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Community
Nov. 3 – 16, 2012
www.SanTanSun.com
Orchestra from page 1
band The Airmen of Note, a continuation of Glenn Miller’s Army Air Corps band, Tole worked in recording studios in New York and California, often performing with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. “If they came out to work in Disneyland for a week or two and they were short a trombone player, I would get a call to come in and sub,” he says. “So I’ve been involved with the Dorsey bands – both of them – for probably 50, 60 years.”
Spreading the music
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra’s owner and vocalist, Nancy Knorr, is the sister of the band’s director, Bill Tole. The Chandler residents come from a family of talented musicians, including both parents. Submitted photo
the spotlight with his brother, Tommy. In 1936, the gifted brothers quarreled over a song’s tempo and Tommy left the stage – and the band – to his brother, founding his own successful ensemble. The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra went on to record 11 number-one hits, including “The Breeze and I,” “Green Eyes” and “Amapola.” The band also appeared in movies such as “The Fleet’s In” and “Lost in the Harem” with Abbot and Costello. After Dorsey’s death in 1957, the orchestra continued for 36 years under the leadership of his childhood friend, Lee Castle. After Castle’s passing, Jim Miller purchased the band, and when he retired in 2002, Knorr took ownership and Tole took the director’s baton. The son of a high school band director and a pianist, Tole has been a professional musician his entire adult life. “After college, I toured with the Tommy Dorsey band for about a year and half, then I got a draft notice to join the army.” After four years in the Air Force
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In recent years, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra performed everywhere from international cruise ships to Mississippi paddleboats. While the band’s original members traveled together in buses or cars, far-flung performances and increased airport security have posed a unique challenge for bands like Tole’s. “We used to fly a lot,” he says, “and flying with 16 musicians is really very difficult since 9/11. Musicians are very particular about checking their instruments in under the plane, so you have 14 or 15 musicians
SHOW BIZ: Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra director Bill Tole, pictured with Liza Minnelli and Robert Deniro on the set of the movie, “New York, New York,” has made a living from music his entire adult life, starting with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra after college. Submitted photo
carrying instruments on the plane. It’s panic time for TSA and airlines.” In order to overcome such hurdles, Tole and Knorr assembled 12 bands across the United States, all rehearsed
PRESERVING HISTORY: Traditionally, big bands are made up of three or four trumpets, three or four trombones, five saxophones, a piano, bass and drums. The current Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, which has 16 members – 14 in the band, plus vocalist Nancy Knorr and director Bill Tole –“is the size it’s been since around 1857,” says Tole. STSN photo
ARIZONA
and ready to play at performances in their geographic regions. “If we work down in Florida or South Carolina or anywhere in that area, we’ll have a band come up out of Orlando. Here in Arizona, there’s a band that we’ve worked with for years. Everywhere we go, we try to get the best musicians.” The Castle’s tea dances give the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra a chance to strut their stuff in front of a local crowd that includes those who remember the Big Band era, as well a whole new generation of fans. “A lot of young people just enjoy swing dancing,” Tole explains. “We’re picking highlights of a lot of the great bands so people can hear some of their favorite songs.” And music lovers aren’t the only ones enjoying the performances. “I’m glad we’re able to work at home,” says Tole. The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra’s tea dance series is held the second Tuesday of each month from 1 to 3:30 p.m. To learn more, visit jimmydorseyorchestra.com. K. M. Lang lives and writes in Sun Groves. To contact her, email KMLang@SanTanSun.com.
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