Published: May 21, 2007 08:37 am      

Famous big band booked for New Albany Speakeasy

Glenn Miller Orchestra playing State Street jazz club’s opening

Brad Tharp wanted a big-name jazz ensemble to open his New Albany club, so he got on the horn.

Tharp called the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which has toured virtually nonstop for 50 years, after he got approval to launch Speakeasy in a vacant State Street building downtown. His friends Chris Fortner (trombone) and Dan Dorff (drums) play in the band; Fortner is from Floyds Knobs

The band called back while Tharp's preparations were still in the early stages and said it could play June 16. Tharp remembers thinking, ’Well, that’ll actually light a fire under me.’

This week, Tharp expects to begin selling 190 tickets for between $20 and $25. He said the band is a well-done tribute to the late bandleader Miller, thought to have died in World War II.

"Even though Glenn Miller's not with them, I saw them a couple weeks ago and you can't tell," Tharp said.

The orchestra plans three sets, with 50 to 60 dancers from the Shall We Dance studio taking the floor for the second and third sets. Studio owner Brandon Thompson has partnered with Tharp and his wife, Lori, in the Speakeasy venture, supplying dancers in exchange for publicity and referrals.

Most of the students are baby-boomers, Thompson said, and they'll return to the club regularly. Thompson wants to present Speakeasy as "a place to come listen to music and dance if you like."

The Tharps are waiting until closer to the opening to book other acts for specific timeslots. The business side is time-consuming; Tharp plans to hire 10 to 12 servers and just as many in the kitchen, run by Cajun and Creole chef Kevin Crum. The restaurant will have a "soft opening" June 6 to train the staff.

"First things first, we have to make sure the restaurant is well on its feet," Tharp said. "I've already been contacted by a lot of groups. I have a couple hundred numbers in my phone book, and maybe five aren't musicians."

Jazz musicians easily outnumber jazz gigs in Louisville, Tharp said, and he hopes to plug Speakeasy into their rotation. The trumpeter plans to lead a big band show at the club every month, eventually every week.

"We're all trying to work together to make it so we can all thrive," Tharp said.

New Albany jazz musician and instructor Jamey Aebersold said he'd attend the opening and hoped to play an October gig at the club.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day there'd be a jazz club in New Albany," Aebersold said.

Perhaps the most gratifying progress for image-conscious New Albanians is that two weeks ago, Speakeasy building owner Steve Resch painted over the tall "FOR SALE" letters emblazoned on the third floor that were viewable from the Sherman Minton Bridge.