When Binary Sky Records first uncovered the forgotten acetates of Arthur Ingrams & the Starlight Serenaders, no one could have guessed the journey that lay ahead. The recordings — very fragile, incomplete, and so scratched they where almost impossible to hear, offered only the tiniest glimpse of the man’s vision: fragments of melody, flashes of brass, and a tiny hint of woodwind harmonies.
But within those fragments of music, were tunes that I thought sounded fantastic, especially ‘Sometime I Wonder’ that had a lovely, heartfelt almost longing feeling to it.
This tune also revealed that Arthur used strings in his arrangements, although not unheard of, is more unusual in Big Band, and gives a wonderful opportunity to explore a richer musical pallet — a choice that became central to my new arrangements, blending classic swing instrumentation with lush orchestral textures.
As a lifelong admirer of the greats — Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Charlie Parker, Stan Kenton — I felt a responsibility to give Arthur's music the second life it deserved. Rather than attempt a straight restoration, the goal became something more creative: I wanted to re-imagine what these pieces might have been, had Arthur and his orchestra been given the chance to record them properly.
Using a blend of state of the art production techniques and classic orchestration, I began reworking each piece — keeping the soul of the original era, but presenting it through the clarity of today’s sound. This wasn’t about rewriting history; it was about honouring it.
The result is something I like to think Arthur himself would have appreciated: rich strings meeting soaring brass, heartfelt melodies that hopefully want to make people dance, nostalgic and hopefully inspire others to seek out more music from this golden age, where (to me anyway) everything revolved around that wonderful swagger…and its timeless ability to make milkmen up and down the country whistle the tunes…even if it was at 5am!
It’s not just about the past — it’s about keeping that spirit alive, reminding us why this music mattered then, and why it still does now.
— Paul Del-Nevo, Binary Sky Records
Release available soon via Binary Sky Records.
Restored, reimagined, and re-introduced for the modern world.