The Mike Henebry Orchestra will play in Sierra Madre’s Memorial Park on Sunday, July 2 at 7 p.m.
by Hank Landsberg
When Mike Henebry was 12 years old, he saw “The Glenn Miller Story” and was so moved by the film about the famous bandleader that he formed the Mike Henebry Orchestra, a Big Band featuring music from the ‘30s and ‘40s.
Henebry is fortunate to have obtained over 300 Benny Goodman arrangements as well as many Artie Shaw charts that were acquired directly from Shaw himself. Henebry has a library of over 1,900 charts.
Think Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Harry James, Woody Herman. Think songs such as “In the Mood,” “Moonlight Serenade,” “Let’s Dance,” “Marie,” “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You,” “Flat Foot Floogie,” “A String of Pearls,” “Woodchoppers Ball,” “Little Brown Jug.”
“When you put top-caliber musicians behind the actual music, you get a sound that is nearly identical to the original,” Henebry said. “The band recreates the sound of the bands that gave us what is generally considered to be the very best of the American popular music to date.”
When Mike was a kid he was picked as No. 1 clarinet player in the All Southern California Youth Orchestra. He also plays all types of saxophones and piano. He does many of the arrangements for the orchestra and writes music as well.
Mike, who has been involved in music all of his life, started his orchestra 20 years ago and has between 16 and 18 musicians playing in the Big Band, depending upon the gig.
The 62-year-old musician lives in Cypress with his wife, Erika, and two sons, Robert and David.
The Mike Henebry Orchestra will play a concert from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 2 in the Memorial Park band shell. The event is sponsored by the Sierra Madre 4th of July Committee.
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