The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra

The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra was one of the more unusual bands associated with the Swing Era, not least because it did not even come into existence until after the Swing Era was over. The outfit's two leaders, Edward Ernest (Eddie) Sauter (b. Dec 2, 1914, in New York [Brooklyn], NY; d. Apr 21, 1981, in West Nyack, NY) and William J. (Bill) Finegan (b. Apr 3, 1917, in Newark, NJ), were each prominent big band arrangers. Sauter, who played mellophone, trumpet, and drums, was educated at Columbia University and the Juilliard School of Music. During the 1930s and '40s, he played, arranged, and wrote tunes for bands led by Archie Bleyer, Charlie Barnet, Red Norvo, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey, Woody Herman, and Ray McKinley. At the same time, Finegan was an arranger for Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Horace Heidt, and Les Elgart. With the decline of the Swing Era, he went to study at the Paris Conservatory in the late 1940s and early '50s, corresponding with his friend Sauter, who was staying in a sanatorium recovering from a bout of tuberculosis. The two decided to unite to create arrangements that would make full use of their creativity, without regard to commercial considerations. That meant a willingness to try unusual things, including such instruments as piccolo, flute, oboe, bass clarinet, harp, English horn, recorder, tuba, glockenspiel, tympani, and kazoo. (Finegan even beat on his chest to imitate the sound of horses' hooves in "Midnight Sleighride"). As a result, while the band was hailed by some for its imaginativeness, it reminded others of the style of musical humorist Spike Jones. Some jazz fans also complained that the arrangements left little room for improvisation. The original idea was to form a studio-only unit, and the two arrangers signed the...