Jan Garber (born Jacob Charles Garber, November 5, 1894 –
October 5, 1977) was an American jazz bandleader. Billed as "the Idol of
the Airlanes," Jan Garber led a big band in the 1930s that was the epitome
of "sweet" music. His reed section's quavering saxophones were the
band's trademark.
Garber was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Garber moved
with his family to Louisville, Kentucky, when he was three months old, and
lived there until he was 13. The family then moved to a small town near
Philadelphia. He was the tenth of 12 children.
Garber went to the University of North Carolina, and
shortly after World War I he played violin in the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra.
In 1921 with pianist Milton Davis, he co-founded the Garber-Davis Orchestra.
Chelsea Quealey and Harry Goldfield (who would eventually join Paul Whiteman)
were the orchestra's trumpeters.
In 1924 Garber and Davis split up and during the
1924-1930 period the Jan Garber Orchestra played dance music and some hot jazz.
Prominent in this emergence were the imaginative musical arrangements of
pianist Doug Roe; the singing of Nebraska native Lee Bennett; and a series of
comic skits, special shows and mini-concerts during each dance. Garber married Dorothy
Comegys on December 18, 1926. They had one daughter Janis who would later became
a singer with the band.
With the rise of the Depression, Garber's ensemble was
struggling but his greatest popularity surfaced in early 1933, shortly after he
took over leadership of the 'Little Freddie Large Orchestra' from Canada. With
Freddie's unique lead alto saxophone captivating radio listeners from
Cincinnati to Catalina Island, the Garber Band - with a sound like Lombardo but
lots peppier - became an overnight sensation at Chicago's famed Trianon
Ballroom. A year later, it was solidly entrenched among the most popular dance
groups in the entire country. The band's theme song was "My Dear",
composed by Garber in conjunction with Freddie Large.
His orchestra recorded popular recordings for Victor up
to 1935 and then for Decca during the next seven years. The most popular
recordings were “You’re Breaking My Heart” and “Jealous Heart.”
During these years, Jan Garber was to become increasingly well known as 'The Idol of The Air Lanes.' This was an informal title bestowed by announcer Pierre Andre during one of the band's countless broadcasts on Chicago's WGN Radio.
During these years, Jan Garber was to become increasingly well known as 'The Idol of The Air Lanes.' This was an informal title bestowed by announcer Pierre Andre during one of the band's countless broadcasts on Chicago's WGN Radio.
In 1942 Jan Garber surprised his fans by switching gears
and reorganizing his orchestra into a swing band; he was apparently persuaded
by his 12-year old daughter! Gray Rains'
arrangements transformed the orchestra's sound and Liz Tilton took pleasing
vocals, but the recording ban of 1942-1944 kept the big band from recording
much, and by 1945 Garber had returned to his former sweet sound. Over his 55
years in the business Garber recorded over 1000 records.
In addition to superior musicians, Jan was blessed with a
series of excellent vocalists from the mid-1940s onward. Tommy Traynor and Tim
Reardon were early names in the post-war Garber Band, together with Alan
Copeland and his 'TwinTones' singing group. Also emerging from the late 1940s
were Bob Grabeau; Roy Cordell (called "the best of them all" by Jan's
widow, Dorothy); Larry Dean; Julio Maro; and Marv Nielsen. Prominent among
Jan's post-war female vocalists were Thelma Gracen, Julie Vernon and Janis
Garber (who was billed for a time as 'Kitty Thomas').
During the 1950s, Garber’s group appeared regularly in
Las Vegas and played the Southern horse show circuit. They continued to record
actively through the 1960s. Garber continued working on at least a part-time
basis into the mid-'70s, performing music that pleased dancers. His last show
was in Houston after which his daughter Janis led the band until 1973 when it
disbanded. It was later reformed and currently is led by Howard Schneider.
After having been ill for a length of time Garber died in
Shreveport, Louisiana on October 5, 1977, a month before his 83rd birthday
(Compiled and edited from Wikipedia, AllMusic, discogs.com
& jangarber.com)
4 comments:
For “Jan Garber And His Orchestra – A Melody From The Sky” go here:
https://www108.zippyshare.com/v/SGXFv8wk/file.html
1 My Dear
2 I Want To Be Happy
3 Baby Face
4 The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
5 All I Do Is Dream Of You
6 Rain
7 The Object Of My Affection
8 It's Easy To Remember
9 In A Little Gypsy Tearoom
10 I Feel Like A Feather In The Breeze
11 I'm Shooting High
12 Moon Over Miami
13 A Beautiful Little Lady
14 A Melody From The Sky
15 A Rendezvous With A Dream
16 Did I Remember?
17 Just A Memory
18 Serenade In The Night
19 That Old Feeling
20 Avalon
21 Romance In The Dark
22 Bambina
23 Concert In The Park
24 Soft Shoe Shuffle
25 You're Breaking My Heart
26 Jealous Heart
Vocals – Benny Davis (tracks: 3), Bob Grabeau (tracks: 25, 26), Fritz Heilbron (2) (tracks: 5, 23), Lee Bennett (4) (tracks: 4, 6 to 14, 22), Lew Palmer (tracks: 1), Russ Brown (4) (tracks: 15 to 21)
Garber today; Sutton yesterday. You have become an indispensable main stop on my blog-rounds. Thanks you.
Bob,
Please re-up this album. Thank you.
Hello HP, here's the new link
https://www.upload.ee/files/10507632/Jan_Garber.rar.html
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