Doc Severinsen & His Big Band
"Heeeeere's Johnny!" That lead-in, followed by a big band trumpet blast, was the landmark of late night television for three decades. The "Johnny" was Johnny Carson, the announcer was Ed McMahon and the bandleader was Doc Severinsen. Beginning in October 1962, "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" ruled the night air for 30 years. On May 22, 1992, it came to an end . . . and the beginning of a new career for Doc Severinsen.
Within a week of the final telecast, Doc Severinsen and His Big Band were on the road. Doc's group is composed of the best musicians from "The Tonight Show" - Ed Shaughnessy on drums, Ernie Watts on tenor sax and Snooky Young on trumpet. Their repertoire includes Ellington and Basie standards, pop, jazz, ballads, big band classics and, of course, "The Tonight Show" theme. Audiences are finally able to hear the depth of talent belonging to a band that rarely finished a tune on the air. Severinsen can blow the roof off with a trumpet solo, but he is not the only accomplished soloist. Many band members get their well-deserved turns in the spotlight. Doc's big band tours are consistently sold out.
A dynamic and dazzling instrumentalist, Maestro Severinsen also travels the country to perform and conduct with ensembles ranging from symphonic orchestras to jazz bands. In one season alone, Doc traveled from Seattle to Sarasota to Vegas to Vancouver as guest soloist with orchestras, often wearing outfits that were only slightly less brassy than his horn. When not performing with this celebrated group or conducting a major orchestra, he is Principal Pops Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony. Doc continues to practice three to four hours daily, "just to warm up," he says.
Doc has made more than 30 albums - from big band to jazz-fusion to classical. Two critically acclaimed Telarc CDs with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra showcase his multifaceted talents from Puccini and Bach to 20th-century jazz ballads. Azica Records recently released "Doc Severinsen and His Big Band/Swingin' the Blues" with Barbara Morrison, Ed Shaughnessy and Ernie Watts. His newest CD from Amherst, "The Very Best of Doc Severinsen," reprises 15 of Doc's signature pieces. His other recordings include "Unforgettably Doc" with the Cincinnati Pops on Telarc, and the Grammy-nominated "Once More With Feeling" on Amherst. He received a Grammy Award in 1987 (Best Jazz instrumental Performance - Big Band) for his recording "Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Band - Volume I."
Severinsen's accomplishments began in his hometown of Arlington, Oregon, population 600. Carl H. Severinsen was born on July 7th, 1927, and was nicknamed "Little Doc" after his father, Dr. Carl Severinsen, a dentist. Little Doc had originally wanted to play the trombone. But the senior Severinsen, a gifted amateur violinist, urged him to study the violin. The younger Severinsen insisted on the trombone, but had to settle for the only horn available in Arlington's small music store - a trumpet. A week later, with the help of his father and a book of instructions, the 7-year-old was so good that he was invited to join the high school band. At the age of 12, Little Doc won the Music Educator's National Contest and, while still in high school, was hired to go on the road with the famous Ted Fio Orchestra But his stay with the group was cut short by the draft. He served in the Army during World War II and, following his discharge, landed a spot with the Charlie Barnet Band. When this band broke up, Severinsen toured with the Tommy Dorsey, then, the Benny Goodman bands in the late '40s.
After his days with Barnet and Dorsey, Doc arrived in New York City in 1949 to become a staff musician for NBC. After years of playing with the peacock network's studio bands, Severinsen was invited to do a gig with the highly respected Tonight Show Band. An impressed conductor, Skitch Henderson, asked him to join that band in 1962 as first trumpet. Five years later, Doc took over as Music Director of "The Tonight Show" and stayed with the show until Johnny Carson retired from late night television in 1992.
Today, in his second-career spin, Severinsen still has not lost his flair for outrageous fashions and witty banter. Yet he is highly regarded as one of the most technically proficient living trumpeters. Doc has the best stage presence of anyone out there. He can blow a horn like few others ... he is a high note virtuoso, a genuinely funny man, and always a fashion fiend. And his 15-piece Big Band has not lost its zest for stylish rhythms, either. Somewhere along the journey, from Oregon to New York to tonight's concert, the "Little" was lost, but Doc remains timeless. Doc Severinsen continues to be a favorite of audiences across America.