Here are three photos, taken by my friend Mr. X back in February of 1973! He loved checking out the bands that played at the Carnation Gardens, and took quite a lot of photos there. This time we have Si Zentner and his Orchestra.
Wikipedia sez: Zentner played in the bands of Les Brown, Harry James, and Jimmy Dorsey in the 1940s, then moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a studio musician. He also landed a job with MGM from 1949 to the mid-50s, and was involved in the music for films such as "Singin' in the Rain" and "A Star Is Born".
Continuing: The Zentner band began recording for Liberty Records in 1959, recording numerous successful pop/jazz albums during the 1960s and touring steadily with a large outfit Zentner was a tireless promoter and claimed to have played 178 consecutive one-night performances when the band was at its peak. His ensemble was voted "Best Big Band" for 13 straight years by Down Beat, and Zentner himself was voted Best Trombonist in Playboy Jazz Readers' Poll. In 1962, his album Up a Lazy River won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
MANY THANKS to Mr. X for generously giving me these slides!
Major-
ReplyDeleteJudging from the number of 'plastic-pouched'-? pages of sheet music, it appears as though Mr. Zentner and his Orchestra have enough songs at-the-ready to perform all night-! (Does he take requests-?) I presume the orchestra performed his terrific, jazzy-version of Up a Lazy River, which even charted a #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, back in November/December of 1961. LISTEN HERE.
Thanks to Mr. X for these swell nighttime images.
It looks like the guys are all trying to blow bubbles out of their instruments... hmm, that didn't sound quite right, did it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe instead of blowing bubbles, they're actually eating their instruments... hmm, that didn't sound right, either.
Do they still have bands, of any kind, play during the evenings anywhere at Disneyland?
Thanks Major and Mr. X.
What's so great about Si Zentner? Everyone talks about how "great" Si Zentner was. Si Zentner wasn't so great. He never got his picture on a bubble gum card. Have you ever seen his picture on a bubble gum card? Hmmm? How can you say someone is great who's never had his picture on a bubble gum card?
ReplyDeleteJB: guest pay up to $1600 for a pass and you think Disney is going to include a nightly guest “big band “ or orchestra for entertainment!?? Man you are stuck in 1973! . I’m kidding , but there isn’t even a place to feature a big band in the park anymore— maybe inside the Golden Horseshoe. Tomorrowland Terrace ( or the Jedi joint …. Or whatever they are calling it this week ) still features some small rock bands ….. a least in the summer . A friend of mine performed in THE 80’s All STARS … they featured popular 80’s dance music and were contracted at Disneyland for many years.
ReplyDeleteIn the 80’s ….. during the Eisner & Pressler regime , a great deal of outdoor entertainment was cut back - both Disneyland staffed musical groups as well as guest musicians. Disneyland used to present big name entertainment during many musical festivals and summer seasons . Today Disney would charge you extra for something like that. If you wanna visit the Happiest Place on Earth …. You are gonna have to pay big time …… if you can get a reservation.
Several years ago …. Ok .. well almost two decades ago I was buying lots of signs and props from many of the long time artists and craftsmen that were being forced to retire as Eisner wanted to purge the parks of pre 1985 employees. Anyway, one former sign shop employee was selling some great signs , but he also had about 20 or so of those Plaza Gardens guest Big Band hand painted banners …. Two banners I remember the name Teddy Buckner ( I had a friend with that last name) and “Peanuts Hucko” ( how could I possibly forget that name !!?) anyway , I wasn’t already purchasing a good deal of vintage signs and had no space for the Plaza Gardens banners …… for how inexpensive they were , I should have bought them anyway!
Several years ago all the Disneyland Band members were let go and offered to audition in a new type of Disneyland Band ….. the band’s appearance is sporadic ( probably because of Covid) but the new band does not have the quality the 1955-2015 Disneyland Band had but that’s the way of the company now.
Mike, but The Osmonds still perform at Disneyland every once in a while, right?
ReplyDeleteChuck: Gooooood grief!
ReplyDeleteTo me, the bands were a huge perk for attending the park. In the early years, they really pushed "value." Any and all plusses were understood to, at least indirectly, affect the bottom line. I think a big part of this may have been that the Great Depression had just been a couple of decades earlier (including Walt), and people understood the value of their hard earned cash. They weren't a frivolous bunch who would give money away for nothing. The result was a company that respected and valued its customers. Now? I don't even want to think about it, its so sad...
I may be a blues rocker at heart but I LOVE big band music. The Stones may have been on the radio on the way to the Park but when the big bands were playing I couldn't wait for night to come to see the likes of Basie, Beneke, Ellington, Kenton... Yeah, not your typical 15 year old.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr. X and Major for the memories!
TokyoMagic: …… only Mr. Gridley knows the Osmond’s Disneyland schedule.
ReplyDeleteWow, while I don’t remember this band, I do remember seeing posters for names I recognized, even then. Never went to hear any because rides and stuff. I wish I had though.
ReplyDeleteI still prefer Big Bands to rock and roll. Osmonds? Pfui.
Mr. Z was recognized back when Playboy still wrote about jazz…. …not that I ever read Playboy of course…
JG
Mike, and maybe E.J. Peaker?
ReplyDeleteI forgot to thank Mr. X for these swell band photos. And thanks to Major, too!
I grew up in the 60s. Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin ect., but big band music in the park was the greatest. Like Grant & Stu, the bands and musical groups were a big part of the whole day at the park. Completed the atmosphere of the Happiest Place on Earth.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Mr. Z has his eye on one of the sax players in that last pic.
JG, I never read those Playboys either.
Mike, plus you get to wear a Magic Band on your wrist so they can track your every movement. See how much spending you're doing. If it's not enough, a small, non-lethal electric shock will remind you what you are there for.
Thanks Mr.X, great pics. Plant me in the back row so I can enjoy the whole scene.
Thanks Major. A real treat.
My dad was a big fan of the Big Band era (and a good "swing dancer" too). If a band was playing, we were stopping. I remember seeing Duke Ellington and Les Brown at the Plaza. Wish I had some pictures.
ReplyDeleteNanook, the music in the plastic pouches is a selection of oom-pah-pah favorites. You have to be ready! Thanks for the link to “Up a Lazy River” (I mention the album, anyway), I did a shallow dive on YouTube to listen to Si Zentner when I wrote this post.
ReplyDeleteJB, I mean, musicians are a nutty bunch, I can’t say that they absolutely weren’t blowing bubbles out of their instruments. I have no idea if bands still play there, when the Plaza Gardens became the Fantasy Faire, the park claimed that they would continue with the popular swing dancing. But then Covid hit, and who knows.
Chuck,I only have a Beethoven bubble gum card (rookie card!), and have never been able to get a Si Zenter card.
Mike Coxzart, I haven’t really looked at Fantasy Faire, I thought it was supposed to have room for musicians and dancers? No idea personally. Yes, bands could play at the Golden Horseshoe, that would probably be a good place, even though you would lack that nice “outdoor pavilion” atmosphere. Mr. X has a friend who wound up playing with Woody Herman and other big bands, so you know he must have been pretty good. I have many flyers from the 60s and 70s listing the musical acts that would be performing all over the park, and sometimes they got some big names that would have been fun to see! Earth, Wind, and Fire! Linda Ronstadt! The Hudson Brothers (er…)! “Peanuts Hucko” wow, that is a name that would be hard to forget. Imagine him proposing to his girl. “Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Hucko?”. Man, too bad you couldn’t have bought all those signs! That new Disneyland Band should NOT be on an 1890s Main Street, it’s so wrong-headed.
TokyoMagic!, in my dreams!
Stu29573, I think your theory about guests in the 1960s and ‘70s being children of the Depression rings true; the park sure doesn’t treat guests that way any more. They will nickel and dime people to death, and most of them will do so with a smile on their faces. It’s such a bummer.
Grant, hey, you can like more than one kind of music! I was into punk and new wave, but liked classical, pop, even some bubble gum.
Mike Cozart, Mr. Gridley keeps pointing at his watch, it’s annoying.
JG, Mr. X has a whole bunch of photos of bands that performed at the Plaza Gardens; I need to scan more of them, but I worried that folks might not be that interested. It seems like maybe they are! You are just like Mr. X, he never was into rock and roll. Playboy had articles?
TokyoMagic!, you are welcome!
DrGoat, my dad liked a lot of “old school” music, from big bands to pop hits from the 1940s and 1950s, to Dixieland, and even some hard core jazz; we’d hear the records in our bedrooms as we fell asleep. I think that it all seeped into our brains! Another fun thing, my mom and dad both played ukuleles, and they would play and sing their favorite songs together. I sure miss those days.
MRaymond, it must have been something to be able to see someone like Duke Ellington or Louis Armstrong (and so on), for no additional charge (!), right there in Disneyland.
In case you were wondering, Twiggy did go to Disneyland in '67.
ReplyDeletehttps://michaelmay.tumblr.com/post/682975551430017024/ohyeahpop-twiggy-wearing-a-mickey-mouse-ear-hat
Major and Dr. Goat, if Playboy had articles, I never read them.
ReplyDeleteJG
Major, yeah, Beethoven's first season stats weren't that impressive, just a set of piano variations on a theme by an obscure classical composer named "Dressler." Poor guy almost got sent back to the minors (let that one sink in for second).
ReplyDeleteWhat's Playboy?
Oh, and May the Fourth be with you!
ReplyDeleteMajor ; your joke about Ompah music isn’t that far off: Americans mixed German ompha music with military March and African-American instruments and created RAGTYME ( Ragtime) music…. Jaspers Ragtime Band developed a Rag variation called JASS …that evolved into JAZZ…. And that evolved into Symhonic Jazz ( hot jazz dance band music of the late teens , 1920’s , and 1930’s. Then in the height of the depression the happy dance music of Rag and Hot chance splits the Hot Dance popularity into two groups : BIG BAND /SWING ORCHESTRA ( more bold and moody - ditches the banjo and replaces it with the guitar) ) and COUNTRY WESTERN ( sad / happy but keeps similar rhythmic sounds of 20’s/30’s jazz dance - keeps the banjo but includes the guitar ) a evolution mix of these two creates Rock N Roll.
ReplyDeleteOmpha = Rock N Roll. On a side note Ragtime Orchestrations are as advanced as classical music and very difficult to play … so “JASS” or JAZZ made it less restrictive.
Ompha developed in Germany, Austria as a combination of folk/ military March / waltz .
Ompha also created Mariachi music in Mexico when Emperor Maximilian of Austria ruled Mexico and German emigrate built Mexico City and imported dairy cows to Mexico introducing cheese to Mexican foods.
Ok so what I was getting at is that German Ompha music is the link to almost all music from the 1880’s to today.
ReplyDeleteJG, I’ll bet Gore Vidal and Ray Bradbury would be upset to know that nobody ever read their stuff!
ReplyDeleteChuck, Beethoven was famous for his slider, but he often pitched wild too. Wait, did he write music too?
Chuck, I was filling out a form this morning and was amazed that nobody had said that yet! You’re the first. And only.
Mike Cozart, you know a lot about music! You must watch all the Ken Burns documentaries. Especially the 21-hour series about novelty songs. Like “The Streak”, “Disco Duck”, “Hot Buttered Popcorn”, and the disco version of "Beethoven's Fifth". THE GREATS. I thought that Pat Boone invented Rock and Roll, but it’s easy to get confused because he rocked so hard. Are you a musician? Or have you just picked up a lot of general knowledge about the evolution of many genres?
Mike Cozart, I knew what you were getting at!
Wow, we don't need no stinkin' (and expensive) college course in American music theory and history, Mike just gave us a whole years worth of learning in one paragraph! Is this site great, or what!
ReplyDeleteWorld leaders should read GDB and do what we tell them. Earth would become a Utopia in no time!
Actually, I would settle for 'less screwed'.
And May the Fourth be with you, too, Chuck. Besides this day and Pi day (March 14), are there any other days that use a play on words?
I read Playbeing in my early years. Found a stash of 'em in that UFO that crashed behind our house. There were a bunch of books of Vogon poetry as well, but they accidentally got burnt up when I accidentally poured gasoline on them and accidentally set them on fire.
Major, I actually participated in an online team meeting with my new boss today wearing a Star Wars shirt, a Mandalorian ball cap, and holding two stuffed Baby Yodas (not going to use that other name) on my lap while my 18-year-old's Clone Wars toys watched over the scene from a shelf behind me and the Star Wars "Main Title Theme" played on my phone. My 1978 Darth Vader and C3PO and 1980 Luke Skywalker in Bespin Fatigues figures made a special guest appearance later in my presentation. Why, yes - I do work for the Government.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in Kindergarten, a friend told me that his much older brother (like in his 20s) was going to try to bring a "real Playmate" home to meet us. I was picturing a little boy wearing a light blue, turn-of-the-century, short-pants sailor suit and flat straw hat with a black ribbon carrying an enormous lollipop and was kind of intrigued. It was years before it dawned on me what he was actually talking about.
I think Beethoven wrote "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Or maybe it was "Centerfield." I know for a fact John Fogerty never paid him royalties for either one.
JB, Vogon poetry is the worst. Do you keep your towel handy?
And there's a play on words day as soon as tomorrow - Sinko de Mayo.
Sorry - that link won't work for you. Try this one:
ReplyDeleteSinko de Mayo
hahaha. I think I was expecting some sort of YouTube video. Then the image came up... perfect!
ReplyDeleteMajor, during the years I was not reading Playboy, I didn't know who any of those people were anyway.
ReplyDeleteJB, I'm with you, that is the best way to appreciate Vogon poetry, Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz would approve.
https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Prostetnic_Vogon_Jeltz
JG
Major; I am not a musician: I play the banjo ( tennis racquet) and Ukulele ( ping pong paddle )….ask my sister . EJ Peeker slapped Mr. Gridley over 20 times and told him to “RELAX!! Your’re cramping my style!!!” During the filming of Disneyland Showtime .
ReplyDeleteJB, you never know what you might learn here on GDB! You can find out about old buses and cars, info about photography and cameras, non-Disney amusement park rides… all sorts of arcane (and wonderful) stuff. I agree that world leaders should read GDB. In fact EVERYONE should read GDB. No wait, I take that back, I like things just the way they are. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if it got much bigger. The only other “pun day” I can think of is 4/20, which is basically “pot day”. Maybe not exactly a pun. What is a pun, anyway? Playbeing was a great magazine, but the centerfold unfolded into four dimensions, and my three dimensional brain couldn’t see it. Dumb brain!
ReplyDeleteChuck, it sounds like you have a boss with a sense of humor, at least! I kind of agree, I like “Baby Yoda” better than “Grogu”… I was kind of disappointed in the name when we finally learned it. By now it has grown on me a little bit, but I think his name should have been “Yowza”. I’m available, Lucasfilm! I’m wondering what your friend meant when he said that his older brother was going to try to bring a “real Playmate” to meet you. Was he just being “naughty”? I mean, it would be wasted on a five year-old, but hey, a Playmate is still a wondrous thing. Human. Person. Beethoven wrote pop music for money, since his other music got no publicity, and that’s why nobody knows his name today.
Chuck, OUCH.
JB, don’t encourage him!
JG, you guys are making me want to reread “Hitchiker’s Guide (etc)”. That’s not a bad thing.
Mike Cozart, I personally am glad that Mr. Gridley got slapped, he was annoying as heck.
"...plus you get to wear a Magic Band on your wrist so they can track your every movement. See how much spending you're doing. If it's not enough, a small, non-lethal electric shock will remind you what you are there for."
ReplyDeleteLots of fun and laughs today, but DrGoat's comment, above, made me laugh the most! hahahaha!
Major, please do post more of Mr. X's band photos. These are great!
Thanks, Major and Mr. X!
Major, 4:20 is a good example of a punday. There is a pot shop here in town that's called that. I've heard that 4:20 gets its name from the time of day that a group of pothead friends would gather, after school, and do what potheads do, back in the late '60s or '70s I think.
ReplyDeleteTake solace in the fact that the 4D centerfold was probably so exotic that one couldn't tell which parts were which... or what purpose those parts served.
Mike, I hope at least one of the times that E.J. slapped Mr. Gridley, she exclaimed, "SNAP OUT OF IT!"
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, I had this "special" issue of Playboy: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/3DQAAOSwHCNeP1BV/s-l1600.jpg