Jazz Connection Magazine

Crooner Garry Stevens Joins The Fabulous Swing Kings For Nostalgic Show At Feather Falls Casino

Crooner Garry Stevens, above, helped to turn time around at Feather Falls

Casino in Oroville, CA, on Oct. 2, 2005, singing with the Fabulous Swing

Kings, the North State's premiere 15-piece dance band. Stevens is a veteran

band singer from the 1940s having recorded a number of hit records.

Ever since he formed the Fabulous Swing Kings some years ago, Maestro Bernard Farmer has relentlessly strived to produce an authentic and historical dance band that remains true to the original sounds of the Big Band Era. For the approximately 150 faithful hoofers who came out to "cut a rug" during the band's monthly Sunday evening dance fest on Oct. 2 in the Cascade Showroom at Feather Falls Casino in Oroville, (CA), they were treated to something extra authentic and extra historical - crooner Garry Stevens.

Stevens is about authentic and historical as singers get. He was there in the trenches, right in the thick of things during that magical period of our nation's musical past, having made a name for himself as the boy singer with trumpeter Charlie Spivak's band from 1941 to 1943, and with tenor saxophonist Tex Beneke's outfit from 1946 to 1948. During stints with both bands, Stevens chalked up a number of chart-toppers including My Devotion, White Christmas, I Left My Heart At The Stage Door Canteen and This Is No Laughing Matter (all with Spivak), and As Long As I'm Dreaming, Anniversary Song, The Sweetheart Of Sigma Chi, But Beautiful and Beyond The Sea ( the latter five tunes with Beneke). In fact, Stevens was so popular in his hey day that he ranked fourth in a 1942 Down Beat Readers' Poll of favorite male singers behind, respectively, Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes and Bob Eberle. Not bad company to keep, that's for sure.

Stevens, a Benicia, CA, resident who turns vintage 89 later this month, proudly refers to himself as the "oldest living boy singer." He keeps active performing a few times a month with area bands while serving as a mentor and frequent performer with the Benicia High School Jazz Band. The reason why these various groups jump at the chance to work with Stevens is because he's timeless. The pipes of this seasoned veteran belie his age. Stevens may admit at times he feels his age, but his voice sure doesn't sound like his age.

Stevens got his portion of the show off to a nostalgic start with Day By Day, a romantic ballad from the war years. He then launched into the lush and reverie-filled Beyond The Sea that had dancers crowding near the foot of the stage listening not only to the beautiful words of this love song but also absorbing the wonder of the voice (and man!) that's bringing such words to life.

Stevens was one of the first to record Beyond The Sea in late 1947, over a dozen years before hipster Bobby Darin dusted it off and made it into his swinging signature piece. To illustrate the musical contrast, alto saxophonist Adam Johanson, a student at California State University, Chico, came out from the Swing Kings sax section into the spotlight and belted out the Darin version of the song. Johanson, a regular with the band for the past three years, has blossomed into quite a showman, presenting a very authentic rendition of the Charles Trenet and Jack Lawrence composition.

Later, Stevens gave out with My Devotion, his 1942 tour de force piece and the Spivak band's biggest hit. Trumpeter Jesse Rosenquist nailed Spivak's signature sound down to a tee, providing a warm and robust introduction. Stevens concluded his set with the up-beat standard, It Had To Be You.

This is the third time the celebrated crooner has worked with the Fabulous Swing Kings in the past18 months and it doesn't appear it will be the last.

Throughout the remainder of the evening, the Chico (CA)-based 15-member Swing Kings tossed out generous portions of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Les Brown, Sammy Kaye, Guy Lombardo, Jimmie Lunceford, Johnny Long, and Lawrence Welk, complete with a bubble machine which provided an ambiance that can best be described as truly "Wunnerful, Wunnerful!"

Highlights of the evening included some tight ensemble work by the band on Businessman's Bounce, a medley of tunes to salute the "Mickey Mouse" bands of the period. For visual effect, each musician wore Mickey Mouse ears!

Of course, popular swing tunes from that magical musical era such as In The Mood, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Tuxedo Junction, Sing, Sing, Sing, and Shanty Town were not left out.

The band's featured vocalist, Rosie Mello, was once again in outstanding voice, rendering convincing renditions of I Had The Craziest Dream from the Harry James library (again, some nice trumpet work on that difficult piece by Rosenquist), and a swinging version of All Of Me.

A fun and memorable evening of nostalgia by a fabulous band and by a timeless guest artist.

The next performance by the Fabulous Swing Kings at Feather Falls Casino is set for Sunday, Nov. 6 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission free, but you must be at 21 years old to attend.

Garry Stevens with band Garry Stevens with band Garry Stevens with band Garry Stevens with band

Garry Stevens The Swing Kings a la Mickey Mouse The Swing Kings a la Mickey Mouse Adam Johanson