Shaw's contract was renewed for another 13 weeks when the program was moved to New York. Shaw broke up the Hollywood band, keeping a nucleus of seven musicians in addition to himself, and filled out the ensemble with New York musicians until March 1941. While taking a few months vacation in the spring of 1941 to reassess what to do next, Shaw recorded in another small group format with three horns and a four-man rhythm section with the addition of a dozen strings and. By September, he formed a big band with seven brass, five saxes, four rhythm, and fifteen strings. Remote broadcasts noted the band performing in good form and Shaw dazzling the crowd with his clarinet. On December 7, three months into the tour, the 31-piece band was in the midst of a matinee performance in Providence, Rhode Island, when he was given a note about the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. The note instructed him to tell military personnel to return to their bases. As the audience left, he knew the band was coming to an end.