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Getting Into The Swing Of Things

Litigators toot their own horns while playing in big band

By DOUGLAS S. MALAN

Mickey Busca and David Rintoul have known each other for 15 years. They’re both litigators who handle labor and employment matters. But it wasn’t until the two friends got together over a beer last month that they realized they shared something else – both played brass instruments as youngsters and hadn’t played regularly in a long time.

Well, now they’re getting their chops back.

Through a couple of personal connections, the attorneys are now members of the Glenn Hansen Orchestra, a band with nearly two dozen musicians, including vocalists, that plays swing music standards from the 1940s and 1950s.

Busca is the lead trumpeter, responsible for nailing the high-pitched notes that scream out the directions for his four-person trumpet section to follow. Rintoul is part of the trombone quartet that cuts loose with the brassy arrangements from Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra that have become staples of the orchestra’s shows.

“I played swing music growing up and played in different bands before I became a lawyer,” said Busca, a solo practitioner in New London. “I missed the trumpet being part of my life.”

Before Rintoul invited him to join the Glenn Hansen Orchestra, Busca normally polished off his trumpet at New Year’s Eve parties, playing “Auld Lang Syne” and a couple of peppy tunes before calling it a night. Now he’s piercing his office walls for 90 minutes of practice every day after work beyond the orchestra’s weekly rehearsals in Colchester.

And it’s all thanks to Rintoul, who hadn’t thought much about the trombone until his children were part of a production of “Three Penny Opera” in Middletown earlier this year. Spurred by the idea of playing music with his son and daughter, Rintoul started practicing to be part of the music ensemble in the play.

“I hadn’t played trombone for 30 years before getting involved with my kids,” said Rintoul, a partner of Brown, Paindiris & Scott in Glastonbury. “I played a lot of trombone in high school with big bands and orchestras but not much after that.”

Shortly after the “Three Penny Opera” production, Rintoul met a businessman at a networking meeting who mentioned that he played trombone with the Glenn Hansen Orchestra. That led to an invitation to rehearse with the band.

“This is a great break from the law,” Rintoul said. “It’s hard to stop thinking about your work even after you leave the office. But you can’t think about anything else when it comes to playing music or the results are going to be bad.”

The six-year-old orchestra plays a lot of shows in eastern Connecticut, mainly at retirement communities and Elks and Lions clubs. This summer, it scored a gig at the Wolf’s Den at Mohegan Sun. The band leader, Glenn Hansen, has played professionally in big bands, and his father played drums with Benny Goodman.

All-Inclusive Band

The Glenn Hansen Orchestra is considered a community band. Anyone interested in playing music can show up for rehearsals and sign up for lessons. Based on performances in rehearsal, certain members are invited to perform in the monthly shows.

So while there are guys like Busca and Rintoul rediscovering their passion for music, there also are high school and middle school students who are just starting out. “This band gives young players a chance to play high-quality music with experienced musicians,” Rintoul said.

Besides the personal gratification he gets from playing, Busca said that’s one of the reasons he decided to get involved with the band. “I liked the idea of having kids in the orchestra,” he said. “It’s a way to mentor through music.”

Busca has quite a bit of performance experience. Before entering law school, he was a trumpeter in various bands that toured the country and he has played everything from swing music to rock, funk, jazz and even polka.

Despite all of that time on stage, “I was actually intimidated at the first rehearsal [with the Hansen orchestra] because I wasn’t sure if my endurance was up for it,” he said.

Those concerns quickly disappeared, and after a few rehearsals, Busca looks forward to capturing those moments that come when a band is locked into its music.

“You’ll have those nights when one musician is hitting everything just right, and all of the other musicians sense it,” Busca said. “Then there is this electricity on the stage, and it’s almost like the audience doesn’t exist and the musicians are just playing for themselves. You can reach such emotional highs.”

Rintoul said the other great part about playing with the band is that there’s a sense of immediate gratification that doesn’t come from a law practice defined by protracted litigation. “It’s really nice to get something great done in one evening,” he said.

Sometimes that goes beyond playing a set with precision and includes making friends with people he may not have otherwise met.

Busca and Rintoul are the only lawyers in the orchestra, something fellow band members have taken note of. “I think they’re surprised that we’re human,” Rintoul said with a laugh. “They’ll say, ‘You’re awfully nice for a lawyer.’ Mickey and I have been doing our best to show that lawyers are people, too.” •

The Glenn Hansen Orchestra has several holiday shows upcoming, starting Dec. 9 at the Marlborough Senior Center. For more information, visit www.glennhansenorch.org.