IT'S TIME FOR BIG BAND SOUNDS

For many readers of the Southeast Missourian, the story and photograph about the students at Jackson High School who are preparing for a Big Band Gala Dance this Saturday brought back a lot of good memories. Remember those sounds? Some of our bodies have a few more aches than they did in those days, but our minds can still recall the fun of a dance with a live band playing all those favorites.

And look at the faces of the students in the photo. They're smiling. They look like they are having a really good time.

The Big Band era isn't ever going to hit the top of the music charts again, but it continues to find an appreciative audience most everywhere it crops up across the land. And it's not just a trip down memory lane, although older folks can appreciate the sounds and the moves based on firsthand experience.

Younger folks too are being introduced to not just the melodies, but also the classic Big Band arrangements of some of the finest music ever produced.

It may be too much to hope for, but is it possible that a new generation will take such a shine to Big Band music that the sounds coming from car stereos will sound like Glenn Miller?

By the way, anyone who likes Big Band music should make plans to attend the Evening of Jazz, with the Jim Widner Big Band and jazz trumpeter Clark Terry, set for 7:30 p.m. April 28 at Southeast Missouri State University's Academic Auditorium.