A radio station program director I once worked with, Gene Stevens, who now hosts Vintage Favourites on Zoomer Radio here in Canada, once told me about the existence of something called comfort music.
This was the music that teenage Boomers or Gen Xers (like me) heard while growing up.
We weren’t directly listening to it on our transistor radios or buying their albums or singles; we heard it while visiting older relatives. Grandparents would be listening to the music of their youth – the big bands and crooners. We likely brushed it off as “old” music and likely didn’t have much of a taste for it.
However, over time, listening to those songs, often brings us comfort through the memories it evokes.
Comfort music. That’s what the first album in 45 years from the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra feels like; A comforting reminder of times gone by. It should come as no surprise; Dorsey himself was known as the “Sentimental Gentleman of Swing.”
The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, directed by Jeff Bush, honors the enduring legacy of legendary bandleader Tommy Dorsey with the release of its new album, Sentimental Over You, available for purchase of streaming through Hindsight Records.
It’s their first new album since 1981, the project celebrates the music that helped define the Big Band Era while bringing a fresh perspective to Dorsey’s timeless sound. Here’s their fresh take on Opus One, a Tommy Dorsey favourite from 1945:
Recorded in 2026 at Suma Recording Studio in Painesville, Ohio, the album breathes new life into some of Dorsey’s most popular recordings, including “Opus One,” “Yes, Indeed” and “Marie,” while also embracing the evolution of big band music with a fresh take on “Mr. Sandman,” originally made famous by The Chordettes in the 1950s.
This week on the Vinyl Professor Podcast, it’s a sit down with the Musical Director for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Jeff Bush.
Enjoy – Like – Share!
Portions of the interview also aired on my weekly radio show Oldies Without Borders.
Copyright Peter J. Maurin, The Vinyl Professor. Published under Creative Commons License: Attribution/Non-Commercial Use.
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