Jane Russell and the Swinging Forties: Those names on the bill were a sure thing to pack the Radisson Hotel’s Vintner’s Lounge with folks looking for music with some swing—until the Hollywood icon’s passing on Feb. 28. Still, Swinging Forties has continued performing music from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s in the hopes of keeping the late Russell’s band and spirit alive.
“Jane used to say to me: ‘Don, the show must go on, whether I’m here or not,’” said band manager Don Fern, referring to when Russell would have to leave town when a performance was scheduled for the group. “‘They can use me and my picture for advertisement while I’m gone, but the show must go on,’ she would say to me, and she instilled that in me.”
Fern first started singing with the Swinging Forties in 2003 when Russell was looking for a male singer to join her performing group. The format is simple enough, hearkening back to the smoky night clubs of the 1940s: Solo singers accompanied by a jazz piano and bass guitar take turns crooning sultry tunes by such jazz giants as Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, and Irving Berlin.
Fern explained that the idea was born when Russell would take her friends visiting from Hollywood out to dinner and to hear some music, but she could never find the kind of music she wanted to hear.
“She said, ‘Well, if I can’t find a place where I can enjoy the music, I will make it myself!’” Fern remembered. “And she did. This kind of show is unique to the area.”
The show has a contagious sense of camaraderie and fun, with jokes and laughs flying casually between jazz ballads, dance numbers, and torch songs.
The band’s current lineup features emcee and performer Don Fern and singers Gayle Diani, Richard Cole, Lavaun K., Bob Nations, Sylvia Kozel, and Ken Schoeck. Pianist Lee Statom and bass guitarist Bob Swayze accompany the vocalists with a swinging style.
One aspect of the show that’s distinctly jazz is improvisation. Statom and Swayze are given all but five seconds’ notice as to what song they’ll be playing and in what key. And do these skilled musicians use sheet music? Of course not. They just pull it up from the bank of jazz classics they’ve stored in their memories, down to every chord change and rhythmic quirk.
“You just try to make sure everyone is on the same page,” Statom said, “and get all the right chord changes and keep things melodically interesting.”
Statom has been performing with the Swinging Forties for the past seven years, during which he got to know Russell. The group’s first performance after Russell’s passing saw Statom actually singing his own a rendition of “Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You,” which he dedicated to her.
“She had a great schtick with telling the audience Hollywood stories about Clark Gable and Robert Mitchum,” he said. “She was an interesting person to work with.”
Russell was quoted in a November 2007 cover story for the Sun (“Gentlemen Prefer Jane”) as saying: “Music today isn’t music. It’s noise.” Whether her successors agree with that statement or not, they do share her vision of giving Santa Marians some swinging music to which to tap their toes.
“The music from years ago told a story,” Fern said. “It’s the kind of music that will last forever.”
Anybody who shared Russell’s love for the music of yesteryear was welcome to try out for the group, he explained.
“She always said, ‘Give a new artist a chance,’” he said. “Jane was just a generous person all the way around.
“She was a wonderful woman, a pleasure to know. And I miss her,” he added. “We all miss her.”
The Swinging Forties continues to perform popular jazz, Broadway, and Hollywood hits the third Friday of each month at the Radisson Hotel’s Vintner’s Lounge in Santa Maria.
Celebrate spring
The Santa Maria High School Instrumental Music Program is proud to present its annual Spring Concert and Silent Auction fundraiser event on April 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ethel Pope Auditorium at Santa Maria High School. Cost is $3. The Santa Maria Concert Band and Jazz Band will be performing marches, swing, and Latin jazz music. More info: 925-2567, Ext. 3321, or uvaldivia@santamariahighschool.org.
Cantata for choir
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints celebrates Easter with a choir performance of In Him We Live, a musical cantata by Sally DeFord, April 23 and 24 at 7 and 8:15 p.m. at the Santa Maria Stake Center, 938 East Sierra Madre Road, Santa Maria. More info: 354-8061 or lds.org.
Singing their praises
First Baptist Church presents a free Easter concert featuring vocalists Ray and Ann Gibbs performing April 22 at 7 p.m. at the church, 2970 Santa Maria Way, Santa Maria. More info: 937-8405.
Three days of fun
The 25th annual Lompoc Valley Spring Arts Festival features live music each day of the festival, April 22 through 24. The Agin Brothers perform their country music April 22 from 4 to 7:30 p.m. April 23 features Ded Zed’s Chopper performing rock-a-billy music from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nataly Lola performing solo country music from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., and The Remnants performing classic rock’n’roll from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 24 features Kacey Cubero performing Americana music from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Bonedog performing classic rock’n’roll from 3 to 6 p.m.
Contact Calendar Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 21-28, 2011.