opens the Outer Banks Big Band Preservation Society's 1995 season. The 16-piece swing band plays the Comfort Inn in Nags Head on Feb. 22.
In the 1930s, Shaw was a rebel with a cause. He stretched the boundaries of big band/swing by adding touches of jazz and bebop. His soaring clarinet leads on such tunes as ``Frenesi,'' ``All of Me'' and ``Begin the Beguine'' mesmerized a generation.
Most big band aficionados consider Shaw an equal player of Benny Goodman. In the head to head comparison: Goodman was the uptempo driver of his band; Shaw's playing was more soothing, almost seductive.
Shaw had several bands in the '30s and '40s. His first band was a string-less horn driven outfit. In his later years, Shaw added strings, including violins.
In his book, ``The Big Band Book,'' author George T. Simon says Shaw was a generous boss, always allowing the other players in the band a chance to solo. While he used some outside arrangers, Shaw earned a spot in the Jazz Hall of Fame for his arrangement of Hoagie Carmichael's ``Stardust.''
Shaw led his big bands through World War II. Once the war started, things were different. Musicians were drafted, some enlisted. Travel expenses went up. For two years, a recording ban was in place. When the war ended, musical tastes had changed. Shaw was ready.
He played his old tunes with new arrangements, although some of the audience wanted the ``old'' Artie Shaw. By then, Shaw had earned a reputation for his fierceness to his art. He wanted to add classical and jazz touches to ``Begin the Beguine'' and his theme song, ``Nightmare.'' George T. Simon calls Shaw ``a modern musician before his time.''
Shaw's stubbornness prevailed. He put down his clarinet, swearing never to play again. For nearly 30 years, the only mention of Shaw was in the gossip pages. He married eight times.
In the early '80s, Shaw began listening to music again. Shaw heard elements of his old style: melodic tones and phrasing. Shaw sensed a big band revival brewing. Young people were looking for pre-Elvis nostalgia. Big band music became cool. Boys and girls could touch while dancing to the swing music of Shaw, Miller and Dorsey.
Shaw didn't want to play (he hadn't picked up the clarinet since 1952) but he did want a chance to put together a modern band. His first task was to find a leader. Shaw listened to hundreds of recordings. One of the recordings was by a player named Dick Johnson. As soon as Shaw heard Johnson, he was on the phone with Johnson's manager saying, ``Dick's clarinet playing is the best I've ever heard.''
Johnson was a Boston-based player, working mostly in jazz bands. Before that, in the 1950s, Johnson played on the road with a series of big bands, most notably the bands of Benny Goodman, Neil Hefti and Buddy Rich (who by the way, played drums with Shaw in the '30s and '40s).
Shaw and Johnson were the perfect match. Shaw, by then, had resigned himself to the fact that audiences wanted to hear his hits. Johnson suggested playing the hits, but with slightly different phrasing.
``What I try to do,'' said Johnson in a recent telephone interview, ``is play the 50-year-old songs with the musical sensibilities of today.''
Johnson and Shaw are succeeding, as are the big bands of Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey. A whole new generation of fans is discovering the hipness of the swing era music. The MTV crowd has made Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra cool again. It's downright romantic. Ask Walter Gray of Nags Head. Gray is the president of the Outer Banks Big Band Preservation Society.
``The music is timeless,'' says Gray. ``The kids are discovering this wonderful music and finding that it's great for touch dancing.''
Gray plans to bring the bands of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Russ Morgan to the Outer Banks this year. ILLUSTRATION: WHERE & WHEN
What: George Washington Birthday Ball
When: Wednesday, Feb. 22, 8:30 p.m.
Who: Artie Shaw Orchestra, conducted by Dick Johnson
Where: Comfort Inn, milepost 17
For information: 441-4644 261-1776
by CNB