Doc Severinsen to Blow into The Paramount

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director for Community Relations and Education
434·979·1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

October 25, 2005

Doc Severinsen can blow a horn like few others. This high-note virtuoso, best known as the bandleader on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, will bring his outstanding musicianship and witty banter to Charlottesville for a concert on Sunday, November 6. The renowned Richmond Symphony will return to The Paramount to perform alongside Severinsen for this program of pops-style music.

A trumpet prodigy, Severinsen was playing professionally by the time he was in high school, and he toured with the Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman bands in the late 1940s. After years as an NBC staff musician, Severinsen landed a gig with the Tonight Show Band, which led to the music directorship of the show, and his prominent thirty-year engagement on late-night television. Within a week of Johnny Carson's final Tonight Show telecast in 1992, Doc Severinsen and His Big Band began touring. Severinsen travels the country to perform with ensembles ranging from symphony orchestras to jazz bands. He has also recorded more than thirty albums ranging in style from big band to jazz-fusion to classical.

The Richmond Symphony is dedicated to achieving excellence in both contemporary and traditional symphonic repertoire. The 48-year old Symphony incorporates classical, gospel, jazz, and contemporary and popular music into their programs, with a goal of making good music interesting and accessible to everyone. The orchestra makes more than 200 public appearances each season, performing for approximately 125,000 patrons. Among various series The Symphony presents each year is Symphonic Pops, which includes lighter popular and classical favorites like those that will be performed on the upcoming concert with Severinsen.

The November 6 concert with Severinsen and The Richmond Symphony will begin at 8 pm. Seats are $52, $49, and $46. Tickets may be ordered online or by contacting The Paramount's Box Office at 434.979.1333.  For more information on Doc Severinsen and The Richmond Symphony, please visit www.docseverinsen.com and www.richmondsymphony.com.

-- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOLLOWS --

Doc Severinsen's accomplishments began in his hometown of Arlington, Oregon, population 600. Carl H. Severinsen was born on July 7, 1927, and was nicknamed "Little Doc" after his father, Dr. Carl Severinsen, who was a dentist. Little Doc originally wanted to play the trombone, but the senior Severinsen, a gifted amateur violinist, urged him to study the violin. The younger Severinsen insisted on the trombone, but had to settle for the only horn available in Arlington's small music store -- a trumpet. A week later, with the help of his father and a manual of instructions, the seven-year-old was so good that he was invited to join the local high school band.

At the age of twelve, Little Doc won the Music Educator's National Contest and, while still in high school, was hired to go on the road with the famous Ted Fio Rito Orchestra. However, his stay with the group was cut short by the draft. He served in the Army during World War II and following his discharge, landed a spot with the Charlie Barnet Band. When this band broke up, Severinsen toured with the Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman bands in the late 40's.

After his days with Barnet and Dorsey, Severinsen arrived in New York City in 1949 to become a staff musician for NBC. After years of playing with the peacock network's studio bands, he was invited to do a gig with the highly respected Tonight Show Band. An impressed conductor, Skitch Henderson, asked him to join that band in 1962 as first trumpet. Five years later, Severinsen took over as Music Director for The Tonight Show. The lead-in of "Heeeeere's Johnny!" followed by a big band trumpet blast was the landmark of late night television for three decades, until Johnny Carson retired from late night television in 1992.

At that point a new career began for Severinsen with Doc Severinsen and His Big Band. The group is composed of The Tonight Show's best musicians -- Ed Shaughnessy on drums, Ernie Watts on tenor sax, and Snooky Young on trumpet. Their repertoire includes Ellington and Basie standards, pop, jazz, ballads, big band classics and, of course, The Tonight Show theme. Audiences are finally able to hear the depth of talent belonging to a band that rarely finished a tune on the air. Severinsen can blow the roof off with a trumpet solo, but he is not the only accomplished soloist. Many of his band members get their well-deserved turns in the spotlight, and the tours are consistently sold out.

Severinsen's newest crusade has been the creation of an instrument made for trumpet players by trumpet players. "For many years, I wished that I could build the horn of my dreams," Severinsen says. "I have recently created my own company that produces a once-in-a-lifetime horn -- the Destino trumpet by Severinsen Custom Trumpets. The Destino is a dream trumpet, handcrafted one-at-the-time, using old-fashioned craftsman techniques." The gold plated Destino from Severinsen Custom Trumpets is available only from Severinsen's website, www.docseverinsen.com.

When not blessing the Destino, Maestro Severinsen travels the country to perform and conduct with a variety of ensembles. In one season alone, Doc travels from Ottawa to Oklahoma City to San Miguel de Allende (Mexico) to San Diego as guest soloist with orchestras, often wearing outfits that are only slightly less brassy than his horn. When not performing with his celebrated group or conducting a major orchestra, he is Principal Pops Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. Doc continues to practice three to four hours daily, "just to warm up."

Two critically acclaimed Telarc CDs with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra showcase Severinsen’s multifaceted talents from Bach to ballads. His newest CD from Amherst, The Very Best of Doc Severinsen, reprises fifteen of Doc's signature pieces. His other recordings include Unforgettably Doc with the Cincinnati Pops on Telarc, and the Grammy nominated Once More With Feeling on Amherst. He received a Grammy Award for "Best Jazz instrumental Performance -- Big Band" for his recording of Doc Severinsen and The Tonight Show Band-Volume I. Doc Severinsen and His Big Band/Swingin' the Blues is his latest release with Ed Shaughnessy and Ernie Watts.

Severinsen has not lost his flair for outrageous fashions and witty banter. A genuinely funny man and always a fashion fiend, he is highly regarded as one of the most technically-proficient trumpeters, with stage presence rivaling that of any musician performing today. Somewhere along Severinsen's journey from Oregon to New York, the "Little" was lost, but he remains ageless. Doc Severinsen continues to be a favorite of audiences across America.