As far as Dennis Gore, principal organizer of the upcoming Oct. 18 hangar dance at Carroll County Regional Airport is concerned, the local swing big band Never Too Late is right on time.

Last year, when Gore was putting together his first dance in conjunction with Wings of Freedom Tour's annual stop at the airport, he was having trouble finding a band that fit his limited budget.

Then again, he didn't want just any band. He wanted an ensemble that could keep in tune and in time with the tenor of the event, which includes ground tours and airborne jaunts in vintage World War II aircraft owned and maintained by the nonprofit Collings Foundation.

In short, Gore needed a band that could really swing in the authentic World War II era, big band-style.

So it seemed like serendipity when he ran into members of the 11-piece Never Too Late swing band, whose home base is Westminster's Carroll Lutheran Village retirement community.

"I told them I needed a band but I was putting the hangar dance together on a shoestring budget," Gore, a Westminster resident and Carroll County Public Schools employee, recalled with a grin. "(Bandleader) Bob Allman said, 'We're not worried about that; we play for fun.'

"I just said, 'Good, that fits my budget!' " laughed Gore.

At last year's dance, attendees more than got their money's worth. Never Too Late, whose members are retired music teachers and semi-retired professional musicians, definitely swings and definitely has a magical feel for '40s-style jazz.

Bandleader and saxophone player Bob Allman has been playing music nearly his entire life. So has his wife Norma, who plays trombone in the band. Both are retired Baltimore County music teachers.

Allman says the roots of Never Too Late go back about three years, to when he and Norma were in the process of moving to Carroll Lutheran Village.

"I was being interviewed by a staff member and I noticed her ears perk up when she asked what my interests were and I explained my background in music," he recalled

After they moved in, the Allmans were put in touch with other accomplished jazz musicians residing in the retirement community. They soon began holding weekly rehearsals and jam sessions in their apartment.

"After the band got bigger we moved our rehearsals to the bistro here at Carroll Lutheran," Allman says. "People heard us and pretty soon word got around."

Since most of the band's members are retirees, Never Too Late has the luxury of choosing its performance dates. In recent months, the band has played at area schools and also provided the music for a benefit walk-a-thon to raise money for heart research.

Allman describes Never Too Late's repertoire as "lots of Woody Herman and almost everything Glenn Miller ever did."

That of course proved a big hit at last year's hangar dance.

"Lots of people danced to almost everything we played, which is a big motivation for the band," he recalled. "Whenever you're appreciated that much, it makes you play that much better."

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