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Episodes

Make Believe Ballroom - 2/22/26 Edition
Feb. 20, 2026

Make Believe Ballroom - 2/22/26 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a macabre big band passing, a listener's letter about Ray Anthony, a forgotten drummer, and more records and reminiscences from the golden age of t...
Make Believe Ballroom - 2/13/26 Edition
Feb. 13, 2026

Make Believe Ballroom - 2/13/26 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom, hosted by Jeff Bressler, a look at a bygone record company, movies from the silver screen, how a Bing Crosby financial investment changed audio recording, and more records ...
Make Believe Ballroom - 2/6/26 Edition
Feb. 6, 2026

Make Believe Ballroom - 2/6/26 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, a look at how smaller radio markets got their musical programming, two somewhat forgotten big band era stars, two infamous musicians with checkered ...
Make Believe Ballroom -1/30/26 Edition
Jan. 30, 2026

Make Believe Ballroom -1/30/26 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, a look at a famous jazz club and eatery on an iconic street in New York City, music and discussion about 1930s and 40s small group jazz, and also mo...
Make Believe Ballroom - 1/23/26 Edition
Jan. 23, 2026

Make Believe Ballroom - 1/23/26 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom - the greatest public relations stunt in big band history, a story of the early days of the Ballroom hosted by Martin Block, some well-known arrangers, in addition to many m...
Make Believe Ballroom - 1/16/26 Edition
Jan. 16, 2026

Make Believe Ballroom - 1/16/26 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom - a scholarly way to start a band, a look at two clubs that served military members during WWII with music and cheer, Bing and Andrews Sisters duets history, in addition to ...
Make Believe Ballroom - 1/9/26 Edition
Jan. 9, 2026

Make Believe Ballroom - 1/9/26 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom - the evolution of a riff into a best-selling tune, a look at two hugely popular All-Star bands of the 1930s and 40s, in addition to many more songs and reminisces.
Make Believe Ballroom - 1/2/26 Edition
Jan. 2, 2026

Make Believe Ballroom - 1/2/26 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler - a series of first-time ever recorded songs, an obsolete music industry profession, three great clarinetists overshadowed by Goodman and Shaw - all ...
Make Believe Ballroom - 12/26/25 Edition
Dec. 26, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 12/26/25 Edition

Happy Holiday's! A repeat broadcast as the Make Believe Ballroom crew celebrates. This week's Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s - a big band leader who had to chang...
Make Believe Ballroom - 12/19/25 Edition
Dec. 19, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 12/19/25 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, a listen to some fabulous music from the year 1938, a song Artie Shaw absolutely hated, a big band icon writes a dictionary, and the role the vocali...
Make Believe Ballroom - 12/12/25 Edition
Dec. 12, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 12/12/25 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler, we listen to some music and history from On the Bill Savory Collection. Savory was a radio sound engineer who captured for posterity jazz broadcast ...
Make Believe Ballroom - 12/5/25 Edition
Dec. 5, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 12/5/25 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler: the first time a specific instrument was used in a jazz recording, Jeff’s favorite crooners from the era, a most underrated big band song, plus many...
Make Believe Ballroom - 11/28/25 Edition
Nov. 28, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 11/28/25 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler: the story behind a Count Basie song title, the economic impact of big bands, were Cole Porter and Frank Sinatra friends, plus many more great record...
Make Believe Ballroom - 11/21/25 Edition
Nov. 21, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 11/21/25 Edition

On this week's edition of the Make Believe Ballroom hosted by Jeff Bressler: one of the most touching partnerships in jazz history, jazz music loved by a classical composer, Glenn Miller lends a hand to a fellow musician, plu...
Make Believe Ballroom - 11/14/25 Edition
Nov. 14, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 11/14/25 Edition

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's program: a historic jam session, a listener's request results in a segment about records and artists rarely pl...
Make Believe Ballroom - 11/7/25 Edition
Nov. 7, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 11/7/25 Edition

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's program: a funny Billie Holiday story, some of the wealthiest bandleaders of the era, an out-of-this-world rec...
Make Believe Ballroom - 10/31/25 Edition
Oct. 30, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 10/31/25 Edition

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's program: An introduction to King Garcia, an obscure band with some world-class musicians, the most recorded ba...
Make Believe Ballroom - 10/24/25 Edition
Oct. 24, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 10/24/25 Edition

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's program: Two Bandleaders are better than one, some bands that performed at the legendary Onyx Club, tracing a ...
Make Believe Ballroom - 10/17/25 Edition
Oct. 17, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 10/17/25 Edition

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's program: A song from the 1700s that was swingin in the 1930s and 40s, a questionable Fats Waller tale, Frank S...
Make Believe Ballroom - 10/10/25 Edition
Oct. 10, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 10/10/25 Edition

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's program: A trivia question about a dance enjoyed by young and old alike, a groundbreaking female vocalist, som...
Make Believe Ballroom - 10/3/25 Edition
Oct. 3, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 10/3/25 Edition

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's program: Did Big Bands of the 30s and 40s ever play classical music, the B side of a record we played last wee...
Make Believe Ballroom - 9/26/25 Edition
Sept. 26, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 9/26/25 Edition

The Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this week's program: Lionel Hampton changes instruments, a unique big band business model, Charlie Christian and his elect...
Make Believe Ballroom - 9/19/25 Edition
Sept. 19, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 9/19/25 Edition

This week's Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s. On this edition - the first bandleader ever to appear on the radio, orchestras that were artistic successes but finan...
Make Believe Ballroom - 9/12/25 Edition
Sept. 12, 2025

Make Believe Ballroom - 9/12/25 Edition

This week's Make Believe Ballroom with Jeff Bressler brings you Classic Big Band Hits from the 30s and 40s - a Duke Ellington story, a listener's famous big band relative, an underrated vocal group, a song and dance that was ...