A note from Dan Gabel:
Reflecting on a decade of music
January 27, 2020
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It has hard to believe that 2020 marks the 10th "official" year of being in the vintage band business, though I have been leading bands since I was a Freshman in High School. I'll never forget a gig we played that first very year (2003): the (then) 8-piece Dan Gabel and The Abletones was playing at a retirement home. An elderly woman, who hadn't spoken a word in over a year, began to sing along when we played Honeysuckle Rose. "This music," I said to her daughter, holding back tears, "is clearly something very special!"
When I was still an undergraduate at UMass Amherst hoping to pursue a career as a lawyer, I had the opportunity to tour with the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra, playing in 46 U. S. states, Canada, and Japan. Upon returning, I knew that music was the only career for me. Instead of law school, I completed a Masters Degree at New England Conservatory, and have never for a moment regretted my decision.
For the past 6 years, I have taught at my alma mater, Holy Name High School as the Music Department Director, following in the footsteps of my friend and mentor Mr. Joe Burke. This, too, has also proved to be a most fulfilling, transformative, and humbling experience. I began the Worcester Youth Jazz Ensemble program in 2016, in association with the arrangement archives at the American Big Band Preservation Society (a 501(c)3 non-profit organization). Now, this music has a secure future with the next generation.
In addition to five regular groups and playing as a sideman in countless others, I was honored to have been chosen to lead the Vaughn Monroe Orchestra. Through the incredible support and friendship of Monroe's family and the VM Appreciation Society, this important music lives on. I am now working on the first biography of Mr. Monroe, and through many generous fans and family members, I have amassed the complete recordings and broadcasts of Vaughn Monroe, as well as many of his personal effects; a true honor.
Recently at a show, I was reminded of that moment back in 2003 when I knew this is what I had to do. A couple came up to me and asked if we would play There! I've Said it Again. The couple came up to me in tears after we had played the original arrangement. It had been their wedding song; they were celebrating 70 years together, and we had made their night. A few weeks later, a package arrived in the mail. Inside was a photograph of the couple with Vaughn Monroe himself, 70 years ago, the night that they proposed.
THIS, dear friends, is why I do what I do.
Here's to another decade of music and memories.
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