Doc Severinsen and Friends: The Art of the Big Band
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Sean Turi
Doc Severinsen and Friends: The Art of the Big Band
Doc Severinsen
Doc Severinsen, a fixture for 30 years with Johnny Carson, took to the road with his Big Band when the show went off the air in 1992. Mr. Severinsen’ s musicianship keeps American big band music fresh. His repertoire includes Ellington and Basie standards, pop, jazz, ballads, big band classics and, of course, The Tonight Show theme. Mr. Severinsen can still hit the high notes and as a band leader, surrounds himself with accomplished musicians, only too happy to share the spotlight.
Music Center At Strathmore Thursday, November 17, 2016— 8pm
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Friday, November 25, 2016— 8pm Saturday, November 26, 2016— 8pm Sunday, November 27, 2016— 3pm
Presenting Sponsor:
The program will be announced from the stage.
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will not perform in this program.
The concert will end at approximately 10pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 5pm on Sunday.
A Grammy award winner, Mr. Severinsen has made more than 30 albums— from big band to jazz fusion to classical. Two critically acclaimed Telarc CDs with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra showcase his multifaceted talents. The Very Best of Doc Severinsen reprises fifteen signature pieces. Other recordings include Unforgettably Doc with the Cincinnati Pops on Telarc, and the Grammy nominated Once More With Feeling on Amherst. Mr. Severinsen received a Grammy Award for“ Best Jazz Instrumental Performance— Big Band” for his recording of Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Band – Volume I.
Mr. Severinsen also tours regularly with Gil Gutierrez in a quintet called The San Miguel Five, performing a mix of Latin and Gypsy jazz and standards. They released their most current CD, Oblivion, in January 2014.
Mr. Severinsen was born in 1927 in Arlington, Oregon and was nicknamed“ Little Doc” after his dentist father who was a gifted amateur violinist. Mr. Severinsen originally wanted to play the trombone, an instrument unavailable in the local music store, so he took up the trumpet. He joined the school band at 7 years of age and at 12, won the Music Educators National Contest. He served in the Army during World War II and following his discharge, landed a spot with the Charlie Barnett Band, followed by gigs with Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman in the late 1940s.
Mr. Severinsen became a staff musician for NBC in 1949, and after many years was invited to play with The Tonight Show Band. The leader at the time, Skitch Henderson, asked him to take the first trumpet chair in 1962. Five years later, Mr. Severinsen became the Music Director for The Tonight Show, and the warm camaraderie he shared with Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon was part of the show’ s success.
In addition to his San Miguel Five appearances and his own Big Band performances, Mr. Severinsen performs with symphony orchestras all over the country. Over the years he has been Principal Pops Conductor with the Phoenix Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony, the Pacific Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic.
Mr. Severinsen is known for his colorful fashion statements and his gregarious nature, but these qualities have never interfered with his musicianship over the last 60 years. He performs on a S. E. Shires Severinsen Destino III, a trumpet he developed with Steve Shires and the S. E. Shires Company in Massachusetts.
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