1940s trumpet player band leaders: Pippo Barzizza, Charlie Spivak and Randy Brooks, are the Phantom Dancer feature artists kicking off this week’s non-stop live radio mix.

The Phantom Dancer produced and presented by 1920s-30s singer and actor Greg Poppleton can be heard online from 12:05pm AEDST Tuesday 31 March at https://2ser.com/phantom-dancer/

Two hour non-stop mix of swing and jazz from live 1920s-60s radio and TV presented by Greg Poppleton on radio 2SER 107.3 Sydney since 1985.

In this week’s mix hear Jo Stafford and a set of women pop singers on 1930s-50s radio, a set of Dizzy Gillespie radio and a set of 1940s radio swing bands lead by trumpet players Barzizza, Spivak and Randy Brooks.

The last hour is all vinyl.

PIPPO BARZIZZA

With his friend and rival Cinico Angelini, Pippo Barzizz became the pre-eminent Italian swing and jazz band leader in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

Beginning with his Blue Star Orchestra, then with Orchestra Cetra in the 1930s (which recorded 7,000 sides), and his Orchestra Moderna in the 1950s (which included a young Ennio Morricone), Barzizza broadcast regularly on EAIR, the national Italian radio, and then its post-war successor, RAI, intil 1954.

He composed songs and film soundtracks. His treatise on musical exercises, “Barzizza’s method” was published in 1952.

Pippo composed songs such as “Domani”, “Sera”, (a beautiful piece “with a harmony almost too high for that period”) and solo orchestra songs as “Do sol la si do” and his extraordinary “Adagio”.

CHARLIE SPIVAK

Spivak’s band was one of the most successful in the 1940s and survived until 1959.

Spivak’s experience playing with jazz musicians had little effect on his own band’s style, which was straight dance music, made up mainly of ballads and popular tunes. Spivak himself (known as “Cheery, Chubby Charlie”) had been noted for his trumpet’s sweet tone and his strength for playing lead parts, rather than for any improvisational ability. He was also known as “The Man Who Plays The Sweetest Trumpet In The World”.

RANDY BROOKS

Brooks began on trumpet at age six, and by eleven was touring with Rudy Vallee. He then worked with Claude Thornhill, Bob Allen, Bernie Cummins, Art Jarrett, and Les Brown before founding his own band in 1944. John Benson Brooks (no relation) contributed arrangements to the ensemble, and Stan Getz played in it in 1946. Among his hits for Decca Records were “Tenderly”, “Harlem Nocturne” and “The Man With The Horn”, but his swing-based style and large ensemble were out of step with the times, and his success eroded toward the end of the decade.
He was married to singer and band leader, Ina Ray Hutton.

Your Phantom Dancer Video of the Week is Pippo Barzizza leading and conducting the RAI TV Orchestra on his compositions “Il Boscaiolo” and “Sera” on the 60th Anniversary RAI TV broadcast of 1986.
Enjoy!

Make sure you come back to this blog, Greg Poppleton’s Radio Lounge, every Tuesday, for the newest Phantom Dancer play list and Video of the Week!

31 MARCH PLAY LIST