Inside the Music
Crash Course | The Big Band (Bang) Theory | Hanukkah
Big Band Music — A Crash Course
Big Band music has been part of the American musical landscape since the 1930s. Characterized by tight harmonies, swinging rhythms and happy themes, big bands were the perfect antidote to a country wracked by a crippling depression. For years these show bands dominated the airwaves and dance halls, only waning when television (and rock ‘n’ roll) began to take over the entertainment scene.
Different bands, of course, sported different styles. Count Basie played an easy, driving swing, Bob Crosby’s band had more of a Dixieland style, Benny Goodman cornered the more hard-driving swing sound, and Duke Ellington’s compositions were among the most varied and sophisticated in the genre. Many bands featured instrumentalists dominated their sounds, such as the clarinets of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and Woody Herman; Harry James’ trumpet, Gene Krupa’s drums, and the vibes of Lionel Hampton. Many of the major bands showcased star vocalists such as Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey, Helen O’Connell and Bob Eberly with Jimmy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb, Billie Holiday and Jimmy Rushing with Count Basie, Doris Day with Les Brown, and Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman.
Big band music seemed a natural vehicle for holiday themes; songs like “Winter Wonderland,” “Let it Snow,” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” proliferated in the Big Band years with several groups covering and re-covering the songs in instrumental and vocal versions.
Below are two original Big Band versions of songs in Seattle Men’s Chorus’ upcoming Cool Yule concert:
- “Cool Yule” » as performed by Louis Armstrong and The Comandeers
- “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” » as performed by Les Brown and His Orchestra
The Big Band (Bang) Theory
When Dennis Coleman decided to do a big band holiday show this year, we knew he had more up his sleeve than simply saxophones and horns. He introduced us all to the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, hoping we could tie the Big Bang in with our Big Band. Many of you are familiar with this very popular comedy (it premiered in September of 2007 and has exponentially grown in popularity ever since) which features four exceedingly nerdy scientists and their hilarious attempts to interact with the real world. For those of you to whom quantum mechanics and comedy are still worlds apart, here is a brief intro to the four main characters:
- Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Ph. D., Sc. D. is played (on the show) by Jim Parsons, who is gay in real life. Sheldon is probably the ungainliness of the four characters; he was a child prodigy and began college at age 11.
- Leonard Hofstadter, Ph. D. is played (on the show) by Johnny Galecki. He shares an apartment with Sheldon, and is probably the most “normal” of the four guys.
- Howard Wolowitz, M. Eng. is played (on the show) by Simon Helberg. Howard is an aerospace engineer and fancies himself quite the ladies‘ man (which does very little to impress the actual ladies).
- Rajesh Koothrappali, Ph. D. is played (on the show) by Kunal Nayyar. He came to the States from India to study particle astrophysics at Caltech. He is best friends with Howard, and has been known to break into Bollywood-style production numbers on the show.
The four characters of The Big Bang Theory are fond of superheroes, Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Dungeons and Dragons, and (in our SMC version) bursting into song.
Of course, we could not manage to hire the four actual actors for the CBS show, so we have cast four very talented Chorus members to take up the scientific mantle of comedic nerdery. Their job in Cool Yule is to determine exactly why holidays are so magical. This results in numerous misfires until they finally — quite by accident — land on a winning equation.
Here are some clips from the actual CBS show:
Hanukkah
In every Seattle Men‘s Chorus (SMC) holiday concert you will find a wide assortment of songs: traditional Christmas carols, classical choral pieces with sacred texts, comedy songs written (or repurposed) for the concert, pop songs, showtunes, jazz standards, and some pieces that defy easy categorization. In almost every holiday concert you will find a Hanukkah song among the mix. In past concerts SMC has presented such Hanukkah songs as “Over the Skies of Yisrael,” and “Ma‘oz Tsur,” as well as the familiar “My Dreidel” (which, incidentally, was written by local Samuel E. Goldfarb, music director for many years at Temple de Hirsch). This year Cool Yule features a rollicking swing version of “Hanukkah, Oy Hanukkah” which takes its cue from the big band hit “Sing, Sing, Sing (with a Swing).”
Hanukkah, while a joyous festival indeed, is not a major holiday in the Jewish calendar. The eight days of the festival begin on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, which generally falls in the latter part of November and the first part of December. (This year Hanukkah occurs between December 20th and 28th.) The Festival of Lights commemorates the rededication of the Jewish temple after it had been liberated from the occupying Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks) by a small but mighty band of faithful Jews. The oil they found to burn in the temple’s menorah should have lasted only a day; miraculously the oil burned for eight days. Hence, a menorah is lit for eight nights to celebrate the miraculous rededication of the temple, over two thousand years ago.
The folk song featured in “Hot Hanukkah” is sung in Yiddish. Here is its literal translation:
Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah
A beautiful celebration.
Such a cheerful and happy one,
There is none like it.
Every night with the dreidels we will play,
Fresh, hot latkes we will eat endlessly.
Come quickly children
Light the Hanukkah candles
Say “Al Hanissim,” (praise God for the miracles)
And we will all dance together in a circle!
Learn more about Hanukkah, its history and customs »
To get a taste of the rousing “Hot Hanukkah” from the upcoming show, listen to the two songs on the links below, and swirl the sounds around in your mind. That will bring you close, but nothing beats hearing the real thing live at Benaroya Hall.
“Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman‘s orchestra (featuring Gene Krupa on the skins, Harry James on the horn as well as Benny Goodman himself on the licorice stick)
“Chanukah, Oy Chanukah” performed by The Klezmer Conservatory Band
