Hi Everybody,

Doc Severinsen here, asking for your attention about a very important matter!

Clark Terry, the great jazz icon, has had and is having a very serious challenge from a disastrous diabetic condition. Clark has been giving music lessons from the hospital in Arkansas-and when I spoke with him a few days ago-he sounded like the young man I first met when we were kids. Lighthearted, happy, courageous-you know, just like he plays his music.

If you appreciate C.T. as I (and many others) always have, then it is time to step up and pay homage to one of America’s greatest musicians. Send your generous tribute to the Jazz Foundation of America*, and if you’re having a good day—-make it last forever.

Sincerely,
Doc

PS Please do me a favor, and if you do, it will make you feel better. If you’re planning on sending a dollar or two or five or ten, think about how special Clark is, and double the amount. I thank you.

*Jazz Foundation of America website is www.jazzfoundation.org. Look under How You Can Help, then under Memory/Honor, fill out the form and indicate Clark Terry as the person to whom you would like to pay tribute.

Doc Severinsen talks about when he made some sartorial changes after becoming the leader of The Tonight Show band and Johnny’s reactions to his eccentric outfits. Johnny Carson: King of Late Night premieres May 14.  Check your local PBS listings.

Doc Severinsen Outtake

by Tom Ineck
Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 12:15 am

Contrary to some advance publicity, Doc Severinsen’s appearance Monday night at the Lied Center for Performing Arts was not a program of classical Spanish, movie music or gypsy jazz.

As expected from the 84-year-old trumpeter and his 16-piece big band, the “Once More with Feeling” tour, his first with the big band in five years, is firmly grounded in the grand Swing Era tradition.

Severinsen’s band no longer is comprised largely of “Tonight Show” veterans, but he did have one ace up his sequined sleeve. Longtime band member and tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts was the go-to guy on many occasions during the two-hour concert, attended by 1,600. He was brought to the microphone on the swinging opener and seldom sat down long enough to warm his seat.

Featured singer Vanessa Thomas exhibited impressive pipes on “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Smile,” “When You’re Smiling,” “Everyday I Have the Blues,” and “Mood Indigo,” and young drummer Stockton Helbing did an admirable job on the classic rave-up “Sing, Sing, Sing.”

But it was the big band that delivered the goods on such swingers as “Jumpin’ at the Woodside,” “Flying Home,” “Caravan,” “One O’Clock Jump” and “Sax Alley,” a furious tenor sax blowing contest between Watts and Chip McNeill.

Amazingly, Severinsen proved that he still has the lip and the technique to play with power, precision and stamina, frequently stating the melodies and hitting the high notes on trumpet. He used a plunger-muted horn on “St. Louis Blues,” took the lead on “Georgia on My Mind,” and inserted some well-controlled trumpet blasts on “Here’s That Rainy Day,” which he announced as Johnny Carson’s favorite tune.

Severinsen’s playing and bandleading certainly quashed any doubts that at 84 he might have lost some of his famous panache.

Submitted by The City Wire staff on Mon, 03/12/2012 – 2:58pm

Story and photos by Ruby Dean

ALMA — Johnny’s gone. So is Ed.

But fans of the popular Tonight Show starring the late Johnny Carson and his sidekick Ed McMahon are still enjoying perhaps the most talented personality on the show, legendary NBC Orchestra leader and trumpeter Doc Severinsen.

Doc Severinsen and His Big Band played to a full house at the Alma Performing Arts Center Saturday, March 10.

With good looks belying his 84 years, the Grammy Awrd-winning Severinsen led his 15-piece band and jazz vocalist Vanessa Thomas through a program of hits including tunes Count Basie and Duke Ellington, as well as Latin-inspired jazz. His slim physique was evident beneath the flashy outfits he’s known for wearing.

The local crowd wasn’t stingy with its standing ovations, delivering several for Severinsen and his band and one in particular for Thomas. The program featured every player in the band, many more than once.

The band includes Brad Shermock, Mark Bobnick, Adam Rossmiller and Zack Lozier on trumpet; Michael Nelson and Scott Agster on trombone; Dave Budimir on bass trombone; Mike Migliore and Carlos Vega on alto sax; Ernie Watts and Chip McNeill on tenor sax; Clare Church on baritone sax; Stockton Helbing on drums; Kevin Thomas on bass and Mary Louise Knutson on piano.

By Mimi Beck Knudsen, Reno Gazette-Journal

Allow me to don my Carnac the Magnificent turban and give my answer first: Wow! The question? Well, there are several. Whatever happened to Johnny Carson’s bandleader, Doc Severinsen, since the legendary late-night show “retired” in 1992? Does an 84-year-old Severinsen still have the lips and lungs to let loose on the trumpet? In its 16th season, does Artown still have the ability to bring in acts that surprise and delight audiences?

Doc Severinsen and the San Miguel Five played the Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater in Bartley Ranch Regional Park on Sunday night.

Doc Severinsen and the four other members of the San Miguel Five played the Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater in Bartley Ranch Regional Park on Sunday night, punctuating the mid-point of the month- long Artown festival with a giant exclamation point. Looking tan, fit and colorful in bright green leather pants, a neon pink shirt and sparkly white jacket trimmed in gold, the only thing hotter than Severinsen’s ensemble on his back was the ensemble on the stage, the amazing musicians who comprise the San Miguel Five. Guitarist Gil Gutiérrez is founder and musical director of the group. In 2006 Severinsen happened upon Gutiérrez, who was performing in a San Miguel, Mexico, restaurant. They soon forged a friendship and musical partnership that has taken the group to venues from Mexico City to Carnegie Hall. Along with Gutiérrez and Severinsen, the San Miguel Five includes violinist Charlie Bisharat, percussionist Jimmy Branly and Kevin Thomas on bass. While Thomas and Branly provide the heartbeat, Bisharat, Gutiérrez and Severinsen get most of the show-stopping glory, although Branly’s solos, including hand-drumming on Gutiérrez’s guitar, provided some of the evening’s most memorable moments. For two hours, the audience got to savor the band’s delicious fusion of tango, f lamenco, classical, swing and Gypsy jazz, Advertisement ala the great Django Reinhardt. Mild, clear weather, a nearly full, cream- colored moon and a chorus of crickets were the perfect accoutrements for the very enthusiastic — and quite lucky — Bartley Ranch audience. On a personal note, seeing Severinsen allowed me to complete the quadfecta of live trumpet performances. Along with Maynard Ferguson, Chuck Mangione and Herb Alpert, Severinsen certainly is seated first chair among the greatest trumpet

By Jim Beal Jr.
San Antonio Express-News

For a quarter of a century, Doc Severinsen was likely the highest-profile trumpet player and band leader on the planet.

From his spot on the “Tonight Show” stage, the sartorially out-there Severinsen kibitzed with storied host Johnny Carson and sidekick Ed McMahon while leading the Tonight Show Orchestra through hot and cool paces.

When Carson retired in ’92, changes to the late-night show did not include Severinsen and his crew.

“I decided to retire and move to Mexico,” said Severinsen. “I knew I wanted to keep playing trumpet because that’s what I do. I went out to dinner in San Miguel and heard these guys playing. They are world class.

“I introduced myself. They didn’t know me from Adam, but they invited me to play. I figure you always need to be ready to make a change. Change is good. Take advantage of what’s presented to you. With this group, there was no doubt. The minute I heard them I wanted to play with them.”

Severinsen will lead the San Miguel 5 into Boerne on Sunday and Monday. The band, Severinsen, Gil Gutierrez (guitar), Charlie Bisharat (violin), Jimmy Branly (percussion) and Kevin Thomas (bass), has range to go with chops.

“It’s very basic, very organic music,” Severinsen said. “Somebody said it could be considered world music. I said fine, I’ll go along with that. It’s a Latin-based group, but we play the blues, we play some Astor Piazzolla, we play some things styled after Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli.”

Severinsen, 83, moves around.

“Right now I’m in Knoxville. I live part time in Mexico. I’m always a step ahead of the sheriff,” he said.

The trumpet player has kept moving since he grew up in Oregon. The son of a dentist, Severinsen started playing at a young age and never stopped, though he considered alternative careers.

“I decided what I wanted to be was a jockey,” he said. “When I started playing music, my father decided I’d better get some lessons. Later on, when I was playing with the Vaughn Monroe Orchestra on a TV show in New York, I could see the music business could be kinda iffy. So I thought I’d go up to a university and take an aptitude test.

“The violinist, Sal Spinelli, said, ‘You’re crazy. I’d like to have 10 percent of what you’re gonna make.’ I did a self-analysis and decided I was a structured schizophrenic. When I was with Tommy Dorsey, (trumpet player/bandleader/composer) Ziggy Elman gave me some great advice. He said to learn to be as versatile as possible and you can make a good living playing music.”

Severinsen played trumpet because that was the only instrument available in the town in which he was raised.

“I came to love it,” he said. “It’s loud. When you’re a little guy raised in a town surrounded by cowboys and football players, you’d better be able to make a statement.”

The trademark Doc Severinsen wardrobe came from the same statement-making place.

“The cowboys have a pretty independent attitude. I grew up with that,” he said. “It manifested itself in the wardrobe.” So has the Doc made concessions to aging?

“Nope,” he said, quickly. “A psychiatrist was trying to talk me into joining a group of older guys in Hollywood who were having trouble with aging. I said, ‘Nope.’ He said, ‘You’re not going to go quietly, are you?’ I said, ‘Nope.’ I don’t ever turn off what I am. I’m not sure what that is, but I just go and be myself.”

Severinsen also was quick to offer advice to musicians.

“Practice, practice practice,” he said. “Then practice some more. And love what you do.”

Severinsen has high praise for two San Antonio institutions, Mi Tierra restaurant and The Landing jazz club.

“Jim Cullum, and his dad, did a great job of establishing The Landing,” he said. “Jim has a great band playing music that is so identifiable. They have found their niche and they do a beautiful job.”

And when people go see Severinsen and the San Miguel 5, they’re going to want to see some flashy threads to go along with the music.

“I don’t know what I’m going to wear,” he added. “But I know I’ll be the only guy in town wearing it.”

The RIC Concert Jazz Band will be accompanied by legendary trumpeter and former “Tonight Show” bandleader Doc Severinsen on Monday, May 2, at 8 p.m. in the Nazarian Center’s Sapinsley Hall. Joseph Foley, RIC associate professor of music, will direct the show.

Severinsen, who toured with the Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman bands in the 1940s before becoming a staff musician at NBC in 1949, led NBC Orchestra on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” from 1967-1992,

When “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” ended, Severinsen embarked on a new career, taking his band on the road, performing classics, jazz, pop, ballads and of course, the familiar “Tonight Show” theme. Severinsen, who is known for his wild fashions and witty repartee, is one of the most prolific, technically accomplished trumpet players ever – and he’s still going strong at 82.

“He’s a real legend, not only of trumpet, but of the music industry,” said Foley, associate professor of music at RIC. “He was one of my idols growing up, and for me to be able to bring him to work with the students is really exciting.”

The RIC Concert Jazz Band will collaborate with Severinsen on “Stardust,” “Georgia On My Mind,” “Swingin’ the Blues,” “Begin the Beguine” and “Three Shades of Blue.” The band will also pay tribute to other great trumpet players, performing Dizzy Gillespie’s “Groovin’ High,” Clifford Crown’s “The Blues Walk” and Thad Jones’ “Three And One.”

Foley, the studio instructor for all undergraduate and graduate trumpet students at RIC, has over 50 brass arrangements to his credit. He is the principal trumpet in the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and regularly appears with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops orchestras.

Included in this special is Doc’s guest appearance on “The Lawrence Welk Show” in 1972, playing the Oscar-winning song, “Love Story.” And the Welk Band salutes Doc — the conductor of “The Tonight Show” Band for Johnny Carson from 1967 to 1992 — with a performance of his signature song, “Johnny’s Theme.”

This brand-new PBS special, the 17th Lawrence Welk special to be produced for public television, pays tribute to 25 legendary bandleaders including Glenn Miller, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Les Brown, Count Basie, Ben Bernie, Artie Shaw, Clyde McCoy, Pete Fountain, Harry James, Bob Crosby, Sammy Kaye, Ted Lewis, Duke Ellington, Paul Whiteman, Ray Anthony, Doc Severinsen and many others.  

For more than an hour and a half Monday, Carl Hilding “Doc” Severinsen, renowned trumpeter and leader of the NBC Orchestra during The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, spoke to a captivated crowd in a cafeteria of Manchester High School about the trials and tribulations of a life in the music industry.

He also filled the audience – many of whom were not even born the last time Severinsen played before The Tonight Show’s studio audience – in on the story of his life, which included a sojourn in the Army during World War II, his slow and steady rise to success in the recording industry and, for one young fan who was curious, the meaning of the word “druthers” (slang term for someone’s preference).

“Think seriously about what you are doing and what you want to do and do it,” Severinsen said in response to a question about his inspiration.

While another young fan wanted to know the biggest obstacle Severinsen, 83, had to overcome in his professional career.

“My biggest obstacle in my trumpeting career was myself,” Severinsen said. “By being lazy when I should have been practicing. By doing things that were not helpful to being a trumpet player, or anything else.”

He also confirmed that trumpet players make the best kissers (although he may have been operating with a bias).

Afterwards, Severinsen, and The San Miguel Five kicked off the 2011 Manchester High School Professional Concert Series in the Bailey Auditorium.

But for the more than 100 students, parents and teachers who attended Severinsen’s informal, lighthearted question and answer session, it was as instructive and entertaining as any musical performance Severinsen might have been able to muster.

“I think it was inspiring,” said Juan Vivar, a sophomore at Manchester High School who, like Severinsen, plays the trumpet. “It tells me I have to keep following my dreams.”

Having Severinsen kick off the high school’s 2011 professional concert series was something of a dream come true for Band Director Keith Berry as well.

Berry, a graduate of the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, said Severinsen was an inspiration to him as a young musician. So when Berry discovered while browsing the Internet this summer that Severinsen wasn’t retired, and in fact planned to play a concert at Carnegie Hall at the end of January, he got in touch with his management, who got in touch with Severinsen, who agreed to the concert at the high school Monday. It was somewhat more complicated than that, Berry said, and might have involved an impassioned email he wrote to Severinsen.

“He’s mainly here because the guy inspired me as a student,” Berry said. “So when I found out that the very person who inspired me was still performing, I had to try to give that back to my students.”

Prior to Severinsen’s performance, the Manchester High School Jazz Ensemble was scheduled to perform Monday evening. Severinsen and The San Miguel Five will next perform with the New York Pops on Friday at Carnegie Hall, while the next schedule performance of the Manchester High School Professional Concert Series will be the U.S. Navy Band’s Sea Chanters Chorus on March 22.

By David Moran, Manchester Patch