rmo52's channel

I worked with both Buddy & Jimmy on the road. 2 of the greatest gents in the biz.

Dick played with my big band while he lived in Chicago. Always sounded just like Freddie Green! What a character too.

You can hear the setup crew of the GMO in the background. Also me checking the piano for pitch, a surprise for me every day on the band. Larry O'Brien was a very cool guy to work for. He's now retired and does not "miss the road". He earned a great retirement.

A nice chart by Dave Wolpe

Woody would never have a weak band, the cats were ALWAYS on top. Bill Byrne (5th trumpet/road manager) was one fo the nicest people in the world. Thanks for posting.

Yes, Uan Rasey's great trumpet solo. Big sound, great tone, on an Olds trumpet. Guys like him, John Clyman, Manny Klein, Conrad Gozzo, and others put the top on the sound. Thanks for posting.

Sentimental Mood was the 1st feature I got to play on guitar with my Dad's band when I was young; I listened to this recording over & over before I hit the bandstand. The Command records were great features for the New York studio gods.

His Thompson changes from the beginning of the scene to when he walks into the church. The rear sight is different. Vic used 2 Thompsons on the show; this one is an additional one.

The weapon Tom Hanks used is a Thompson Model M1A1 in .45ACP caliber with 30 round magazine attached, NOT a "Thompson 1927 A-1 Commando Model T1-C" (which was a cheap Thompson copy made in the 1970s). Cyclic rate of movie guns can differ from actual original guns but in this case Hanks' Thompson...

Love these live takes and dialog, thanks much for posting them. These players were the studio kings. Frank was just the real deal. Bill Putnam was the engineer for sides that my Dad did in 1952 (Bobby Mills Orch.).

One of my faves in the GMO book to play.

Ron Mills, Piano Emeritus

(former piano picker on the band)

The gag is, the frog tattled on Bluto.

We call those "Jack & Jill" cabins on the Norwegian Epic. This one may actually be a wee bit larger than the Epic cabins. Main thing is, the price is right :)

Rick Baptist on trumpet, always sounding great. He's also a wonderful human being.

Wouldn't be as effective without "In the Mood" in the background! I'm kidding. Thanks for posting.

Ron Mills, piano

Glenn Miller Orch.

I agree. Great charts by Axel Stordahl, and Zeke Zarchy was in the trumpet section. I believe Zeke was in the section on the Glenn Miller recording of this great tune. I think this was Frank's last recording for Capitol?

I talked to Bill Finegan on his final birthday. He said to me "I feel great, I can still write, that's what matters". That says it all. He is one of my absolute heroes.

@akerockstar As of the end of last year, no audio or video recording was allowed during any GMO performance.

@lionking6199zj That is Joe Riggs, lead alto sax. Played with Harry, lived in Vegas for some years.

@benniblanc I have admired your great uncle since the 1st time I heard him, which was on a Mancini album in the early 60s. I immediately dug into who he was, who he worked with, etc. Playing that big bore Besson Meha like nobody else. It's been said that some trumpet players actually thought ...

George never, ever misses.

@ladybluluv That's great that you've been able to go see George 3 times. I want and need to do that too someday; I'm email pals with Emily and Andrew, they keep me positive. Thanks for sharing. God Bless.

Gotta have banjo in there for that good "snap". Didn't one of his kids take the band over for a while? His band reminds me of Romy Gosz, funny stuff.

For the musicians listening: The 1st 3 bars of the intro are in 4/4, the following 2 bars are in 5/4, then 4 bars of 2/4, ending up with 4 bars in 4/4 before the reed section comes in with the familiar melody. Intro written by Billy May; rest of chart arranged by Bill Finegan. One of my fave tu...

Bill writes charts that average 8 minutes long. From start to finish the ideas all weave together, some lasting like 3 minutes per "theme". His use of ensemble unison is so simple yet genius, because it's Bill Holman. He is any arranger's hero. As far as I know, his band still rehearses every...

Is that Terry Trotter on piano?

It's genius over and over again with Pat. He just doesn't miss. Thanks for re-posting this! Oh yeah, the other guys keep up pretty well too ;)

Nice, man. Keep playing, playing, and playing some more.

Drummer I think was Nick Ceroli, who played with the Tijuana Brass. Rest of the band all studio gods as well. Bob was just the coolest and nicest guy in the world. Thanks for the post.

jim, I dunno about intonation issues with AJ, he's using extensions and chordal subs here which sound fine to me. Too bad the string chart wasn't done on this concert since that orchestration was so good. Well, everybody has an off night.

The album that this tune came from is still a gem in my ...

Manfredo was a monster player and a true gentleman. Thanks for posting.

Randy Carter just kicks this band to no end, a fine drummer and great guy.

@ssminopoopy

Wow, couldn't they find anybody that could play :)

Talk about the ultimate NY wedding band. Good for you, what a memory.

This stuff is great. All the LA jazz/big band heavies were on hand at these sessions for sure. Bud Brisbois was the screaming trumpet on the end of Johnny Quest, I'm told. I think Frank Morocco did most of the accordian work for the cartoons, which shows up in quite a few cues. Too bad the cu...

From a musician's standpoint, it's great fun to hear these cues. Some of that stuff is so fast and intricate, what a joy to hear it. Also fun to hear the things that often get buried under dialog and effects, such as the keys of the accordian clicking around 6:10. Thanks so much for posting.

Pete used to hang at the Union Hall in Vegas after hours with the rehearsal bands, and just crack everybody up. What a funny, crazy cat.

Here's to Bill Byrne, Tpt. 5, one of the nicest cats in the world.

Tight band, good tune. One of my favorite Thad chart shout choruses. Thanks for posting.

Good thing they didn't bust your chops about taping at the concert. They're very adamant about that. But thanks for being there, the 2 gigs there were great. Tons of people each night digging the band.

Ron Mills, Piano

Glenn Miller Orch.