Most jazz musicians make their living as session men
doing the swing music in Walt Disney cartoons (the best source
of swing music there is these days, or those Deep Space Nine
episodes i referred to which has full band original arrangments
for at least one of the Vic Fontaine shows.) New artitsts
and groups that I can think of like The New York Voices
even have a few years on them now.

Most if not all high school music programs are teaching
dance band music in the classical Glenn Miller and Tommy
Dorsey style with excursions into the works of other
arrangers who do charts specifically for teachers.

Through high school band and college band and with all the
special music programs such as the one at Lawrence college here has
and the North Texas State Jazz Ensemble and others, I've always
wondered why there wasn't more of a market for local concerts
of jazz bands in all sorts of venues. But there isn't.
And the radio doesn't play much but country and other stuff.

What saddens me is the fact that women in high school and
college do a lot of the playing in these bands. And yet there
seems to be no place in the professional world for
baritone sax players whose instrument is as tall as they are.

There are 2 or three "all girl bands" in the whole of the
United States which as 300 million people.

One of these is the Kit McClure Band. They do a tribute to
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm. They call it
the Sweethearts Project about the only all girl band to
do a European USO tour in World War II.

Every year an NPR Show called Riverwalk--Live From The Landings does
a special tribute to the Sweethearts usually in March during
women's history month. Look it up. You can stream the audio
on the week of the broadcast.

The new performers are out there. Some 'age out' after
high school and college because there's no place for them...
sort of like what happens to those who are in drum corps.

New material to watch for by seasoned performers that I've
been watching for after tour is by Kurt Elling, Mark Murphy,
Kevin Mahogony and Jon Hendricks. You've heard of the
Three Tenors. These are The Four Brothers that Elling put
together with inspiration from Woody Herman to spotlight male vocals in concert. I've seen no info on a recording date for this group.

Where's the Brines and Dave thread?

• Riverwalk-- previous broadcast of The Sweethearts Project