W E L C O M E :

Hello and welcome to Big Bands Disc Base . . . This site and the music stream are provided in an effort to keep alive the music of the Big Band era, and the standards, both instrumental and vocal from the 1930's through the 1950's. Unfortunately with the exception of the syndicated "Music of Your Life" radio program and a smattering of radio stations around the world, much of the music played here has been forgotten. Some is available on satellite radio but the playlist is so limited that their entire library can be heard in a few hours. Most of the music we play is not available on CD or any format other than the original vinyl recordings. We play the vinyl and edit as many of the clicks and pops as possible with digital editing. Some songs however still will have noise which is unavoidable. When this music was performed and recorded, it was up to the arrangers, the musicians and the solo artists to sound good. There were no computer generated instruments and no computer enhancements available as a replacement for TALENT. The musicians performed in front of live audiences and microphones. The microphones fed into vacuum tube amplifiers and were recorded either on discs or in most cases after WW2 , magnetic tape. Multitrack recording was developed by guitarist Les Paul and introduced in the early 50's. It was quickly adopted by artists as a way of mixing vocals with orchestra backup without having everyone in the same studio at the same time. Please don't misunderstand me though. The rock musicians and country artists are also very talented people but it is a 'different" type of talent. Just as big band and jazz differ from classical, so does rock and current country from big band. Arrangers like Nelson Riddle, Glen Osser, Axel Stordahl,Ray Conniff, and many others were the people behind the scenes that made the sound, the distinctive sound of each performer, orchestra, or band.