A magical evening of Glenn Miller hits

MANILA, Philippines - The sounds of blaring brass, rinky-dink pianos and throbbing drums played in perfect unison by a group of musicians in red costumes may seem out-of-sync with the musical tastes of the present generation reared in pop, rock, R&B, hip-hop, among others.

But for music fans of a not-so-distant past, the sight and sound of the big band tugs at one’s heartstrings, evoking deep memories of love, affection and the beauty of the world around us that only music of a big band can capture.

The enduring sound of the big band and swing era of the ’40s will make a spectacular comeback in the local concert scene when the legendary Glenn Miller Orchestra visits Manila for its two-night dance-concert tour that will open on July 2 at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasay City.

Joining the orchestra on the same stage are the Swing Kittens as the reincarnation of the celebrated Andrews Sisters, while Filipino balladeer Arthur Manuntag as special guest. The dance-concert series ends with a show on July 3 at the Waterfront Hotel & Casino in Cebu City.

Considered as the most popular big band in the world today for both concert and swing dance engagements, the Glenn Miller Orchestra will take the audience back in time as it performs vintage World War II hits and other popular tunes from the Great American Songbook.

The musical event to be mounted by Ovation Productions promises a truly entertaining evening from the 17-piece orchestra — four trumpets, four trombones, five saxophones (two alto saxes, two tenor saxes and a baritone sax) and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section — as it depicts the Glenn Miller band’s instrumentation and style.

The audience will be enthralled by a lavish performance, with the band opening with the beautiful Moonlight Serenade. Its other songs are In The Mood, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Chattanooga Choo Choo, A String of Pearls, At Last, (I’ve Got A Gal In) Kalamazoo, American Patrol, Tuxedo Junction and Little Brown Jug, among others.

The dance-concert is part of the band’s current world tour that averages 300 live dates as it celebrates its 75th year in popular music under the leadership and inspiration of its founder and original member, Glenn Miller, America’s headliner in the big band-swing era.

The American jazz musician (trombone), arranger, composer and band leader from Clarinda, Iowa has been widely recognized for making his band one of the finest groups of the Big Band Era.

Miller’s dominance of popular music came to an end when he received an officer’s commission in the US Army Air Force in 1942 and subsequently organized a service band that played for the troops in Europe and made weekly radio broadcasts.

On Dec. 15, 1944, Miller boarded a transport plane in England for a flight over the English Channel to France, where he planned to join up with his service band to perform for the soldiers who had just liberated Paris. The plane never made it and no trace of its crew and passengers, including Miller, was ever found. 

Despite the death of Miller at the age of 40, his music lives on in several reincarnations of his orchestra and remains quite popular to this day among fans of big-band music.

 The original band was reformed a number of times and since 1956, has continued to record and tour under the direction of various leaders.

Hollywood contributed to the popularity of the orchestra and its founder with the 1953 release of The Glenn Miller Story, a partly fictionalized film biography starring James Stewart. The band garnered several nominations and box-office success, as well as top hit status for its soundtrack album in 1954.

(Glenn Miller Orchestra Live In Manila! is presented by Ovation Production in association with RJ 100.3 FM, 2nd Avenue, Diva Universal, Talk TV, Basketball TV, Philippine Airlines and Crowne Plaza Manila Galeria. It is also supported by The Philippine STAR, BusinessWorld, Manila Bulletin, Crossover 105.1, dwBR 104.3 and OptimaSignsolutions. Tickets to the PICC concert on July 2 are priced at P5,500, P4,500, P3,500, P2,500 and P1,500 and are available through Ticketnet [911-5555] or Ticketworld [891-9999]. Tickets to the Waterfront Hotel & Casino Cebu on July 3 are priced at    P4,000, P3,000 and are available through tel. nos. 232-6888 or 0917-6228705.)