Carolyn Kelley

Dr. PalmerMUSE 250

Brass Artist ProjectIn The Mood Jazz Band
A Little About In the Mood Productions
In the Mood: A 1940s Musical Revue is a group of performerssingers, dancers, and
jazz band playerswho celebrate the musical styles of the 1930s and 1940s, the Big Band
era. This was the last time in our history as a country when all Americans were listening and
dancing to the same musicjazz. This group formed in 1993, when the USO appointed them
the official entertainment for the 50th commemoration of the second World War. The singers and
dancers of the group dress in clothes authentic to the time period and the choreography for their
musical dances is based on the dancing styles of the time. The thirteen piece String of Pearls
Orchestra (jazz band) plays authentic musical arrangements of the popular songs and works of
that time period. These famous performers of the 1940s were people like Glenn Miller, Tommy
Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Erskine Hawkins, The Andrews Sisters,
and Frank Sinatra. The production as a whole covers the range of emotions felt before World
War Two and after it, waiting for loved ones to return. This production has been touring the
country for 22 years, and occasionally performing outside the US, in New Zealand, Canada, the
Netherlands, and Australia. While touring in the US, they perform 30 or more shows in a two
month time period, including the time spent driving from one state to the next. This group has
been recognized nationally and has performed in commemorations for World War Two and for
President Clintons inaugural ball.

The performers that make up the group hail from very different parts of the United States
and a variety of backgrounds, like Washington. Most, if not all, performers hold some type of
degree in music and have a variety of field experience in musical performance opportunities
outside of In the Mood. Two of their current performers graduated from Ball State University in
the past, Scott Whitford and James Middleton.
In the Mood Show on CD discography sample:
St. Louis Blues March (Handy)
Yes, Indeed (Oliver)
Well All Right (Faye, Kapp, Raye)
In the Mood (Garland)
Big Band Medley
Swinging On A Star (Van Heusen, Burke)
Jeepers Creepers (Warren, Mercer)

That Old Feeling (Fain, Brown)

Taking a Chance on Love (Duke, Latouche, Fetter) and Aint We Got Fun (Egan, Kahn, Whiting)
Elmers Tune (Albrecht, Gallop, Jurgens) and Chattanooga Choo Choo (Warren, Gordon)
Well, Git It! (Oliver)
Im Getting Sentimental Over You (Bassman) and Moonlight Serenade (Miller, Parish)
Dream (Mercer)
I Cant Get Started (Duke, Gershwin)
Begin the Beguine (Porter)
Serenade In Blue (Warren, Gordon)
Hey! Ba Ba Re Bop (Hamner, Hampton)
Skylark (Carmichael, Mercer) and Mood Indigo ( Bigard, Mills, Ellington)
Say That Were Sweethearts Again (Brent) and Tuxedo Junction (Dash, Feyne, Hawkins,
Johnson)
Resources: http://inthemoodlive.com--The website for the group
Paper program from one of their shows in 2015