The evolving future of Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ arranging from teenage mechanical music enthusiast Mikey Mills, Cold Spring, KY.  One of my favorites of Mikey's latest work.  He has arranged over 30 tunes, by ear, with full 166 registration.  His goal is to choose obscure tunes that should have been on Wurlitzer rolls but weren't, and to emulate Wurlitzer's style of the period.  Played via midi on a Wurlitzer 165 / 166 band organ.

Take Me To The Midnight Cakewalk Ball - Wurlitzer 166 Band Organ

Delightful new ballad ("Nobody Like You")  composed and arranged by Sjoerd Caspers.  Played on The Glacier, 112 key Verbeeck Concert Organ

Niemand Zoals Jij (Verbeeck 112 Key "Glacier" Organ)

Completed just days ago before arranger Rich Olsen's sudden death, his last and one of his finest arrangements of one of my favorite 20's FT's.  Transcribed from his original Wurlitzer 165 arrangement for the Verbeeck 112 key concert organ, "The Glacier"

Rich Olsen's Final Arrangement - Tain't No Sin To Take Off Your Skin...

Liefste_Sjoerd Caspers_Glacier Fairground Organ

For Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ fans who like LeRoy Shields music or "cues" from Little Rascals, Our Gang, and Laurel and Hardy, here are three tunes from roll 6846, arranged by Rich Olsen played on newly restored Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ, ex:  Lincoln Park, CA

Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ:  Music of Laurel & Hardy, Little Rascals

Special unreleased tune, "I Got Rhythm" played on the ex Lincoln Park Wurlitzer 165 Band Organ

I Got Rhythm_Wurlitzer 165 Lincoln Park

Mikey Mills midi arrangement of this tune played on a Wurlitzer 166 band organ

W166.Under the Double Eagle

New Verbeeck fairground organ.  112 keys, 557 pipes, 17 automatic registers, traditionally built with key frame and pump.  Midi added.  Has illuminated register board to indicate register(s) playing.  In the tradition of the great Carl Frei, Gavioli, and Marenghi.  Tune:  British Legion March, arr. Tom Meijer



Verbeeck 112 Key Fairground Organ - British Legion March

New Verbeeck fairground organ.  112 keys, 557 pipes, 17 automatic registers, traditionally built with key frame and pump.  Midi added.  Has illuminated register board to indicate register(s) playing.  In the tradition of the great Carl Frei, Gavioli, and Marenghi.  Tune:  Me and Jane on a Plane, arr. Hiddo van Os



Verbeeck 112 Key Fairground Organ - Me and Jane on a Plane

Two very different tunes.  The first, Swing Mister Charlie is a Tom Meijer arrangement of a great J. Russell Robinson / Harry Brooks tune which shows off the organ's jazz capabilities.  The second, Lohengrin Prelude Act 3 is a Tom Meijer arangement of a delightful classical piece that highlights the organ's multiple chromatic scales and classical capabilities.

Verbeeck 112 Key Fairground Organ "The Glacier"- Swing Mister Charlie;  Lohengrin Prelude Act 3

Wonderful obscure rag from Guus Van Schaik Martinet in a transcription by Tom Meijer.  Played on Verbeeck 112 key organ, "The Glacier"

Push Through Rag - Verbeeck 112 Key Fairground "The Glacier"

Hot dance hall tune, "Le Danseur de Charleston" an original Decap arrangement with a transcription by Tom Meijer.  Played on the 112w key Verbeeck fairground organ, "The Glacier"

Le Danseur de Charleston - Verbeeck 112 key organ "The Glacier"

For classical music lovers, here's the seldom heard Sonata No. 17 in C Major, K336 by Mozart, in an arrangement by Tom Meijer  This features the organ's four flute and piccolo registers.  Played on the Verbeeck 112 key organ, "The Glacier"

Sonata No. 17 in C Major, K336:  Mozart

Angels, known as the signature hit from Robbie Williams in 1997, voted in 2005 by British public as the best popular hit in 25 years.  Played on the 112 key Verbeeck concert organ in a delightful, haunting arrangement by Sjoerd Caspers

Angels (Robbie Williams)

Just completed by Sjoerd Caspers, the signature tune from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.  Played on the 112 key Verbeeck concert organ, "The Glacier"

Beauty and the Beast - Verbeeck 112 Key Organ "The Glacier"

Just completed by Hiddo van Os, a beautiful medley of five Barbra Streisand favorites:  Guilty; Stranger in a Strange Land; Night of my Life; Our Love; and Promises.  Played on the 112 key Verbeeck concert organ "The Glacier.

Barbra Streisand Medley - 112 Key Verbeeck Organ "The Glacier"

As a child, I was introduced to Dutch street organ music by recordings from "The Arab", and that hooked me for life.  Here is an original arrangement for "The Arab"  by Gerard Razenberg:  "Als sterren flonk'rend aan den hemel staan" (= when stars are shining brightly at the sky) rearranged by Tom Meijer from the old recording for "The Glacier", 112 key Verbeeck organ, doing its best impersonation of "The Arab" 

Glenn Thomas 8

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