Gannett News Service

Wednesday, December 31, 1997

Have a ball watching TV tonight

By MIKE HUGHES

Gannett News Service

TONIGHT’S MUST-SEE: All night, PBS

            ....  11 p.m.:  Now for the peak: “Cincinnati Pops Holiday: Big Band New Year’s Eve” is just about as good as musical TV gets.  Conductor Erich Kunzel has compressed the entire big-band era into 90 minutes.  He included all the best pieces, from Duke Ellington to Benny Goodman.

         Kunzel’s own bandsmen are joined by imported star power.   Singer Patti Page is fine; some others – trumpeter Doc Severinsen, saxman Eddie Daniels, trombonist Paul Piller – are sensational.