THE BURKE GARRETT ORCHESTRA
“Various recordings of the Burke Garrett Orchestra, circa 1960.”
For a selection of some of the old time medley arrangements that the Orchestra performed, click the link.
To hear our music through Youtube: click here
Organizing and Grooming the Big Band
I learned in the early sixties that it wasn’t feasible to keep a twelve-piece band working all the time. I organized my big band library into labeled, pre-programmed groups of music so that when I called up a “set” (one folder of music) it included six to eight arrangements or two twenty minute groups of programmed music. I outlined my announcements on the outside of the folders and I started hiring the finest studio-caliber players in Seattle for the big band engagements; the same guys and gals that were playing the ice shows and touring Broadway musicals. Many of the best musicians in Seattle – Dave Tuttle, Don Smith, Bill Ramsey, Les Beigle, Corky Corcoran, Jack Brownlow, Jerry Gray, Norm Hogue, Jock Budelmon, Roy Cummings, and Bill Balcom played on my big band in the sixties.