Dan Gabel and the Abletones getting back in the big band Summer Swing
Big band leader, trombonist, arranger, music educator and scholar Dan Gabel has been having a busy summer including performing down South as a guest artist and local gigs back home in the Worcester area with his big band Dan Gabel and the Abletones and his new seven-member Stoptime Revue.
As the bookings increase post pandemic, Gabel can also see the value of taking time with some things as well. He's looking to finish a book about bandleader, trumpeter and baritone singer Vaughn Monroe (1911-1973), as well put the finishing touches the latest album by Dan Gabel and The Abletones, "Let's Get Away from it All," which he regards as his band's finest so far.
First, however, Dan Gabel and the Abletones will be performing a "Summer Swing" concert from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 12 at Andy's Neighborhood Canteen, 9 Frederick St., Webster. Billed as a "big band dance and cocktail party" it will be the band's only dance in Massachusetts this summer, Gabel said.
The band will be making its debut at Andy's Neighborhood Canteen which is "a nice new venue" established in 2021. Gabel grew up in Webster so he should be right at home.
Andy's Neighborhood Canteen has been doing "some live music, but they've certainly never had a big band jazz," Gabel said.
Dan Gabel and the Abletones play big band/swing classics mostly from the 1930s, '40s and '50s and have a "new fantastic featured vocalist," Kimberly Hawkey, and new arrangements, Gabel said.
The Andy's Neighborhood Canteen was formerly a VFW hall, he noted.
The venue is on two levels. The band will play upstairs in the air-conditioned ballroom with a large dance floor, lounge seating, and food and drinks.
"It has the classic look — the stage, bar next to the stage, nice seating, a full dance floor. It just has that vintage vibe to it. I feel a lot of potential there. The venue is really great to work with," Gabel said.
Aug. 12 is also the 90th birthday of Gabel's grandmother. "We'll be honoring her as well."
Gabel has two bachelor's degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master's degree from New England Conservatory. He has played trombone for the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and performed with other bands such as the Cab Calloway, Tommy Dorsey and Hal McIntyre orchestras.
Gabel serves as the president and chief executive officer of the American Big Band Preservation Society — a nonprofit organization based in Boston dedicated to preserving, promoting and performing while keeping music in schools — and also leads the Worcester Youth Jazz Program at Worcester Youth Orchestras.
He will start this fall as professor of Jazz, teaching jazz history, big band and jazz ensembles at Westfield State University. This will be in conjunction with his position with the American Big Band Preservation Society.
The summer has included being a guest artist at the W.C. Handy Festival in Alabama named after the blues composer. The Stoptime Revue played at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new Francis R. Carroll Plaza at the The Hanover Theatre on July 19. The new ensemble, also with Hawkey as vocalist, features music from Broadway shows, classic Big Band hits, and hits from the Great American Songbook.
Also this summer Dan Gabel and his bands have been at bandstand concerts in towns such as Leicester, Oakham, Sturbridge and West Boylston; shows in retirements communities (The Willows in Westborough and Southgate at Shrewsbury); private gigs; and other trips out of state to places including Nyack, New York.
Not much of that would have been possible two years ago as the pandemic lingered.
Now, "it's still interesting. In some ways it's better, but I haven't seen the full return (of audiences)," Gabel said.
"Certainly the bookings are up. The interest in live music is back, but I'm not sure that the audiences are back to what they were in some of the venues we've been playing for years. Quality over quantity is the feeling I'm getting," he said.
He's taking that approach with the biography of Vaughn Monroe (“Red Roses For A Blue Lady,” “There, I’ve Said It Again," “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let it Snow"). Gabel has previously developed "The Vaughn Monroe Show," complete with Monroe's Moon Maids singers, who originally were female college students from Texas. Monroe's family have given their blessing to Gabel's efforts. He's conducted a number of interviews with family members and said he hopes to spend more time on the book in the fall before the holiday season of gigs starts up.
Also, Dan Gabel and the Abletones have two pending albums, "Tonight ... in Dreamland" and "Let's Get Away From it All."
The band accompanied Glenn Miller Orchestra vocalist Jenny Swoish on her album "Tonight ... In Dreamland" which includes the 1909 song "Meet me Tonight in Dreamland" made popular by the Mills Brothers, Vaughn Monroe and others.
Dan Gabel and the Abletones with the Moon Maids have recorded "Let's Get Away From it All." "The band, the arrangements, the sound, it's stunning," Gabel said.
"It's the first album I think I've done where I would say 'I would listen to this,' " he said.
"I don't want to rush to get it out. I wanted to put it out over the summer but knew I wanted to put the time in to do it right. The pandemic taught us to appreciate the little things, and come up with the best you can."
Meanwhile, "Summer Swing" Aug. 12 also promises to see the Dan Gabel and the Abletones band at its best.
Andy's Neighborhood Canteen could become a regular home for concerts, Gabel said.
The "Summer Swing" concert on Aug. 12 is "sort of a test to see how it goes. We're looking for something to do regular again. I hope it's a great venue for us. I hope people come out. It's a great place to see music," Gabel said.
'Summer Swing' — Dan Gabel and the Abletones
When: 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 12
Where: Andy's Neighborhood Canteen, 9 Frederick St., Webster
How much: $20 (cover charge goes directly to the band) available on Eventbrite.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Dan Gabel and the Abletones getting back in the big band Summer Swing
