Larry O'Brien Interview Book review about Sinatra Singing Arranger profile of Don Costa BIG BAND •nmp NEWSLETTER VOLUME 130 BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 2010 INTERVIEW - LARRY O'BRIEN with that and when we called for this interview he had just finished walking for over an The Background hour. He wasn’t jogging, he explained, because he’dhad Larry O’Brien, director of the official Glenn Miller a cataract removed the day Orchestra, announced he’s leaving the orchestra De­ before. cember 31,2010. He has directed the Miller Orchestra longer than anyone in the history of that organization, The Interview including Glenn Miller. His versionoftheMillerBand provides precision while not sacrificing swing. O’ Brien BBJ: How long have dug into the Miller archives to come up with arrange­ you been a profes­ ments not often heard as well as a few tunes never The posed O’Brien sional musician? performed in public by Glenn Miller but not at the sacrifice of the familiar Miller sound and Miller stan­ LO: Since I was about twenty-two years old, so it’s dards. about fifty-five years. My first professional main band gig was with Sammy Kaye. (Editor’s note: The last time we saw Larry O’Brien was in June at He was first trombone with the New York High School Chattanooga, Tennessee at the Chattanooga Choo Choo All-Star Symphony at age fifteen.) Hotel where singer Julia Rich first performed with the band, and where she made her final appearance. As we BBJ: Not including Miller, how many leaders has pulled into the hotel parking lot on a steamy summer the Miller Orchestra had? afternoon, there was Larry O’Brien running around the perimeter of the hotel, perspiring profusely. A few LO: I think about nine. I can name most of them. hours later the same Larry O’Brien was cool and crisp Ray McKinley, of course. Buddy DeFranco, on stage to lead the band into a tribute not only to Julia Buddy Morrow, Jimmy Henderson, myself, Dick Rich but to the timelessness of Miller music in particu­ Gerhardt and myself again. lar and Big Bands in general. BBJ: Memorable experiences on the road? The Scene LO: People of that age get really emotional about Our first newsletter interview with Larry O ’Brien was the music. It recalls times when things were fourteen years ago in 1996 and with that time lapse and simpler, when things were better in some ways and this the impending O’Brien exit from leadership of the music evokes some fond and tender memories for a lot Miller Band, it seemed the time was right to catch up of them. Maybe some of them got their first kiss at a with his latest thoughts and his plans for the future. Glenn Miller dance, or maybe they were proposed to When we mentioned the word “retirement” in our pre­ while theband was playingMOONLIGHT SERENADE interview conversation, Larry stressed he’s NOT retir­ and all those things that trigger emotions when we start ing, simply changing the direction of his life. (More on playing. When we play the theme song sometimes his view on that change in the interview.) people will be sobbing out loud. I actually had a friend up in Long Island who had it played at his wake when He was 77 in August, but those who have known him all he died. He wanted MOONLIGHT SERENADE played his life say he’s not changed since he was in his all the way through at his wake. He was a giant Glenn twenties. His exercise routine has a great deal to do Miller fan and his dream was to lead the band, but one V O LU M E 130 BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 2010 he never realized, I’m sorry to say. certainly welcome that. If I can’t, BB.I: Your Las Vegas experience....being in one that’s OK too. I’ve place for a time. had enough music in my life and I can LO: I’d never done that in my career so far, but I was still enjoy listening with Frank Sinatra, Jr. and I was with the to it and I can still Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and we were playing in the play for my own state of Nevada about six months out of the year. We amusement and were playing four months in Las Vegas, a month in pleasure. Tahoe, a month in Reno, so it just made sense to get an apartment in Las Vegas. I shared it with another BBJ: You men­ trombone player who worked with Ray Anthony’s tioned other places O’Brien at work band in his “Book End Review” and it just worked out coming with bag- -------—------------------------------ when I was in town he was on the road and vice-versa. gage. Explain that. We seldom got in each other's hair; it was a satisfactory arrangement for both of us. LO: Yeah. For example, Colorado. We dearly love Colorado but it gets very cold there in the BBJ: You’ve been leader of the Miller Orchestra wintertime. That would comprise “baggage.” We love about twenty-five years. Can you tell us the the area, we just don’t like the winter there. reason you’re stopping? BBJ: You’re a physical fitness buff. How did that LO: It’s time....it’s time for me to go. You know begin? when it’s your time and this is mine. I don’t want to be like Willie Mays. Willie Mays was one of LO: I’ve been doing that for a long time....about the greatest baseball players that ever lived, but he thirty years now. I took a physical when I was stayed in the game a little bit too long. I don’t want to with Frank, Jr. in Lake Tahoe and the doctor told me I be an embarrassment musically or any other way to was in pretty good shape. “For a man my age,” were anyone, myself included, so I think I’d rather go out on his words. He said I needed to do some exercise, so I top. Right now I’m going to leave whoever succeeds stopped smoking, started exercising. I’ve always liked me with a great band, they’re gonna’ have a lot of fun to run; I ’ve always been a good runner so it was natural with that band, and hopefully they’ll make a huge to me to get into the running again and I try to work out success of it. I wish nothing but the best for the Miller with weights once or twice a week just to keep my Band. I hope it goes on for another twenty-five years. bones strong. That’s one of the ways you can increase the strength of your bones and ligaments and all the BBJ: What’s in the future for you? stuff that holds you all together. I want to be vital and I want to be active as long as I’m alive and as I say LO: My wife and I have purchased a beautiful sometimes kiddingly... .or not so kiddingly, “I want to home, her dream home and mine too, in Maui be able to chase Judy around the room and be able to and we’ll be going there at the end of the year and un­ catch her.” packing all the things we’re busy packing right now and making a home for ourselves there. We both hate the BBJ: Did vocalist Julia Rich quit because she thought cold weather. We looked at every place we could think it was time, or can you speak for her? of in the United States where we’d like to retire, and they all came with baggage. I think Hawaii is the one LO: It’s very tough for a woman to be on the road place scott-free and when we found this house we just with a whole bunch of apes like us in the bus. fell in love with it because it had everything on our wish She handled it extremely well. She was the manager list. If I can be involved in some music there I’ll with the orchestra and she’s led our vocal group for a 2 VOLUME 130 BIG BAND JUMP NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 2010 number of years. She got into booking the band maybe BBJ: Are musicians better now than in the Big Band a year ago and she’s ready to have that part of it take Era? over her earning capacity. She had a very tough year last year. She lost an older sister and then she lost her LO: I get that question a lot. 1 compare it to airline mother and then she lost her father, all in the space of pilots. The old pilots didn’t have all the about eight months. gadgets they have today. Today, pilots have so many Julia got out there things at their disposal to help them fly the airplane. I every night, she did don’t think one is better than the other. In the old days a sparkling perfor­ musicians learned by listening to other musicians, mance every night; emulating what they were doing and listening to bands I never had to worry like Fletcher Henderson, playing the real stuff. 1 think about her. She was today musicians are better trained, but I don’t think great with the vo­ they’re any more talented.