BURKE GARRETT'S SWINGING SEPTET
BUILDING AND SELLING THE SWINGING SEPTET
As I’ve mentioned, I realized that I needed to focus most of my creative energy on a smaller, more versatile, economically viable, working band. I settled on four horns and rhythm: trumpet, trombone, alto sax, tenor sax, piano, bass and drums. I was fortunate to find Keith Mirick, a terrific trumpet player who also sang the hit songs of the day. The other players were: Cecil Heick or Ed Culver, who played tenor sax, clarinet, flute and valve trombone, Marius “Butch” Nordahl, pianist and arranger, Doug DeMeerleer, bass and road manager, Don Glenn, trombone, and Bill Kotick on drums. I doubled the alto and soprano sax, clarinet, valve trombone, and sang. Thus evolved our septet. Live recordings captured in the late fifties and throughout the sixties.
All during that time the Burke Garrett Orchestra could be heard playing for dancers at Proms, Tolos, Conventions, and Company parties in the Northwest. The band was young and infused with good energy (Burke was born right in the middle of the Swing Era). With the band’s versatile instrumentation; and, with both Burke and Keith Mirick singing, the band covered a wide spectrum of music from the early Twenties up until the time the last recordings were made. We put up this playlist of twelve songs to demonstrate the range of musical styles the band was playing during our busiest years working as a popular dance band in Seattle. Most of these live recordings were made more than sixty years ago. Bg
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GIGS OUR BAND PLAYED
PIONEER SQUARE PHOTO SHOOT
Photos of Burke’s Septet circa 1966.
RELATED ARTICLES
Here is an interview with Burke Garrett, conducted by Kurt Armbruster; it includes lots of great commentary, music and images.
This small folio of music is to demonstrate the fact that our septet was versatile. We could, in a heartbeat, switch from Raucous rhythm and blues to early 19th century classic two beat arrangements. The band could play everything from Jewish folk songs and Vienna waltzes to raucous Dixieland and rhythm and blues head charts. If you’re interested, click on a few of these short recordings and you will see what I mean.
One adventure the band went on during their heyday was to Alaska, where they played for the Grand Ball of Elkdom in Ketchikan and on Anette Island, ferried there by a vintage aircraft.
For a sampling of the biggest and best gigs we ever played with this lineup, click here and check out this Territorial Tip Sheet!
Among the many endeavors Burke Garrett took on his career, the seven piece band was one of the most successful and impactful. The peak years led to a band that continued on as the Pacific Northwest Territory Band as Burke moved on to manage Northwest Releasing Corporation, and subsequent enterprises.
To hear our music through Youtube: click here