The BBB is Not Your Grandfather's Big Band But "Number One Son" Was Recorded Like It Was!

live at Frank's studio to Studer A827 24 track, mixed at 30 IPS to 1/2" tape on Ampex ATR-100

Recording a big band album live to analog tape in the studio Frank Sinatra had Bill Putnam build for him when he started Reprise Records, then Western Recorders, now East/West, engineered by Steve Genewick--long time Al Schmitt associate (etc.)--and mixed to 1/2" tape at 30 IPS on an Ampex ATR-100 at The Village Studios and then lacquer cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from that tape two months later is no guarantee of great sound. Well, come on, unless something went terribly wrong, yes it is.

And you can be sure this record will blast your woofers and your tweeters or your panels, or your ribbons, or your horns into sonic outer space and throw you back in your chair like the Maxell kid who by now must be a grandfather himself.

The only question left is will you dig the big band music and a big band captained by a drummer? In this case studio cat Bernie Dresel. In the rock world the drummer is the butt of many (most) jokes. In the big band world, well there's Gene Krupa who organized his own big bands and had he not died in 1973 at age 64, you'd be safe saying he was reincarnated as Keith Moon who died at 32— half Krupa's age five years later!

But back to the big band. As the headline proclaims this is not your grandfather's big band. The key to that is that there are no keys. A guitar substitutes for piano. Your grandfather's big band did not cover the closer, "Whipping Post" but it might have covered the opener, "Sentimental Journey", though there's nothing sentimental about saxophonist Brian Scanlon's arrangement or his solo. It rocks.

The second side that ends with "Whipping Post" (ably sung by trumpeter and Glenn Miller Orchestra veteran Tony Bonsera, whose own the Los Angeles Classic Rock Orchestra has covered in their entireties both Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and who teaches History of Rock and Roll, Musicianship and Trumpet at Citrus College in Glendora, CA) begins with Miles's "Seven Steps To Heaven" and moves on to the Ellington/Strayhorn composition "The Star Crossed Lovers", and then to "Giant Steps" before ending with The Allman Brothers' classic.

It's quite a side and the first one's no slouch either. What begins as a "Sentimental Journey" ends with guitarist Grant Geissman's twangy/swing tune "G Squared Boogie", which he also arranged and of course gives himself a solo on. Geissman's humor shines. Aside from writing the Chuck Mangione hit "Feels So Good", he frequently musically partners with Chuck Lorre and composed the theme song for the sitcom "Two And a Half Men". I meant to review the vinyl version of his 2012 album from a few years back, Bop! Bang! Boom! another fun fest but not big band, but featuring Larry Carlton, Albert Lee and Van Dyke Parks, but never got around to it. Stream it. You'll like it.

But back to Bernie Dresel and his Big Band, the BBB short for Bernie's Big Band. Ringo, not often but sometimes the butt of jokes, inspired him to become a drummer and he, like most of the others or let's say all of the others are studio musicians who make their livings doing session work for television and motion picture scores. This is as much a big band rock record as it is a big band jazz album. Band member Kirsten Adkins, who solos on a pair of tracks, released a small combo album on Kevin Gray's Cohearent Records label.

The BBB covers "Whipping Post" live in the video at the bottom of this review, but trust me, the performance on record is 10X better and the sound 100X better but you'll get the idea.

The band features 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 5 saxophones, drums, guitar and bass (two different bassists are on the record) and when they get going the blast force is intense. The louder you crank it the better it sounds and the better you will feel. No one's hiding in separate booths and there's no need for that because the East/West Studio One's vast real estate (61,000 cubic feet) allows everyone to work and play well together. This is the studio where Elvis shot his 1968 comeback special, Frank recorded "My Way" and "New York, New York" and Michael Jackson recorded parts of Thriller (most recorded at Westlake

The only acoustic barriers are between sections: reeds to the left, trombones to the right, trumpets center stage. The rhythm section, of necessity, is boothed off but it all comes together in the masterful mix. When a musician solos, he (or she in the case of Edkins) steps well out front.

On a big system, this is big fun. On a small system, still big fun but don't expect the Maxell Moment the record can produce.

Distribution is limited so to buy a copy go to this site