German clarinetist and band leader Hugo Strasser (b. April 7, 1922) recently celebrated his 90th birthday and is still going strong. He tours in his home country with two other German big band legends, Max Greger (86) and Paul Kuhn (84).
Strasser formed his first band in 1955 and has performed almost continuously and recorded prolifically since then. Much of his recorded output is of the strict tempo dance variety, which is not exactly my cup of tea. After one or two selections, I find it quite mind-numbing. But I like it when Strasser turns to big band standards like Glenn Miller's American Patrol, which you can listen to and download from the link below.
American Patrol
American Patrol is available on several Hugo Strasser CDs, of which the easiest to find is Das Beste von Hugo Strasser, released by EMI in Germany in 1998. As well, a wide selection of Strasser's recordings is available via digital downloads in Canada and Europe. The download selection in the U.S. is much more limited.
The YouTube take on American Patrol has a cool picture of the maestro ready for some bandstand action.
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