Since 1998 Alan’s vintage-style big band, The Alan Gresik Swing Shift Orchestra, has been in residence every Thursday night from 9pm until 1am at the legendary Chicago jazz club The Green Mill, located at 4802 North Broadway Avenue, in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.

Alan has dedicated his career to preserving the classic big-band sounds of the 1930s and 1940s, when Jazz was America’s popular music for listening, dancing and entertainment. He likes to call it “1930s rock-n-roll”! Our regular patrons at the Green Mill include folks of all ages, from 21 to 101—which is the proof that this great American music is truly timeless. We cordially invite you to come out to dance at the Green Mill every Thursday, where the band is swingin’, the music is classic and the beer is flowin’!

In the 1930s Jazz was everywhere! There were live network radio broadcasts of jazz bands performing in ballrooms, hotels and at radio stations. Seeking an alluring escape from the grim realities of the Great Depression, Americans everywhere found it through the music emanating from their radios. Radio allowed the music of Louie Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Jimmy Lunceford, The Casa Loma Orchestra, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Artie Show, Glen Miller and many others to enter the living rooms of America.

The Alan Gresik Swing Shift Orchestra reproduces an authentic “live radio broadcast” show, complete with singers and radio actors—as if it were a real, live broadcast—every Thursday from the Green Mill. We use period-authentic big band arrangements and transcriptions as played in the 1930s and 1940s on radio and in theaters. In order to keep our performances fresh, Alan has gained access to the Balaban and Katz Theater Orchestra Collection of original stock dance band arrangements and sheet music, now in the possession of the Chicago Public Library. Additionally, Alan has also sought out collectors and private music collections locally and nationally in search of those rare and hard-to-find gems from the Swing Era.

MUSIC FOR HIRE
Do you love the big band sound of the 1930s and 1940s? Are you in search of wonderful, live dance music that everyone can enjoy? Would you like to have excellent musical entertainment for your corporate event, private party,

anniversary celebration, wedding reception or any other special event in your life? Search no more—Gresik Productions is here to help you!

 

We will make your event a successful and truly memorable one! We provide music for all occasions, offering musical ensembles of all sizes from solo piano to a full big band and everything in between. Please contact Alan Gresik at Gresik Productions via email or telephone for further details. With Gresik Productions, your event will be remembered for wonderful music!