THE BANDLEADER PLAYED ON B Y L I LY H O A G L A N D
LH: After college, how did your career as a bandleader start? AD: I learned a lot around the time I was graduating from a friend, Lester Lanin. We used to go out to dinner once a week for years. After graduating my first job was as the bandleader/singer at El Morocco, which was frequented by café society like Frank Sinatra, then I went to law school. I was doing “divorces during the week and weddings on the weekend.” But then I played a wedding in Jaipur for a former divorce client and, after mentions in various magazines and
on “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” I was able to turn my avocation and first love into my vocation. LH: How have you seen big-band music evolve since you started 25 years ago? AD: When I started, the formula was Porter–Gershwin–big band for more than half of the evening, then classic rock and motown. Now, we generally play the Great American Songbook and bossa nova just through dinner, then classic rock and motown in the middle of the evening, then more contemporary music the rest of the night. The important thing is to provide a seamless transition between musical eras and to perform each genre with passion and authenticity at the right tempo. LH: What are some songs that will be on this summer’s playlist, This page: Alex Donner, leading his band with one of his singers, entertaining the crowd. Opposite page: The 13-piece Alex Donner Orchestra provided music for the annual Quadrille Ball in New York City, January 2013.
CO U RTE S Y O F A LE X D O N N E R E N T E RTA I N M E N T
ALEX DONNER grew up on the east side of Manhattan, and, as a young boy, accompanied his father downtown to hear jazz. This ignited a love of music that would follow him through his life. Before forming his first band at Princeton University, he performed to the crowds in the Métro in Paris. Since then, he has had a meteoric rise as a bandleader to the stars, playing receptions, weddings, and events for the boldest of bold-faced names. I had the pleasure of chatting with the musician about his past—and present—success.