the voice of traditional jazz and ragtime

EST 1973

THE VOICE OF TRADITIONAL JAZZ AND RAGTIMEJANUARY 2007 VOL 34 NO1

An Old Tradition

A New Beginning hellipWelcome to new readers and old friends In this our first electronic issue

The Mississippi Rag begins the new year with a new identity melding themusic of yesterday with the technology of today expanding our musicalreach via the exciting possibilities of the Internet This month we look backat multi-talented Einar Swan at left above then jet ahead to a British Fes-tival where Aurelie Tropez and Stephane Gillot right made sweet music Andtheres more Kenny Davern Jay McShann West Coast Ragtime Reviews

Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out Search Issue | Next PageFor navigation instructions please click here

| January 2007

Now in our 20th year our purpose is to preserve Dixieland and Traditional Jazz as an American Art Form by the presentation of live performances and by providing

scholarships for music programs and music studentsthroughout the Coachella Valley

Help support our cause by becoming a member and supporting or sponsoring our events

Sunday Social Dances at The Elks Lodge

67-491 Hwy 111 bull Palm Springs bull 130 - 430 pm3rd Sunday of each month October - May

Swing n Dixie Jazz Festival March 9 10 amp 11 2007

The Mike Henebry Orchestra bull High Sierra bull Royal Dixie Jazz Band

Barbary Coast bull Night Blooming Jazzmen bull Yve Evans and Company

Chicago Six bull Titanic Jazz Band bull High Society Jazz Band

Palm Springs High School Band bull Cathedral City High School Band

Four Palm Springs venues within walking distance of each other

Mizell Senior Center - 480 S Sunrise WayThe Pavilion - 401 S Pavilion Way

Palm Springs Boys and Girls Club - 450 S Sunrise WayPalm Springs High School Auditorium - 2248 E Ramon Rd

Dixieland Music at Club Trinidad on Friday amp Saturday at 9 pm

For more detailed information visit our web-site

wwwdesertjazzorgLola Rossi President

Johnny Meza Festival Director(760) 333-7932 bull (760) 322-8530PO Box 1000 bull Cathedral City CA 92235

Special performance byMR BUDDY GRECO with MISS LEZLIE ANDERS

They will draw the winning tickets for the Scholarship Raffle on Sunday

Palm Springs bull California

M SaGEF

January 2007 | Page 3

Vol XXXIV No 1 January 2007

Established 1973 Published monthly by The Mississippi Rag Inc 9448 Lyndale AveSo Suite 120 Bloomington MN 55420 Trademark registered USPatent Office Entire contents copy2007 by The Mississippi Rag IncAll rights reserved Reproduction of contents (except short quotes)prohibited without written permission from the publisher Sub-scription rate $6 for 3-month trial subscription $12 for six monthsSingle copy price $300 Back issues $300 per copy Visa andMasterCard accepted

Canadian and other foreign subscribers are asked to pay by Visa Mas-terCard International Money Orders or checks drawn on US banksThe RAGtrade cannot accept checks in Canadian dollars or other foreigncurrency due to prohibitive bank processing charges

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

Subscribers please send change of e-mail address andor streetaddress at least one month in advance to The Mississippi RagPO Box 19068 Minneapolis MN 55419 Be sure to give both oldaddress and new address

Mississippi Rag ISSN 0742-4612

Phone (952) 885-9918 Fax (952) 885-9943

Web Site wwwmississippiragcom

Webmaster Jeff Holman wwwmakingmediacom

EditorPublisher Leslie Johnson

E-mail editormississippiragcom

Contributing Editors Roscoe AllenJohn Bitter George ABorgman Bob Byler Will Connelly Chip Deffaa Mary Lee HesterDennis A Johnson Rich Johnson EJ McNicol Bill Mitchell DavidReffkin William Schafer Duncan Schiedt Butch Thompson PaigeVan Vorst Kathy and Andrew Wittenborn

Reviewers Jim Adashek Edward A Berlin George A BorgmanClarrie Henley Jerry Kline Jim Leigh Bill Mitchell John R NelsonDavid Reffkin William J Schafer Will Shapira Hal Smith MichaelSteinman Butch Thompson Paige Van Vorst Scott Yanow

Columnists George A Borgman (New England) Derek Coller(Great Britain) Tom Jacobsen (New Orleans) David French (NY-NJ) Jim Leigh (West Coast) Bob Lynn (SouthwestMountain) WillShapira (Heartland) Brian Towers (Canada) Dave Robinson (Tradi-tional Jazz Educators Network) Bob Byler (Florida)

Correspondents Eddy Banjura (Illinois Indiana) Rich John-son (Quad-Cities Iowa) EJ McNicol (Mountain States) John Mai-mone (New York New Jersey) Larry Quilligan (Fla) HelenWallace (Kansas City) Gary Wilkinson (Washington DC)

International Correspondents Brian Towers (Toronto On-tario Canada) John Larsen (Denmark) Gegraverard Conte Art Fell andPeter Gaskell (France) Derek Coller Clarrie Henley (Great Britain)Marek Boym (IsraelEurope) Giichi Oya (Japan) Claes Ringqvist(Sweden)

Circulation Jody Hughes Mgr Tony Johnson

Photo Credits Cover photo and all other Einar Swan photos cour-tesy Donald Swan Jacques Gautheacute photos courtesy Brian Towers colorphoto of Jay McShann by Bill Smith other Jay McShann photos by Den-nis A Johnson Kenny Davern photo by Clarrie Henley Claude Luterphoto by Ed Lawless ldquoJazz in the Sunrdquo photos by Bob Byler ldquoNew Or-leans Notesrdquo photos by Tom Jacobsen West Coast Ragtime Festivalphotos by Bob Lynn ldquoNew York Newsrdquo photo by Ayano HisaJazz at Lin-coln Center British festival photos by Andrew Wittenborn Jens Lindgrenphoto courtesy Jens Lindgren Reneacutee Johnson photo by Leslie John-son

DesignProduction David Lindquist ProType Design

EditorialAdvertising Office

The Mississippi Rag 9448 Lyndale Ave So 120 BloomingtonMN 55420 Phone (952) 885-9918 Fax (952) 885-9943

Subscription Address

The Mississippi Rag

PO Box 19068

Minneapolis MN 55419 USA

Please enclose self-addressed stamped envelope with unsolicitededitorial material The Mississippi Rag assumes no responsibilityfor return of unsolicited manuscripts or art

Cover Story Who Was Einar Swan Page 11by Sven Bjerstedt

A mystery surrounds the composer and lyricist ofldquoWhen Your Lover Has Gonerdquo Here Swan isshown when he led Swaniersquos Serenaders in 1924

FeaturesThe British Festivals of 2006 Page 29by Andy and Kathy Wittenborn Andy Woon plays Bix during a performance calledldquoA Celebration of Bixrdquo at the Whitley Bay Festival

They All Played Ragtime at WCRF Page 41by Bob Lynn

Dan Grinstead played with his Evergreen Rag-time Trio at the West Coast Ragtime Festival

From Randyrsquos Scrapbook Page 47

The Rag Bag Letters to the Editor Page 14

Editorial Page 15

Final NotesJay McShann Page 18Kenny Davern Page 19Claude Luter Page 19Farewells Page 27

ColumnsJazz in Mountain Time Page 40Jazz in the Heartland Page 26

Jazz in the Sun Page 20Eleven-year-old Jonathan Russell was abig hit at the Suncoast Dixieland Classicat Clearwater Beach Fla in November

New Orleans Notes Page 42New York News Page 10Report From Britaiin Page 18View From Canada Page 6Yankee Jazz Beat Page 28

ListingsClubs Page 46Festivals Page 22Onstage Page 23Upcoming Festivals Page 25

ReviewsCDs Page 34Books Page 38

On The Cover Musical prodigy Einar Swan (left) poses with his father John and siblings Ellen Anneand Walter as the Swan Family Orchestra c 1915 In 1916 his first known musical com-position (copy1914) was published in the ISRK-Union Summer Publication (PhotoCourtesy Donald Swan)

THE VOICE OF TRADITIONAL JAZZ AND RAGTIME

______________

M SaGEF

| January 2007

The Rag BagI love your piece ldquoGlen Gray And The

Casa Loma Orchestrardquo as it brings backmemories going back to 1936 One of thefirst big bands that I heard was BennieMoten hellip the next Glen Gray when theCasa Loma orchestra played the OldMill in Topeka Kansas July 1936 Ilearned that Glen was staying with acousin of his who happened to live nextdoor to me I met him there one after-noon hellip got a great snapshot and his autograph hellipGlen ldquoSpikerdquo Gray Sever-al months later I wasattending DePauw Uni-versity Greencastle Indi-ana I read in the Indi-anapolis paper that theCasa Loma band wasplaying one weekend atthe Indiana Roof Ball-room I took the interur-ban rail over to Indianapo-lis and luckily found thatGlen Gray was registeredat the Claypool HotelWhen I called his roomand identified myself hesaid ldquoCome on uprdquo

When I entered theroom and shook handswith Glen he introducedme to Kenny Sargeantand Pee Wee Hunt whowere lounging on a bed lis-tening to a New York bandbroadcast hellip forget theband Glen offered me adrink hellip Four Roses Irecall him telling me thatafter he left the CamelCaravan radio show hehad a hard time gettinganother sponsor hellip when-ever the band played theirtheme ldquoSmoke Ringsrdquo lis-teners thought of Camelcigarettes

As an aside as I waswalking through the hotellobby after my memorablevisit with Glen I ran intoanother acquaintance fromTopeka I shook hands withGovernor Alf Landon cam-paigning in Indiana duringhis run against Franklin DRoosevelt

One of my favoriterecordings is the Casa Loma rendition ofldquoSmoke Ringsrdquo with Clarence Hutchen-rider playing the great clarinet solo Thenext fave is ldquoMemories of Yourdquo with Son-ny Dunhamrsquos solo

Irsquove been interested in jazz ever since Imet Jay McShann when he played at Mar-tins-on-the-Plaza in Kansas City hellip withGus Johnson Jr and a young CharlieParker whom Jay hired after Charlie saidhe had spent some time in the Ozarksplaying with Walter Pagersquos band hellip and heldquowas trying out different thingsrdquo

Irsquom sure itrsquos all written elsewhere butI recall Jay telling me that Earl Hines

wanted Charlie Parker Jay said thatHines told him ldquoJay Irsquom going to gethim hellip I can pay him more than you canand Irsquom taking himrdquo Jay told me thatseveral months later Earl called him

and pleaded ldquoTake him back please Icanrsquot deal with himrdquo

I was at the Pla-mor Ballroom whereJay was playing one night and was hauledoff the bandstand and away because hehadnrsquot answered numerous 1A draftnotices Jay explained he had been travel-ing and hadnrsquot picked up his mail for sometime Anyway he was drafted and sent toLeavenworth to be inducted For some

physical reasons Jay wasreleased A month or twolater I was walkingthrough the KC airport ter-minal building one after-noon when I ran into Jaywho was ready to board aBraniff flight to New Yorkwhere he was taking hisband to play the Savoy Hewas so pleased and thankedme for taking the time tocome to the airport to seehim off I never told Jaythat I was working thatafternoon at the air trafficcontrol center and was justtaking a coffee break

Jay was at his besttelling the oft-repeatedstory about driving fromKC to Lincoln to play adance at Nebraska Uwhen the car that he andParker were in hit a chick-en Parker threatened tojump out if the driverdidnrsquot stop the car so hecould pick it up off thetwo-lane highway Blackscouldnrsquot stay in hotelsthen and had to stay inhomes Charlie took thebeat-up chicken in to thelady of the house and hadher cook it for him for din-ner that night As youknow Charlie Parker gotthe name Yardbird hellipshortened to Bird hellip afterthat incident I thought ofit when I was in Cannesand Clint Eastwood wasshowing his film Bird

When Janet and I livedin Red Bridge hellip southernpart of Kansas City hellip Jayplayed weekends at theCongo Club a few blocks

from us One Saturday night when itwas time to close I asked Jay to followme to stop in and play our new Ham-mond organ As we were driving downthe street I looked back and saw Jayrsquos

Subscriber Judie Bruno sent the following informationfrom the ADA website regarding handicapped access at festi-vals Itrsquos valuable information for both the festival producersto have and for attendees to know Audiences for trad jazzand ragtime events are getting elderly with a goodly numberusing walkers or wheelchairs so itrsquos to their benefit to havethe facts

Wheelchair accessible seating is required At least one percentof the seating must be wheelchair seating locations Each wheel-chair seating location is an open level space that accommodatesone person using a wheelchair and has a smooth stable andslip-resistant surface

Accessible seating must be an integral part of the seating planso that people using wheelchairs are not isolated from otherspectators or their friends or family

A companion seat must be provided next to each wheelchairseating location The companion seat is a conventional seat thataccommodates a friend or companion

Wheelchair seating locations must be provided in all areasincluding sky boxes and specialty areas

Removable or folding seats can be provided in wheelchair seat-ing locations for use by persons who do not use wheelchairs sothe facility does not lose revenue when not all wheelchair seatinglocations are ticketed to persons who use wheelchairs

Whenever more than 300 seats are provided wheelchair seat-ing locations must be provided in more than one location This isknown as dispersed seating Wheelchair seating locations mustbe dispersed throughout all seating areas and provide a choice ofadmission prices and views comparable to those for the generalpublic

Wheelchair seating locations must be on an accessible routethat provides access from parking and transportation areas andthat connects to all public areas including concessions restau-rants rest rooms public telephones and exits

Wheelchair seating locations must provide lines of sight com-parable to those provided to other spectators In stadiums wherespectators can be expected to stand during the show or event (forexample football baseball basketball games or rock concerts)all or substantially all of the wheelchair seating locations mustprovide a line of sight over standing spectators A comparableline of sight allows a person using a wheelchair to see the play-ing surface between the heads and over the shoulders of the per-sons standing in the row immediately in front and over theheads of the persons standing two rows in front

M SaGEF

car along with four or five other cars fol-lowing him to my place Jay had invitedthe remaining folks at the club to comealong too without my knowing it Afterhe had played the organ a few timesJay suddenly got up and said he had toleave He explained to me later that hehad forgotten that he had let his singerPriscilla off to use the pay phone to callher daughter and drove off without herIt must have been about 10 degrees out-side He never came back to my placewith Priscilla whom Jay said wasrather peeved to say the least aboutbeing left out in the cold

I heard Jay many times during theearly 1940s mostly when he played atTootiersquos Mayfair Club just south of thecity limits so it could stay open after the1 am Kansas City closing time Jayplayed with Doc Brucersquos band a lotBruce used to feature bassist WalterPage of the Blue Devilsrsquo fame Jay alsohad a drummer Paul Gunther who wasgreat but would not travel so neverbecame well known

Bill Smith Palm Desert Calif

I think it fitting that our friendGeorge Borgmanrsquos article on Casa Lomawas the last lead story in your finalprint issue Glen Grayrsquos orchestra wasone of our (my wife amp I) favorite bandsto dance to

I play in a couple of big bands andsome small jazz groups and I enjoytelling some of the younger kids (thosein their 40s or 50s) about MurrayMcEachern Clarence HutchenriderSonny Dunham Billy Rauch et al

Good luck with your new version ofthe RAG

Donald B McLeanRiverside RI

J azz in the Tradition ofndashCH I CAGO NEW YORK SW ING GROUPS

All players appear at all sessionsEach session features different combinations of these great players Every session is unique and no tune is repeated

Our all-star program is presented in one venue the Grand Ballroom with cabaret-style seatingCome experience our Southern hospitality and find out why they call us mdash HOTlanta

Cornet amp TrumpetED POLCER

RANDY REINHART

TromboneBOB HAVENSDAN BARRETT

ReedsKEN PEPLOWSKIALLAN VACHEacuteTOM FISCHER

CLASSIC JAZZ AT ITS FINEST

Make checks payable to ATLANTA JAZZ PARTY and mail with reservation form (confirmations will be sent)1301 Fort Stephenson Oval Lookout Mountain TN 37350 423-821-4461

e-mail atleeobcaolcom Visit our web-site wwwatlantajazzpartycom

PLEASE RESERVE______ PATRONS BADGES $210person all events Saturday brunch reserved preferred

seating and your name listed in program______ Friday night only $50 mdash 730 pm - 1200 midnight______ Saturday Patrons SPECIAL Jazz Brunch PATRONS ONLY mdash 1030 am - 1200 noon______ Saturday afternoon only $45 mdash 100 pm - 500 pm______ Saturday night only $50 mdash 730 pm - 1200 midnight______ Sunday afternoon only $45 mdash 1100 am - 300 pm

Name ___________________________________________________________________

Address _________________________________________________________________

City _________________________________________ State ______ Zip _____________

PATRONS

THIS WILL BE A CLEAN AIR JAZZ PARTY

paper recycles

LEE amp PHIL CARROLL

INVITE YOU TO THE

18TH ANNUAL

Atlanta Jazz PartyAPRIL 20 21 amp 22 2007

FRIDAY SATURDAY amp SUNDAY

THE WESTIN ATLANTA NORTH

SPECIAL HOTEL RATES

1-888-733-76668 - 5 Eastern Standard Time

refer toATLANTA JAZZ PARTY

Piano amp VibesJOHN COCUZZIMARK SHANE

JOHN SHERIDAN

GuitarBUCKY PIZZARELLIEDDIE ERICKSONMATT MUNISTERIREBECCA KILGORE

BassFRANK TATEJOEL FORBES

NICKI PARROTT

DrumsED METZ JRKEVIN DORN

VocalsREBECCA KILGORE

JOHN COCUZZIand others

Welcome to the RAGrsquos new worldThe last print RAG was published

in October 2006 but therersquos been notime for dillydallying Since then wehave redesigned both the RAG andthe RAGrsquos website published a spe-cial website edition mini-RAG pro-duced the new Online RAG convert-ed the mailing list to an e-mail listand survived the holidays Yikes

Itrsquos been a lot of work but therehave been many rewarding momentsItrsquos been fun seeing the new RAGemerge replete with color and hyper-links and working with ProTypersquosDave Lindquist on production is a joy

Both Dave and the RAGrsquos webmasterJeff Holman have great ideas and areincredibly flexible in accommodatingmy needs Please check out Jeff rsquos finework at wwwmississippiragcomwhere wersquoll post up-to-date informa-tion about the Online RAG and con-tinue to offer user-friendly access to avariety of website delights

These past months have remindedme too of how wonderful you areThere have been many enjoyablechats and many encouraging e-mailsand letters as yoursquove provided your e-mail addresses Irsquove been especiallypleased to learn how extensivelyyoursquove used the listings and ads topursue your musical passions In factsubscribers who arenrsquot online have

groaned ldquoWhat will I do without theRAGrdquo As wersquove talked Irsquove offeredoptions and many have been able toarrange for a relative or friend todownload the RAG and print it outfor them Naysayers thought youwould resist the change but wersquorefinding you are far more adventurousthan they thought Not only that youhave been wonderfully understand-ing about my need to make thechange and I am deeply grateful forthat

With best wishes for a truly HappyNew Year

EditorPublisher

Editorial

______

M SaGEF

| January 2007

Toronto jazz aficionados have just enjoyed(as I write) a weekend of jazz with JacquesGautheacute who was in Toronto from NewOrleans for a concert and a recording sessionJacques suffered badly when Hurricane Kat-rina struck losing some of his instrumentsall of his photos CDs and artifacts His homewas a write-off The strain and stress of thedisaster brought on a heart attack ndash the laststraw Thankfully Jacques has recovered andis playing as well as ever

The concert was staged by the Classic JazzSociety of Toronto which has been sufferinglean times of late This event held Dec 1was a huge success however with the bestattendance for several years The supporting

band was made of up ofjazz musicians from vari-

ous local groups ndash four veterans and twoyoungsters The Jazz Wizards contributedReide Kaiser piano and Colin Bray stringbass From the Happy Pals came PatrickTevlin trumpet The Hot Five Jazzmakersprovided Brian Towers (yours truly) trom-bone One of the new faces on stage was thatof drummer Lowell Whitty He is just 20years old and plays with the Lilrsquo Blue DevilsHe is currently a jazz student at Humber Col-lege but successfully plays in the old-timestyle that is ldquowith balls and rhythmrdquo Iguess the school has not yet reached the JohnColtrane indoctrination stage as yet

The final new face (for me anyway) wasguitarist Mike Daley He could not playacoustic for the concert due to the balancingproblems on the huge stage but he sounded

great even though ldquoplugged inrdquo Mike is agenuine musicologist and collector He likesto research the history of popular music andin August 2006 earned a PhD in ethnomusi-cology from York University in Toronto Hisdissertation was ldquoA Historiography of RockMusic 1955-1976rdquo Mikersquos best-known workis on the music of Bob Dylan for which hewon a York Thesis Prize in 1997 He hasplayed with many bands including JeffHealeyrsquos jazz and rock groups and the Hog-town Syncopators which has a Friday nightresidency at the Rex Tavern on QueenStreet Toronto

After the session was over we went alongto Grossmanrsquos where the lively Happy Palswere holding forth in their usual exuberantfashion Jacques sat in here and brought thehouse down with his powerful Bechet-tingedclarinet Following the live jazz Jacques hadtwo days of recording a quartet which mayresult in a CD issue eventually We all hopeto see him back soon

December 1 was auspicious for anotherreason too John Norris had copies of a newSackville recording on sale at the Jazz Soci-etyrsquos concert The new CD features the KennyDavern Trio and is entitled No One Else ButKenny This is a star-studded trio whichincluded New Orleans residents Dave Boed-dinghaus on piano and Trevor Richards ondrums It was recorded in Toronto at PhaseOne Studios on March 19 2006 followinganother Classic Jazz Society concert The CDis Sackville SKCD2-3069 It can be purchaseddirectly from John Norris by phoning him at(416) 466-8871 and paying by VISA or bysending a check to him at 73 Brooklyn AveToronto ON M4M 2X4 Canada

Other news in brief Silverleaf Jazz Bandtrombonist Manfred Koch organized an after-noon of jazz at the Chick lsquoN Deli Toronto onSunday Nov 19 It was a jazz fundraiser forHaiti and the event which attracted 23 per-formers pulled in Can$1200 In BarrieOntario the long-standing Simcoe County

View From Canadaby Brian Towers

Jacques Gautheacute (at far right) played clarinet with (from left) Brian Towers trom-bone Andrej Saradin cornet Jamie Macpherson banjo Bryan Day bass andJanet Shaw reeds

M SaGEF

Jazz Society appointed a new SecretaryEric Fellowes and a new TreasurerGeorge Reeve The Society meets on thethird Sunday of every month at theSticky Fingers Bar amp Grill 199 EssaRoad Barrie The Climax Jazz Bandresident Saturday matinee band at theChick lsquoN Deli Toronto since 1983 cele-brated its 35th anniversary in 2006 Cli-max joins another jazz cruise Feb 212007 ndash a ten-day one along the resorts ofMexico More information is available bye-mailing jazzseaaolcom

In Kitchener the Lancaster Jazz Clubkicks off its Saturday matinee winterseason on January 6 with Brian Dins-dale and His All Stars The clubrsquos Can-Am day (Canadian- American) is March18 when the featured jazz bands will beClimax and Ragweed both Toronto-based bands Two ace pianists will alsobe featured Robert Scott and JordanKlapman who among many other rolesplays piano in the Hot Five Jazzmakerswhen they are a seven-piece band

Just across the border in New YorkState the Queen City Jazz Society kicksoff the New Year with the Bison CityStompers at Sean Patrickrsquos 3480 Miller-sport Hwy The session runs from 5 till 8pm

Back in Toronto we report the closingof Healeyrsquos club at 178 Bathust Street Anew club opened Dec 15 called JeffHealeyrsquos Road House Itrsquos at 56 BlueJays Way Toronto On most Saturdayafternoons Jeff will feature his JazzWizards

Imagine Holidays (ethelimagineholi-daysca) is putting together another tourplan for the 2007 French Quarter Festi-val in New Orleans The flight will leaveApril 12 from Toronto and return Mon-

day April 16 Accommo-dations will be at TheOlivier House in theFrench Quarter Cost forthe four nights basedupon double occupancywould be aroundCan$932

From Canadarsquos EastCoast we received somesad news as reported bythe Vancouver Sun Aftera 32-year existenceVancouverrsquos Hot JazzClub has closed its clubat 2120 Main Streetevidently due to unac-ceptable lease renewalterms Its final dancewas on Nov 28 whenthey featured the 16-piece Old Blue Eyes BigBand In its day thisclub featured the topjazz traditional-styledjazz bands in the area

and many will have fond memories ofthis era

On another sad note the Toronto jazzfraternity lost a devoted and loyal tradi-tional jazz fan and much-loved bandsupporter when Joan Davidson diedAugust 11 She had a long and painfulfight with pulmonary disease Joan wifeof Gord Davidson was 77 years old andwill be sorely missed by us all My mem-ories of Joan will always include theway she jokingly sorted out those care-less bandleaders who announced ldquothenext number will be lsquoPanama Ragrsquordquo andthen proceeded to play the wrong tune

Joan knew her jazz and pointed outthat the popular workhorse is calledldquoPanamardquo and ldquoPanama Ragrdquo is anentirely different tune (also somewhatobscure) I still have the sheet musicshe gave me many years ago for ldquoPana-ma Ragrdquo to prove the point (Yes I wasone of those bandleaders that needed tobe enlightened) I really admired her

plucky spirit and the way she wouldalways joke with me on the telephoneeven when she was close to the end

Alex Pangman and Her Alleycatsannounced the release of a new albumChristmas Gift to commemorate theChristmas season The release partywas on Dec 12 and was held at the LulaLounge 1585 Dundas Street WestToronto If you missed the party you canobtain a copy online via Alexrsquos website atwwwalexpangmancom where you canhear sound samples if you wish

There is some very good jazz to bewatched on Youtube Our friend BobErwig British Columbia-based trumpetplayer has contributed some wonderfulstuff well worth a look One very inter-esting film is posted by a Dutchmanunder the name of DickH It featuresFats Waller Bill Bojangles Robinsonand a girl dancersinger named JeniLeGen The cut comes from the 1936movie Hooray For Love The song is ldquoIrsquomLiving In A Great Big Wayrdquo ApparentlyJeni LeGen is still alive and living inVancouver aged 90 If you want to seethe cut the URL for Youtube ishttpwwwyoutubecomgroupjazzvide-olibrary When you find the site do asearch on the song title ldquoIrsquom Living In AGreat Big Wayrdquo After that take a lookat Bob Erwigrsquos contributions but makesure you have lots of time on hand Youwill be captivated

Toronto-based jazz writer Mark Milleris researching the famous jazz and bluesguitarist Lonnie Johnson for the periodwhen Johnson worked regularly inToronto from the mid-1960s He wasinjured in an accident in Toronto in1969 This led to a stroke which causedhis death on June 16 1970 while in theRiversdale Hospital Toronto Any fur-ther input for that period from thosewho knew him in the 1960s would beappreciated

I can be reached at briantowersmsncom for this or any other news ofCanadian interest

This photo of honored guest Jacques Gautheacutewas taken at the Dec 1 concert with the Clas-sic Jazz Society All-Star Band Back row (L-R)Reide Kaiser piano Mike Daley guitar LowellWhitty drums and Colin Bray string bassSeated (L-R) Brian Towers trombone JacquesGautheacute clarinetsoprano sax Patrick Tevlintrumpet

Post your news make new friends

ask for information on the RAGrsquos bulletin board

Just log onto wwwmississippiragcom and click on ldquoBulletin Boardrdquo

______

_________

_____________

__________________

M SaGEF

| January 2007

Pianistbandleader James Columbus(Jay) McShann died December 7 after abrief illness in Kansas City Mo He was90 McShann helped shape the blues-based Kansas City style andwould embody it during acareer lasting more than 70years but he was perhapseven more celebrated for hisdiscovery of the 17-year-oldCharlie Parker

Born in Muskogee OklaMcShann against his par-entsrsquo wishes taught himselfto play piano inspired in thelate 1920s by the live broad-casts of Earl (Fatha) Hinesrsquoorchestra from the GrandTerrace Ballroom in ChicagoHe would later say ldquoWhenFatha went off the air Iwent to bedrdquo An evengreater influence would beCount Basie 12 years his senior By1931 he was playing professionally in aband with fellow Muskogeean saxophon-ist Don Byas He studied at TuskegeeInstitute and by the mid-30s was gig-ging in Oklahoma and Arkansas Hemoved to Kansas City in December 1936to work with a trio In 1937 he formedhis own sextet which became popular inthe Country Club district That sameyear he heard Parker playing in a clubthere and when McShann organized hisbig band in late 1939 Parker was amember as well as bassist Gene Rameyand drummer Gus Johnson both of

whom would survive with distinctionthe bebop revolution of a few years later

The band made its first two record-ings on November 30 1940 (with Parker

soloing convincingly onboth) More recordingsfor Decca would followincluding the celebrat-ed ldquoHootie Bluesrdquo andldquoConfessinrsquo the Bluesrdquosung by anotherMcShann discoveryWalter Brown Basedon these the band wasa disciplined hard-swinging affair whichbears comparison withthe more famous Basieband of the same peri-od Its growing reputa-tion allowed McShannto bring it to NewYorkrsquos Savoy Ballroom

in February 1942 The young blindsinger Al Hibbler who would go on tofame with the Duke Ellington Orches-tra made his first record ldquoGet Me OnYour Mindrdquo in New York with the bandsoon after In 1943 McShann was draft-ed into military service

On his discharge two years laterMcShann reorganized his band wentback to the Savoy and played several52nd Street clubs But big bands werebecoming harder to hold together andMcShannrsquos next move was to Los Ange-les where he worked in the later rsquo40swith a small group featuring the blues

shouter Jimmy Witherspoon who madehis recorded debut with McShann onldquoAinrsquot Nobodyrsquos Business If I Dordquo After1950 McShann went back to KansasCity he attended composition andarranging classes at the University ofMissouri-KC and worked around the Mid-west Despite all this most of the nexttwo decades saw him in relative obscuri-ty

In 1969 he went back to touring theUS Canada and such choice Europeanvenues as the North Sea Jazz Festival inThe Hague Netherlands A trio includ-ing violinistguitarist Claude Williamsand drummer Paul Gunther proved par-ticularly successful McShann was thesubject of the documentary film HootieBlues and was featured in the film cele-brating Kansas City music The Last ofthe Blue Devils He would continue work-ing and recording (for 17 different labelsover a lifetime) until deep in his eight-ies His 2003 release Going to KansasCity for the Canadian Stony Plain labelreceived a Grammy nomination

Known among musicians for his laid-back good nature McShann was verywell liked among a broad acquaintance-ship in the jazz and blues businessDespite his considerable accomplish-ments as a composer and arranger theblues remained his bread and butter allhis life and in that respect like Basiehe was the personification of KansasCity jazz He left a companion of morethan 30 years Thelma Adams (aka Mar-ianne McShann) and three daughtersLinda McShann Gerber JaymeMcShann Lewis and Pam McShann Amusical celebration of his life is plannedfor Kansas City later this year

Renown KC PianistBandleaderJay McShann Dies at 90

by Jim Leigh

The infectious smileof Jay McShann(Photo Bill Smith)

Jay McShann at the microphone(Photo Dennis A Johnson)

Jay McShann with fellow pianists and friends Ralph Sutton and Stan Hallat the Emporium of Jazz in Mendota Minn (Photo Dennis A Johnson)

M SaGEF

For tickets amp info 800-248-1615 or wwwthesheddorgmdash Jazz Party at The Shedd ticket packages $200165 on sale now mdash

Special accommodation pricing at select Eugene hotelsAlternative cultural amp outdoor activities throughout the area

Elderhostel program available (wwwelderhostelorg - search for programs 14816RJ)

Friday March 2 730-1130 p Opening Session

Saturday March 3 130-430 p Afternoon Session730-1130 p Evening Session

Sunday March 4 1030 a-130 p Brunch Session230 - 530 p Closing Session

The John G Shedd Institute for the ArtsEugene Oregon

Jazz Party at The Shedd 2007March 2-4 2007Eugene Oregon

Ken PeplowskiArtistic Director

Harry AllenGreg Cohen

Dave FrishbergGary Hobbs

Bill MaysDoug MillerJeremy Pelt

Ken PeplowskiChuck Redd

Scott Whitfieldamp more

M SaGEF

| January 2007

Vince Giordano and his Nighthawks have been play-ing at least once a month at Iridium Broadway and50th New York City I stopped by on November 15thand was floored by the great sound ndash the best situationIrsquove heard the Nighthawks in You could clearly hearall the musicians (even the violin) and the sight linesand atmosphere are an enormous improvement fromtheir old digs at Charley-Orsquos Was the clarinet triosounding particularly sweet and haunting that nightCheck the website (wwwiridiumjazzclubcom) or callthe club (212) 582-2121 to find about Vincersquos upcomingappearances

I didnrsquot love the ldquoHighlights in Jazzrdquo concert onOctober 19 Talented and charming as John Piz-

zarelli is his snazzy standards set packed withSinatra repertoire is more like a casino show than anight of jazz Following him trombonist WycliffeGordon and bassist Jay Leonhart performed a duoact that was cute and got points for creativity butleft me ready for more serious stuff The second halfof the evening was enjoyable bringing togetherJohn and Bucky Pizzarelli playing guitar togetherfor the jazz crowd

Ken Peplowski was killing on November 22 atDizzyrsquos Club Coca Cola(wwwjalcorg) Lead-ing a week of appear-ances titled ldquoThe Musicof Benny Goodman fea-turing Ken Peplowskiand Bucky Pizzarellirdquothe clarinetist and hiscrew swung hardthrough Goodmanrepertoire such as ldquoASmo-o-oth Onerdquo ldquoPoorButterflyrdquo and ldquoFlyingHomerdquo The last time Isaw KP was at the BixFest when he wasplaying a much morerestrained style so itwas thrilling to seehim let fly with the16th notes and upperregister work In addi-

tion to Peplowski and Pizzarelli fellow Goodmanalumnus Derek Smith played his socks off AlecDankworth played bass and Chuck Redd switchedbetween drums and vibes Great stuff

Gypsy Jazz fans will be delighted with the newbook out by Django biographer Michael DregniDjango Reinhardt and the Illustrated History of GypsyJazz Itrsquos a handsome softcover from SpeckPress (wwwspeckpresscom) full of fascinatingwriting photographs period illustrations postersclippings and more that bring to life the history ofGypsy jazz from before the rise of Django up to thepresent day Havenrsquot you always wanted to know

more about Hubert Rostaing (The Benny Goodmanof Paris) the development of musette music andwhat Djangorsquos Gypsy caravan really looked like

Eric Offner of The Sidney Bechet Society has pro-duced a CD of Wycliffe Gordon and the SBS All-StarBand titled A Tribute to Storyville Gordon and RAGfavorites such as Evan Christopher Jon-Erik Kellsoand Vince Giordano rip through hot repertoireincluding ldquoStruttinrsquo With Some Barbecuerdquo ldquoStLouis Bluesrdquo ldquoTiger Ragrdquo and four Jelly Roll Mortonnumbers in a crystal clear recording caught live atFlushing Town Hall Very nice stuff played bypianist Eric Reed as well You can get your owncopy by calling (516) 627-4468

I was intrigued by the concept behind a new CDout from vocalist Mary Foster Conklin called BluesFor Breakfast Remembering Matt Dennis Irsquom notmuch for jazz-cabaret and this CD is solidly in thegenre but it is an interesting revival of 14 tuneswritten by Matt Dennis best known for ldquoAngel Eyesrdquoand Sinatra Dorsey material like ldquoThe Night WeCalled It a Dayrdquo and ldquoViolets for Your Fursrdquo Conklindug deep at the Library of Congress and found fourforgotten Dennis compositions including the titletrack For fans of song craft it is worth investigatingat wwwrhombusrecords com

The Dukes of Dixieland have a massive (4 CD)box set Timeless the Classic Collection which putstogether material from throughout their 30-yearcareer Visit them online at wwwdukesofdixielandcom

The big news for January is the 34th Annual IAJE(International Association for Jazz Education) Con-ference January 10-13th here in New York Amongthe scores of concerts panel discussions workshopslectures and more the RAGrsquos own Leslie Johnsonwill be moderating a panel titled ldquoStill SwingingTrad Jazz is Alive and Wellrdquo For info and schedulevisit wwwiajeorg Panelists will include MatDomber of Arbors Records Jim Cullum of the JimCullum Jazz Band trombonisteducator WycliffeGordon and Dukes of Dixieland manager JohnShoup

Super drummer Kevin Dorn is now appearingThursday nights 830-11 at Jacques Imorsquos 366Columbus Ave at 77th wwwjacquesimos comBruce McNichols is still playing with the Muskratband at Jacques-Imorsquos for brunch every Sunday 12-3 He is also playing for a Dixieland buffet from630-930 Thursday nights at the Silvermine Tavern194 Perry Avenue in Norwalk Conn For reserva-tions directions call (203) 847-4558

David Ostwaldrsquos Gully Low Jazz Band plays everyWednesday from 530-730 pm at Birdland 315West 44th Street Among the regulars who appearedwith the band last month were Jon-Erik Kellso EdPolcer Joe Muranyi Anat Cohen John Allred Vin-cent Gardner Matt Munisteri James Chirillo MarkShane Kevin Dorn Joe Ascione and Marion Felder

Lots of great stuff going on in New Jersey in theNew Year ndash donrsquot forget to check on goings-on atwwwnjjsorg

I look forward to hearing about upcoming record-ings appearances events websites etc Please getme your information by the 1st of the month andknow that the column will not appear before thefirst of the following month (718) 857-3118 ordavidfrenchmindspringcom

NEWYORKNEWSby David French

Bucky Pizzarelli guitar and Ken Pep-lowski clarinet swing at Dizzyrsquos ClubCoca Cola with Alec Dankworth on bassand Chuck Redd on drums

Photo Ayano HisaJazz at Lincoln Center

_______________

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Who Was Einar SwanThe Story Behind lsquoWhen Your Lover Has Gonersquo

by Sven BjerstedtSenior lecturer Lund University Sweden

At left Einar William Swan violinJohn Matthew Swan saxophoneEllen Victoria Swan organ WalterEero Swan clarinet c 1913 (PhotoCourtesy Donald Swan)

Young Einar Swan withcornet c 1915 (PhotoCourtesy Donald Swan)

Child prodigy Einar Swan with violin c 1910 (Photo Courtesy Donald Swan)

The composer and lyricist behind the won-derful sad evergreen ldquoWhen Your Lover HasGonerdquo (1931) was Einar Swan (1903-40) aFinnish-American multi-instrumentalist fromMassachusetts

WhoI asked everyone I could think of for infor-

mation on Einar Swan The results were mea-ger in the extreme Nobody seemed to knowanything at all about him That made me

really curious After all several decades agothis exceptionally versatile lyricist composerarranger and multi-instrumentalist wasworking successfully at the worldrsquos center ofpopular music But for several reasons hislife and work fell into nearly complete obliv-ion

A Finnish-AmericanEinar Swan was the son of Finnish immi-

grants to the United States Hisfather a carpenter named MattiAleksinpoika Joutsen from EvijaumlrviFinland was one of the many menwho chose to leave Finland in 1899Matti was 22 when he emigrated

When elderly villagers in Alaveteli(Nedervetil) Finland were inter-viewed by genealogist Jan-ErikNygren in 2005 they remembered theJoutsen family and told stories about

M SaGEF

how mean the parents were and howbadly they treated their children four ofwhom died young The four other chil-dren emigrated

Villagers recalled that Einar Swanrsquosgrandfather Aleksi Joutsen had a nick-name ndash ldquoAlex-with-a-limprdquo The reasonwas dramatic Aleksi had been severelypunished by his youngest son OskariThe story was told thus ldquoAleksi thefather was also called lsquoAlex-with-a-limprsquo It is said that one day whenOskari was chopping wood Aleksi cameinto the shed and started harassing andteasing him He used to put his foot onthe chopping block and then draw itaway before the axe fell Then Oskaritold him lsquoIf you put your foot on theblock once more Irsquoll chop it offrsquo Aleksiput his foot on the block Oskari struckat once the axe went through his [Alek-sirsquos] boot and cut off half of his footAleksi went with a limp the rest of hisliferdquo

Matti Becomes John SwanWhen Aleksirsquos son Matti came to Amer-

ica he changed his name to John MatthewSwan The surname was a direct transla-tion of the Finnish word Joutsen He was aself-taught musician but soon establishedhimself as an important musical leader inthe Worcester Mass area He gave musiclessons in Finnish-American communitiesand organized and led orchestras andchoirs He performed on all reed instru-ments and appeared as a composer andarranger

John married Edla Maria Aaltonen in1900 They had nine children and eventu-ally John established an extraordinaryfamily orchestra

The Swan Family OrchestraThe Swan family orchestra was in

fact a couple of different orches-tras because most of the family mem-bers were multi-instrumentalistsThere was also a Swan vocal quartetOne constellation featured violin fluteclarinet saxophone and piano or organAnother one consisted of reed instru-ments exclusively They gave concertsand played for lodges clubs dances andother entertainments

When interviewed in the WorcesterTelegram in 1915 John Swan drewattention mainly to the talents of hisson Einar stating ldquoEinar W Swan myoldest boy and the musical genius of thefamily was born at Fitchburg 12 yearsago and showed musical talent when hewas 2 years old He first played theorgan and later on I found that heloved to play violin It was at the age of4 when he started to play his little vio-lin [] After this he rapidly picked up aknowledge of various instruments Hestudied in order piano clarinet flutesaxophone trap drumming all of whichhe plays better than many persons whoconfine their ability to one instrumentrdquo

John Swan was an expert carpenterand manufactured a number of musicalinstruments among them a bassoon andEinarrsquos first (34 size) violin

The other siblings were also presentedin some detail in the newspaper articleEllen (1901-75) played piano organ andreed instruments little Anne (1909-97)played flute and clarinet Walter (1904-64) played reeds

Music permeated this family In a2004 Mountain Times interview Einarrsquosyounger sister Aina recalled that their

mother Edla sang a lot It sounded likeFinnish folk songs but she made themup herself

Walter worked as a musician all hislife Ellen and Anne continued playingtogether in the rsquo20s and early rsquo30s Theywere part of a five-girl band called theGypsy Sweethearts

The Child Prodigy Grows UpAs a teenager Einar developed his

multi-instrumental skills According tothe Worcester Telegram April 24 1927ldquoAs one of the best musicians Commer-cial High School ever turned out helearned to play all the instruments inthe school band ndash explaining it to theauthorities by saying that he would be agood lad to have around in case anyonewas sick [] he introduced novelrhythms and unknown notes into thecompositions he played He was makingjazz though he didnrsquot know itrdquo The listof musicians in the 1921 Worcester HighSchool of Commerce yearbook does notentirely correspond with this photo-graph Einar is listed on clarinet but isholding a trombone in the picture

At 24 Einar Swan was featured in apanegyrical article in his hometownnewspaper titled ldquoHigh Up AmongWorldrsquos Jazz Artistsrdquo and starting withthe exclamation ldquoonce of Worcester nowof the worldrdquo

A lot had happened Einar had grownup The child prodigy was becoming hisown man He had discovered his ownmusic and he had not less importantdiscovered his love The music was jazzThe girl was Jewish The clash with hisfather was disastrous

John Swan had worked hard for manyyears hoping that Einar and the otherchildren would be successful musiciansHowever music outside the legitimateclassical genres was incommensuratewith his vision

The religion of Einarrsquos sweetheartldquoBillierdquo (Ann Kaufmann of SouthbridgeMass) only made the father-son conflictworse The argument on music was seri-ous enough and is said to have come toblows But when Einar married Ann heperformed the ultimate act to manifesthis independence of his father andindeed his Finnish heritage he convert-ed to the Jewish faith and switched hismiddle name from William to Aaron

That was it With one blow the har-mony of the Swan family orchestra hadvanished completely The discord thatreplaced it lasted for decades Einartotally lost contact with his family forthe rest of his life

ldquoHe went to New York to pursue hiscareer He had a terrible fight with hisfather because his father wanted him tobe a classical musician but Einar had

| January 2007

During the 1920s Ellen and Anne Swan played with a female orchestrathat was sometimes called the Gypsy Sweethearts On the back of the pic-ture Anne Swan Meigs wrote ldquoSugar Hill New Hampshire 1929-1932Hotel Lookoff Ensemble Anne Marion Ellen Elena Florencerdquo (PhotoCourtesy Donald Swan)

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Swaniersquos Serenaders 1924 were (from left) probably Oscar Werme trom-bone two unidentified musicians trumpets Ernest Paul drums EinarSwan saxophone probably Sammy Swenson piano Joe Toscano banjounknown saxophone (Photo Courtesy Donald Swan)

Personnel for Swaniersquos Serenaders in this 1924 photo included from left an unidentified musician Ernest Paulunidentified musician Oscar Werme probably Sammy Swenson Einar Swan Joe Toscano unidentified musicianThe inscription reads ldquoTo lsquoBilliersquo Best Wishes Swanierdquo According to Donald Swan ldquoBillierdquo was the nickname ofAnn Kaufmann Swan (Photo Courtesy Donald Swan)

other plansrdquo According to Einarrsquos nieceCynthia Meigs ldquoJohn Swan smashedEinarrsquos violin during the argumentrdquo

Swaniersquos Serenaders 1922-24Einar Swanrsquos choice of musical style

was no whim In the 1927 WorcesterTelegram article he elaborated on thesubject in an interview stating ldquoJazz isnow firmly established the music of thefuture and already has become classicin a certain way the only differencebeing that it is more alive than the oldertype of musicrdquo

In a 1957 interview in the WorcesterSunday Telegram Worcester shoe sales-man Joseph Fagan speaks of a trio thathe thinks was the first orchestra withwhich Swanie ever played

Their initial job was during the sum-mers of 1918 and 1919 at Lake Wopa-wog a resort outside East HamptonConn Swan played saxophone Faganviolin and Henry Berman piano Theywere paid $10 a week Later Swanjoined Benny Connrsquos band at that timepopular at dances in Worcester

ldquoAfter that he led his own band thewell-remembered Swaniersquos SerenadersMany a matron still sighs at thoughts ofdances where he supplied the musicrdquo

Dick Hill in his biography of Finnish-American trumpeter Sylvester Ahola(The Gloucester Gabriel ScarecrowPress) quotes Ahola who rememberedSwaniersquos Serenaders as ldquoa good moderngroup similar to Frank Wardrsquosrdquo (the

New England territory band that Aholahimself played with)

In 1924 Einar Swan received an offerto play in New York It meant leavinghis family as well as Swaniersquos Sere-naders Unknowingly by moving to NewYork Einar also escaped the Swan fami-lyrsquos final disintegration

The Swan Family DisasterAbout 1930 Einarrsquos father John M

Swan deserted his wife and childrenand moved to California leaving themin poverty Many years later Einarrsquosyounger sister Aina collaborated as alyricist for three decades with theFinnish composer Heikki Sarmanto He

M SaGEF

retold her story from these difficult yearsldquoWhen the breadwinner let them downthey had to beg in order to surviverdquo

It is difficult to ascertain what reallyhappened It was not talked aboutmuch In her 80s Einarrsquos sister AnneSwan Meigs mentioned that their moth-er Edla attempted suicide and was tak-en to an institution for a while Edladied in 1935

John Swan did not attend his wifersquosfuneral and seems to have had no fur-ther contact at all with his family Helater owned the Eureka Organ Factoryin Eureka California He built andinstalled the organ in the Fort BraggTrinity Lutheran Church in 1942 Thisorgan is still in use occasionally JohnSwan remarried in California He diedin Petaluma Calif in 1956 His obitu-ary mentions nothing of his earlier lifeand family

Sam Laninrsquos Roseland BallroomOrchestra 1924

Einar Swanrsquos first New York gig waswith Sam Lanin (1891-1977) and hisOrchestra playing at the Roseland Ball-room on Broadway

Suddenly the 21-year old Worcesterboy Einar Swan was at the center ofpopular music making new importantmusical acquaintances One of them wastubaist Joe Tarto (1902-1986) soon toco-compose ldquoWhite Ghost Shiversrdquo withSwan According to jazz historians TimGracyk and Stephen J Hester EinarSwan also arranged for Laninrsquos orches-

tra He and Joe Tarto may have writtenall the arrangements for the first record-ings of Laninrsquos Red Heads According tojazz historian Frank Driggs Swan andTarto even wrote arrangements for theblack band which was featured at theRoseland Ballroom at the same timeFletcher Hendersons orchestra

Brian Rustrsquos discography lists a num-ber of recordings by Sam Laninrsquos Rose-land Ballroom orchestra where EinarSwan may have participated Howeverfor lack of further evidence the exactdates are difficult to ascertain

Vincent Lopez 1925-1930()After five months with Sam Lanin

Einar Swan was engaged by orchestraleader Vincent Lopez (1894-1975)According to the Worcester SundayTelegram December 22 1957 the gigwas a dance date in Springfield

Soon after Einar Swan started withthe Lopez orchestra a major event tookplace ndash a tour to England This tour hasbeen thoroughly researched and report-ed in an article by Joe Moore(wwwmgthomascoukdancebands)

Vincent Lopez and His Orchestrawere booked to play at the opening ofthe Kit-Cat Club and at the Capitol Cin-ema Theatre in London in May 1925Booking agent William Morris hadoffered Lopez pound1200 a week for a two-month engagement The orchestrasailed on the Leviathan from New Yorkon May 1 and arrived at Southamptonon May 8 The members of the band are

| January 2007

Vincent Lopez musicians ldquoTheone hundred thousand dollar sax-ophone sectionrdquo is written on theback of this photo probably takenin 1926 Stephen J Hester gives atentative identification of thereedmen as George NapoleonLarry Abbott Einar Swan andBilly Hamilton (Photo CourtesyDonald Swan)

Einar Swan and Vincent Lopez1926 (Photo Courtesy DonaldSwan)

The entire Vincent Lopez Orchestra c 1926 is shown here Vincent Lopezleader Joe Tarto tuba probably George Napoleon trumpet and reedsprobably Charlie Butterfield trombone Joe Gold piano Bob Effros trum-pet probably Larry Abbott reeds unknown banjo unknown trumpetEinar Swan reeds probably William Kessler drums probably Billy Hamil-ton reeds Xavier Cugat and Pinky Herman (aka Jacob Pincus Perelmuthaka Jan Peerce) violins (Photo Courtesy Donald Swan)

M SaGEF

on the passenger listThis is the run-down given by Joe

Moore Vincent Lopez (29) (pianoleader) Robert Effros (23) (trumpet)Norman Weiner (24) (trumpet) MichaelMosiello (28) (trumpet) Eino Swan (22)(reeds) Bernard Daley (24) (reeds) Bia-gio Napoli (28) (reeds) Xavier Cugat(25) (violin) Joseph Goldstein (31)(piano) William Kessler (31) (drums)Vincent Tortoriello (23) William Che-stock (29) Francisco Giella (30) Freder-ick Greene (30) Joseph Griffith (31)Morris Kellner (25) Harry Lowenberg(28) (unspecified instruments) VincentTortoriello is tubaist Joe Tarto

As shown by the photographs EinarSwan played mainly reeds with theorchestra According to Sylvester AholaSwan played first alto sax

In his article Moore vividly describesthe bandrsquos engagements in London Aspecial performance before Queen Marywas arranged at Oxford Among thesources of knowledge concerning thistour are a Patheacute film clip (available athttpwwwbritishpathecom) and numer-ous reports in Variety according toMoore On July 8 the Vincent LopezOrchestra sailed on the SS Paris backto New York

According to the Worcester TelegramApril 24 1927 22-year old Einar wasoffered a contract to stay in London toconduct the Savoy Hotel Orchestra oneof the greatest in all Europe ldquoHe turneddown the offer lsquoMy baby was back in theUnited States and not very wellrsquo hesays lsquoand I wanted to get back to herBesides Irsquom an Americanrsquordquo

However photographic evidenceshows that his wife was in fact travel-ing with him Einarrsquos youngest childDonald reports ldquoMy mother said thatafter a wonderful London tour in 1925she returned and gave birth to my sis-terrdquo Unfortunately it would be difficultif not impossible today to verify the sto-ry about this offer

It is equally hard to determine thereliability of the same articlersquos accountthat Einar Swan after returning to NewYork ldquogot an offer from Paul Whitemanwho with Lopez rules the empire of jazzas a twin king He turned that downalsordquo

When Lopez returned from Englandin July 1925 some musicians werereplaced Einar Swan is not listed as amember on Lopezrsquos recordings accord-ing to discographer Brian Rust (TheAmerican Dance Band Discography 1917-1942) but the rundowns of recordingorchestras are more often than not sub-ject to some doubt Rust lists a numberof recordings from this period There isreason to believe that Einar Swan hasbeen overlooked on some Lopez titles in

Rustrsquos discography According to RustSwanrsquos instrument in the orchestra wastrumpet while all other available infor-mation indicates that he was a memberof the reed section Photographs of theorchestra show that one reed player didindeed double on trumpet It is notSwan but rather George Napoleon

Einar Swan seems to have been wellpaid for his arrangement contributionsto the Lopez orchestra according to asketch by violinist Xavier Cugat

This successful and multi-talented

musician soon did the most unexpectedthing He quit playing

Einar Swan The ArrangerAfter he left Vincent Lopez Einar

Swan worked mainly as an arranger forseveral orchestras among them those ofpianist-conductor Gustave Haenschen(1889-1980) Russian-American violinistDave Rubinoff (1897-1986) the Para-mount Theatre New York and Ray-mond Paige and the Westinghouse Sym-phony Orchestra

_______________________

___________________

M SaGEF

_______

It is difficult to understand how suchan accomplished and successful multi-instrumentalist could give up playingIn a 1939 letter to his brother WalterSwan wrote ldquoAm very glad to hear thatyoursquore doing so well on the oboe It usedto be my favorite instrument I havenrsquotplayed anything except piano and organfor eight yearsrdquo

Donald Swan explains his fatherrsquoschoice to quit playing for a living andbecome an arranger He says ldquoEinarrsquosdaughter Pearl (now Leslie von Roeder)was born in 1926 so he became a familyman and probably found it better to livein one place and work as an arrangerHe had played every instrument in anorchestra around the house Can youimagine writing the arrangements forRaymond Paige who had a 100-manorchestra (plus one singer Hildegard)Einar Swan arranged for many orches-tras when they performed on radio inthe 1930srdquo

A December 1934 concert programfrom Cincinnati Ohio provides someadditional information Swan studiedharmony and orchestration in New Yorkunder Michael Feveisky a pupil of Rim-sky-Korsakov After being chief arrangerfor Vincent Lopez for five years Swanhad been ldquoassociated the last four yearsexclusively with Rubinoffrdquo

Finnish-American trumpet playerSylvester Ahola told his biographer DickHill that Einar Swan the arranger waswell paid saying ldquoHe ended up doingarrangements for violinist Dave Rubi-noff and the agency gave him a $1500bonus for a fancy arrangement that hedid of lsquoStormy Weatherrsquordquo

In a 1939 letter to his brother WalterEinar wrote ldquoAm not working at the

moment as the Raymond Paige programfolded up Hope something like it (a largeorch) comes soon as there is no money orprestige in dance arrangementsrdquo

Lyricist Al Stillman (1906-79) was mar-ried to Ann Kaufmann Swanrsquos sisterPauline Donald Swan recalls ldquoWhen heand Einar got together with the family theyjust had fun entertaining and playingrdquo

On September 9 1933 the multi-tal-ented Einar Swan penned his ldquoImpres-sions of Hollywood Orchestra After FirstRehearsal For Chase And Sanborn Hourrdquoprobably to entertain the Rubinoffs

Family LifeEinarrsquos wife Ann (Anna) Kaufmann

(1904-93) was from Southbridge MassAccording to their daughter Leslie theSwans were probably married in Con-necticut in 1923 Ann was born in KievRussia She went to the Boston Conser-vatory of Music but never pursued amusical career The school may be whereshe met Einar Swan He converted tohis wifersquos Jewish religion probably inimmediate connection with the mar-riage and changed his middle nameWilliam to Aaron His son Donald saysthat after this ldquohis family wanted noth-

ing to do with him John didnrsquot commu-nicate with Einar after he convertedrdquoDonald Swan said

Later sources such as ASCAP recordson compositions invariably give hisname as Einar Aaron Swan The sheetmusic of his 1931 hit ldquoWhen Your LoverHas Gonerdquo gives his name as E A Swan

Einar Swan died August 8 1940while vacationing in Greenwood LakeNY He was only 37 years old Thecause of death was cerebral hemorrhage

In a 1939 letter to his brother WalterEinar had written ldquoFour years ago adoctor told me that I had very high bloodpressure I didnrsquot do anything about itand about two years ago I had a hemor-rhage and stayed in a hospital for fourweeks In the doctorsrsquo opinion there isnothing organically wrong but theythink I have inherited the conditionfrom Motherrdquo

Einarrsquos daughter Pearl is now Leslievon Roeder married to Robert von Roed-er and living in Pennsylvania DonaldSwan (born in 1930) lives in Californiaand is married to Liny He writes ldquoIhave six children ndash son Donald Jrdaughters Danielle Leslie Gigi andBeatrice and my son Manny who is agifted and talented player and writer ofrock songsrdquo

| January 2007

Ann and Einar Swan on a cruise toEurope 1925 (Photo CourtesyDonald Swan)

Cartoons by Einar Swan 1933 (IllustrationCourtesy Donald Swan)

M SaGEF

Swanrsquos SerenadesBeing a composer was never the main

thing for Einar Swan Royalties formusical compositions were a less reli-able income source than being a musi-cian and arranger However in a 1939letter to his brother Walter Einarwrote ldquoIrsquom trying to write songs that isenough of them to get intoASCAP sothatm a y b esoon I cang i v e u parrangingw h i c h i svery stren-uous whenyou have tokeep at itconstantlyrdquo

I have de-tected only adozen titlesby his hand(including themarch he wrotein 1914) Half ofthem are stillmerely titles tome

These are theEinar Swan com-positions given byASCAP online ldquoIn The Middle Of ADreamrdquo ldquoA Room With A Viewrdquo ldquoTheTip Off Cuesrdquo ldquoTrail Of Dreamsrdquo ldquoWhatGood Is Schemingrdquo and ldquoWhen YourLover Has Gonerdquo

The ASCAP Biographical Dictionaryalso mentions ldquoSwanrsquos Serenaderdquo andldquoThe Spirit Of St Louisrdquo

The April 24 1927 article in theWorcester Telegram further mentionsldquoWhite Ghost Shiversrdquo ldquoCloset Strutrdquoand ldquoOrientrdquo

This oeuvre contains hit songs lesswell-known material and downrightobscure titles A few of them remainmysteries

The waltz ldquoTrail Of Dreamsrdquo (1926)has lyrics by Raymond W Klages andmelody [] by Einar Swan copy Robbins-Engel Inc It has been recorded by TheYellow Jackets on OKeh 1926 and byBen Bernie Fred Rich Harold OxleyJohnny Kamp Paul Specht and VincentLopez

ldquoWhite Ghost Shivers (A Spooky Fox-trot)rdquo (1926) an instrumental numberwas written by Einar Swan and Joe Tar-to copy Triangle Music Publishing Co IncIt has been recorded by the NewOrleans Owls on Columbia 1926 and forKen Burnsrsquo film Unforgivable Blackness2004 by The New Black Eagle JazzBand

ldquoWhen Your Lover Has Gonerdquo (1931)

has music and lyrics by E A SwancopyWarner Bros Inc It was featured withconsiderable dramatic effect in the 1931motion picture film Blonde Crazy withJames Cagney and Joan Blondell It hasbeen recorded by hundreds of artistsand to this day remains the single ldquobest-

knownrdquo song by Einar SwanldquoA Room With A Viewrdquo

(1938) has lyric by Al Stillmanand music by Einar SwancopyBregman Vocco amp Conn IncIt has been recorded by ArtieShaw H Forest G Auld BEckstine H Geller BHackett and others

ldquoIn The Middle Of ADreamrdquo (1939) has lyricsby Al Stillman and musicby Einar Swan and Tom-my Dorsey copy Larry SpierInc

ldquoWhat Good Is Schem-ingrdquo was written byEinar Swan LeeChristopher Hamblinand Simon Alban Lawaccording to ASCAP(The two collabora-tors are unknownnames to me The

song is also a mysteryIts title is almost identical

with the first line of the ldquoWhen YourLover Has Gonerdquo lyrics)

ldquoThe Tip Off Cuesrdquo ldquoSwanrsquos Serenaderdquo(possibly a theme song for Swaniersquos Ser-enaders) ldquoThe Spirit of St LouisrdquoldquoCloset Strutrdquo and ldquoOrientrdquo are alsomysteries

Of thesesongsldquoWhen YourLover HasGonerdquo isundoubtedlyEinar Swanrsquoslucky strikeHis lyrics areamazingly well-written wellwrought in thegenre of the pop-ular melancholyjazz ballad Thereis no reason toover-interpretthem as also beinga personal letalone biographicalstatement by thelyricist All thesame one cannot helpthinking of theextremely difficult situa-tion that prevailed in the Swan familyat the time when the song was com-posed

The following thoughts are mere specu-lation but one wonders

When Swan signed ldquoE A Swanrdquo onthe sheet music this was as far as weknow the first time he used his Jewishmiddle name officially At the same timenot signing with his full first namemakes this composition stand out asslightly more incognito This may be forpersonal reasons

At the turn of the century Einarrsquosfather Matti Joutsen lefthis allegedly ldquomeanrdquo parentsin Finland and emigrated toanother continent Hebecame John Swan Heworked hard and heraised a family of extraor-dinary talents a familythat was meant to playtogether and staytogether A few yearslater there was gravedisagreement betweenhim and his son Einaron music and religionThe falling-out result-ed in mutual perma-nent alienationShortly afterwardsJohn Swan desertedhis wife and theother children

I would verymuch like to thinkthat when Einar

Swan penned hissolemn and sad masterpiece

ldquoWhen Your Lover Has Gonerdquo he hadhis motherrsquos misfortune and maybe alsothe memory of her melodic voice inmind

Einar Swan with family at summerhome in Rye NY 1935 Pearl (laterLeslie Von Roeder) Ann KaufmannSwan Einar Aaron Swan DonaldSwan (Photo Courtesy DonaldSwan)

ldquoTrail Of Dreamsrdquo sheet music

ldquoA Room With A Viewrdquo sheet

M SaGEF

| January 2007

A most unusual recital took place at the WokingJazz Circle on Nov 12 An excellent Steinway pianohad been placed in All Saintsrsquo Church to allowpianist Martin Litton to play themes which hadbeen adapted by other pianists from the classicalrepertoire For his rhythm section Litton had thehighly competent yet unobtrusive Peter Morgan onbass and Rod Brown on drums The program playedis shown below and indicates the range of Littonrsquosknowledge and ability Opportunities to hear Litton

in a solo presentation are limited his brilliancebeing heard as part of such groups as the PizzaExpress All Stars Keith Smithrsquos Hefty Jazz TheSwedish Jazz Kings John Pettersrsquo bands and BobHuntrsquos Duke Ellington Orchestra or accompanyingsinger Claire Teal

Before each number Litton gave a history of thepianist involved and of the composition The factthat in the opening two numbers he switched fromthe style of Jelly Roll Morton in the first to that ofBud Powell in the second indicates his skill andrange His ldquoIn A Mistrdquo was formed by combining Bix

Beiderbeckersquos own recording and the sheet musicversion

Listening to someone ldquojazzing the classicsrdquo is notthis writerrsquos favorite pastime but I was won over byMartin Littonrsquos splendid playing

The program was Misere (Il Trovatore) (Verdi) arr Jelly Roll Morton Solfeggio (CPE Bach) arr Bud Powell Air on a G String (JS Bach) arr Jacques Loussier Serenade (Schubert) arr Herman Chittison Waltz in A Flat Op 69 No 9 (Chopin) arr Victor

FeldmanWaltz in E Minor (Chopin) arr Pat Flowers Humoresque Op 101 No 7 (Dvorak) arr Art

Tatum Starry Night (6th Symphony) (Tchaikovsky) arr

Django Reinhardt Blue Danube (Strauss) arrPat Flowers Elegy (Litton) To A Wild Rose (MacDowell) arr Martin Litton In A Mist (Bix Beiderbecke) Bess You Is My Woman Now (Porgy amp Bess)

(Gershwin) arr Teddy Wilson Prelude In C Sharp Minor (Rachmaninov) arr

Nat Cole Artistry In Rhythm (Daphnis and Chloe) (Ravel)

arr Stan Kenton The Lamp Is Low (Pavane pour une Infante

Defunte) (Ravel) arr George Shearing Echo of Spring (Willie ldquoThe Lionrdquo Smith) Polonaise Op 40 No 1 (Chopin) arr Willie ldquoThe

Lionrdquo Smith

Report from Britainby Derek Coller

EARLY BIRD PRICES THRU 6-30-07Weekend Badge $105Patron $200 includes

reserved seating name in programand reception with musicians

Single Session Badges $32-$40Credit Cards Accepted

Four Points by Sheraton DenverSoutheast

6363 E Hampden Ave Denver CO303-758-7000 or 1-888-625-5144

($75night plus tax)On-line reservations

wwwstarwoodmeetingcomBooksummitjazz

SUMMIT ALLSTARSKEN PEPLOWSKI (reeds)DUKE HEITGER (cornet)JEFF BARNHART (piano)

COLIN GIEG (bass)DANNY COOTS (drums)

The Jim Cullum Jazz BandTitan Hot Seven

Jean Kittrell amp St Louis RivermenIvory And Gold

Alan Frederickson Jazz EnsembleArapahoe High School Dixie Dawgs

All groups perform each of the four sessions Sunday Only

29TH ANNUAL SUMMIT JAZZDENVER COLORADO SEPTEMBER 28-29-30 2007

Toll Free 1-866-883-2288 303-670-8471Summit Jazz Foundation

PO Box 1150 Evergreen CO 80437wwwsummitjazzorgsummitjazz1cscom_________________

_________________________________

M SaGEF

John Kenneth (Kenny) Davern theversatile and lyrical clarinetist andsoprano saxophonist well known for hislong collaboration with fellow reedmanBob Wilber died after a heart attack athis home in Sandia Park New MexicoDecember 12 He was 71

Generally regarded as a distinguishedmember of the traditional mainstreamDavern formed and refined his styleafter investigating a broad range of ear-lier jazz and would later interest himselfin avant-garde jazz as well Born inHuntington NY January 7 1935 hebegan 11 years later playing a clarinethis mother had bought for $35 Inspiredby records of Artie Shaw and Pee WeeRussell he formed a high school dix-ieland band and joined the musiciansrsquounion at 16 That same year trumpeterHenry (Red) Allen called him for a gig atthe American Legion hall in QueensNY where Davern was living with hisgrandparents after his parentsrsquo divorceDavern would recall having no idealdquohow (Allen) came to phone merdquo

By the time he was 18 Davern was onthe road with the Ralph Flanagan bigband Then an impressive audition wonhim Jack Teagardenrsquos high praise and aplace in Teagardenrsquos dixieland band Ayear later he made his first record underhis own name ldquoIn the Glorylandrdquo forElektra In later years he would recordabundantly for the Concord Chiaroscu-ra and Arbors labels

In the mid-1950s he was fascinatedwith the recordings of the brilliant NewOrleans clarinetist Jimmie Noone andfocused on the Crescent City style play-ing with Phil Napoleon and Pee WeeErwin and for two years with theDukes of Dixieland He also workedwith such names as Bud Freeman RubyBraff and Wild Bill Davison

His first encounter with Wilber tookplace at a 1972 jazz party in ColoradoSprings Colo where host Dick Gibsonpaired them as part of the finale Withan all-star rhythm section they playedDuke Ellingtonrsquos ldquoThe Moocherdquo

ldquoTo our amazementrdquo Davern recalledldquopeople just rose up in applause ndash 650folks just screaming with delight mdash andwe realized we had something differentrdquoDavern and Wilber formed and co-ledSoprano Summit which toured andrecorded with striking success for therest of the 1970s and was revived in theearly 1990s as Summit Reunion Davern

also made memorable recordings withhis lifelong friend pianist Dick Well-stood and he regularly headlined jazzparties around the world Very knowl-edgeable about classical music Davernhad studied clarinet fundamentals withDavid Weber principal solo clarinetistwith the New York City Ballet Orches-tra and considered Weber to be his mostimportant teacher

While leading his own band at Nickrsquosin Greenwich Village Davern becamefriends with modernists such as sopranosaxophonist Steve Lacy and trombonistRoswell Rudd In 1978 he played bari-tone saxophone on Unexpected a quartetrecording which included Lacy bassistSteve Swallow and drummer Paul Mot-ian He once told an interviewer ldquoIf youask ten people what jazz is you mightas well ask them what God looks likeYoursquoll get ten different answers Therersquosno defining jazz Itrsquos a meaninglesstermrdquo

His survivors include his wife of 36years Elsa Green Davern two stepchil-dren and four step-grandchildren

Brilliant Versatile Reed MasterKenny Davern Dies at 71

by Jim Leigh

C l a r i n e t i s tClaude Luterright joined hisfellow French-man clarinetistMaxim Sauryleft in celebrat-ing Louis Arm-strongrsquos birth-day in Los An-geles in 1970to Armstrongrsquosdelight (PhotoEd Lawless)

Armed with stunning technical ex-pertise Kenny Davern exploredthe entire range of the clarinetwith a particular facility for hittingstratospheric high notes andachieving warm woody lownotes Hersquos pictured here at theSwinging Jazz Party in BlackpoolEngland (Photo Clarrie Henley)

PARIS FRANCE ndash Famed Frenchclarinetist Claude Luter 83 who sharedthe stage with Sidney Bechet wasfriends with Louis Armstrong andrecorded with Barney Bigard died Oct10 after a fall according to his son Ericalso a musician

Inspired by Bechet Luter also playedsaxophone and composed He participat-ed in a tribute to Bechet in 1997 in NewOrleans and a tribute to Armstrong in1970 in Los Angeles

Luter remained an active musicianplaying twice a month in 2005 at LePetit Journal a Paris jazz club andrehearsing with his band in Septemberin preparation for future appearancesAccording to Eric Luter his fatherrsquos lastpublic appearance was at the CultureMinistry in September for a ceremony inwhich a model of New Orleans was giv-en to the city

Luter is also survived by a daughterIsabelle

Clarinetist Claude Luter Dies

M SaGEF

Irsquom resuming periodic columns for theonline RAG with short reviews and colorphotos of events Irsquom able to cover Irsquoll try toavoid ldquosame oldrdquo repetition and wonrsquot listfuture events Bands and sponsors can sendldquofuturesrdquo to the RAG via editormississippiragcom

Our Suncoast music season heated up inOctober as Jim Cullumrsquos Jazz Band played a

Sarasota Jazz Club concert and Germansaxophonist Klaus Bader came to play withtwo bands and make a CD

The Suncoast Dixieland Classic at Clear-water Beach in November featured two newand two upgraded bands cornetist DavyJones as guest in 11 sets and a repeatappearance by 11-year-old virtuoso violinistJonathan Russell playing with eight bands

The October 14 concert by the Cullumband was a jewel of creative playing on well-varied tunes It opened with ldquoShersquos Cryingfor Merdquo included ldquoKrazy Kapersrdquo and ldquoTightLike Thisrdquo along the way and closed withldquoCakewalkinrsquo Babiesrdquo Banu Gibson wasguest vocalist and Bob Havens its touringtrombonist Two ldquodonrsquot missrdquo broadcasts forme are Cullumrsquos wonderful Riverwalk radioshows on Friday nights and the Lawrence

Welk TV shows on Saturday nights Havenswas with Welk for 23 years and is featuredon many shows

Jim Cullum told me after the concert thatradio broadcasts by his and his dadrsquos bandsbegan as they opened The Landing in 1963 ASan Antonio station used telephone linetransmission at first then had anannouncerinterviewer at the club The

national Riverwalk showsbegan in 1989 and morethan 650 have now beenheard The variety ofguests and repertoire onthese shows is tremen-dous Can any other bandtop 43 years of broadcast-ing and nightly gigs

Klaus Bader displayed his prowess ontenor sax with drummer Mike Moranrsquos trioat Mattisonrsquos on Longboat Key and with theDixie Spirit band at TJ Carneyrsquos in VeniceFla Moran plays Fridays and Saturdaysand Dixie Spirit switched from Thursdays toTuesdays this year

Playing on the CD with Bader wereMoran pianist Johnny Varro reedman TerryMyers and bassist Ernie Williford Hersquoll addtunes by his Old Time Jazz Quartet in Ger-many to fill out the CD Bader also leads theChicagoans and Storyville jazz bands andwas with Peter Buhrrsquos Flat Foot Stomperswhen I heard that band at the SacramentoJazz Jubilee in 2004

Violinist Jonathan Russell was an evenbigger hit in his second date at the Suncoastfest Hersquos becoming a festival star and will beat the Sacramento Jubilee in May He playsgreat solos sings repeats or modifies phras-es by other players has a huge repertoirecan learn a new tune quickly and jams withreal jazz feeling and inventiveness Onebandleader cautioned Jonathan ldquoYou have topromise not to outplay any of the other bandmembersrdquo

Davy Jones was applauded enthusiastical-ly He is a featured cornetist at DisneyWorld leads bands and guests with

| January 2007

Cornetist Jeff Hughes of the Wolverineband also leads his Lost in the Sauceband in the Boston area

Jazz in the Sun Text and Photos by Bob Byler

The Suncoast fest finale finds guest cornetist Davy Jones and violinistJonathan Russell with trombonist Bill Allred who organizes Suncoast finalesand was given its special appreciation award last year Allredrsquos Classic JazzBand has played all 16 Suncoast festivals Russell played several tunes withmost bands but Tessrsquos Dixie Chaps kept him on for most of its set

_____________

M SaGEF

John Clark led his Wolverine JazzBand at Suncoast On clarinethere he also plays baritone sax

Below guest vocalist Banu Gibson sang with the Cullum Band Ron Hock-ett and Jim Cullum are at left

Klaus Bader played tenor sax with the Dixie Spiritband at TJ Carneyrsquos in Venice Fla From left Ed Stod-dard trombone Bader Joe Miller cornet leader BudLeeds clarinet Players from all over sit in with DixieSpirit and fans urged Bader to come back as often aspossible

The Jim Cullum Band performed at the Sarasota JazzClub concert From left Don Mopsick bass Ron Hock-ett clarinet Howard Elkins banjo amp guitar Cullumcornet Mike Waskiewicz drums and Bob Havenstrombone

Singer Gina Gibson fromChicago was new to the Suncoastfest and guested with the BarbaryCoast Dixieland Band of Min-nesota

_________________

the Black Dogs Allan Vacheacutersquos band andthe Bob Crosby band New bands at the2006 festival were reedman John ClarkrsquosWolverines from Massachusetts and theBayside Banjo Band of Floridians TitanHot 7 guitarist Jerry Krahn did a setwith a quartet and pianist Randy Mor-ris played three ragtime sets and dueledwith pianist Jeff Barnhart who also didtwo Ivory and Gold sets with his flutistwife Anne

The Barbary Coast Dixieland Band ofMinnesota and Bobby Tessrsquos DixieChaps of the Suncoast area wereupgraded to main stages and more setsthan before Both earned the honorsand Sheraton Hotel venues were filledfor all bands by highly supportive Sun-coast fans The festival was held Novem-ber 17-19 and included preview andafterglow events

I hope the online RAG is very success-ful and Irsquoll offer some special photo fea-tures from my jazz photo archive whichIrsquove worked on since 2002 The archivenow has 3000 images in files My e-mailaddress is jazzbug2002yahoocom

M SaGEF

Festivals

__________

________________

____________

__________

_______

_________

_______

FORBES JAZZ FESTIVALJan 6-9 Forbes NSW Australia Details from(02) 6851-1450INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORJAZZ EDUCATION CONFERENCEJan 10-13 New York Hilton Hotel and Shera-ton New York Hotel New York NY Manyclinics panels performances and more Cov-ers all genres of jazz RAG editor Leslie John-son will moderate a panel called ldquoStill Swing-ing Trad Jazz is Alive and Wellrdquo withpanelists Jim Cullum Mat Domber WycliffeGordon and John Shoup on 11207 Detailsfrom IAJE PO Box 724 Manhattan KS66505-0724 (785) 776-8744 or wwwiajeorgEAU CLAIRE RAGTIME FESTIVALJan 12-14 310 Broadway St Eau ClaireWisc Featuring Jeff and Anne Barnhart Bri-an Holland Dave Majchrzak Bob Milneafterglows symposia silent films moreDetails from (715) 834-2668 (9-5 M-F) orwwwecragtimeorgBIG BANDSWING DANCE WEEKENDJan 19-21 Grove Park Inn 290 Macon AveAsheville NC Featuring Nelson RiddleOrchestra and Glenn Miller OrchestraDetails from (800) 438-5800 ADULT TRAD JAZZ CAMPJan 18-21 2007 San Diego Calif Detailsfrom AFCDJS PO Box 880387 San DiegoCA 92168-0387 Details from (619) 297-5277or wwwdixielandjazzfestivalorgTHE SOUNDS OF MARDI GRASJan 25-28 Radisson Hotel Fresno CalifFeaturing George Probert Two-BeatBombers Blue Street Jazz Band Bob SchulzrsquosFrisco Jazz Band Buck Creek Jazz Band Cli-max Jazz Band Grand Dominion Jazz BandHigh Sierra Jazz Band Uptown LowdownMighty Aphrodite New Reformation Detailsfrom Fresno Dixieland Society PO Box16399 Fresno CA 93755 or frsdixieaolcomEAGLES amp IVORIES RAGTIME FESTJan 26-27 Muscatine Ia Featuring BobMilne Terry Parrish Donald Ryan BretWatkins Mad Creek Mudcats and the Musi-cal Hammers Family Trio Details from (563)263-8895ldquoALL THAT JAZZrdquo WEEKENDJan 26-28 Grove Park Inn 290 Macon AveAsheville NC Featuring David SanbornMelissa Manchester Diane Schurr and theCaribbean Jazz Project Mundell Lowe VinceLewis and Joe Wilder Details from (800) 438-5800 or wwwgroveparkinncomNORTH CAROLINA JAZZ FESTIVALFeb 1-3 Hilton Wilmington Riverside 301 NWater St Wilmington NC Featuring BuckyPizzarelli Nicki Parrott Johnny Varro MarkShane Ken Peplowski Ed Polcer Duke Heit-ger Dan Barrett Jonathan Russell Tom Fis-cher Chuck Redd Joe Ascione Herman Bur-ney Details from sandyevans34yahoocom or(910) 793-1111 Presented in partnership withCape Fear Jazz Society wwwcapefearjazzcomCENTRAL ILLINOIS JAZZ FESTIVALFeb 2-4 Decatur Conference Center andHotel Featuring Bob Crosby Bob Cats Con-nie Jones and the Crescent City Jazz BandCornet Chop Suey Jean Kittrell and the StLouis Rivermen the Midiri Brothers Titan

Hot 7 Details from Juvae Jazz Society POBox 2323 Decatur IL 62524-2323 (217) 546-6091 wwwjuvaejazzcomGRAMPIANS JAZZ FESTIVALFeb 9-11 Halls Gap Vic Australia Details fromGrampians Jazz Festival Box 503 Hamilton3300 W Vic Australia (03) 5572-2116TRAD JAZZ YOUTH BAND FESTIVALFeb 10 Capistrano Hall Sacramento StateUniversity Sacramento Calif Presented bythe Sacramento Trad Jazz Society and theJazz Studies Program at SSU in cooperationwith TJEN Details from youthbandfestsac-jazzorgNEWPORT BEACH JAZZ PARTYFeb 16-18 Details from Newport Beach JazzParty 27 Carmel Bay Dr Corona del Mar CA92625 (949) 759-5003LIONEL HAMPTON JAZZ FESTIVALFeb 21-24 Info from Lionel Hampton JazzFestival Univ of Idaho PO Box 444257Moscow ID 83844-4257 (208) 885-6765COLORADO RIVER JAZZ FESTIVALFeb 23-25 Blythe Calif Featuring WildcatJass Band Igorrsquos Jazz Cowboys Coyote HillsJazz Band Chicago Six Alcatraz Angels NightBlooming Jazzmen Reynolds Brothers Fire-house Stompers Info from (760) 922-8166wwwblytheareachamberofcommercecomSAN DIEGO JAZZ PARTYFeb 23-25 Hilton San DiegoDel Mar SanDiego Calif Featuring Ken Peplowski Ed Pol-cer Warren Vacheacute Houston Person JimmyCheatham more Details from (858) 453-0846OREGON DIXIELAND JUBILEEFeb 23-25 Seaside Ore Featuring BobSchulzrsquos Frisco Jazz Band Uptown LowdownCornet Chop Suey Titan Hot 7 Blue StreetHigh Sierra 51st Eight Details from (800)394-3303 wwwjazzseasidecomGOLD COAST JAZZ FESTIVALFeb 24 Gold Coast Qld Australia Detailsfrom (07) 5559-0318 e-mail maryoiprimuscomauJAZZ BASH BY THE BAYMarch 2-4 Monterey Calif FeaturingUptown Lowdown Blue Street Golden GateRhythm Titanic Jazz Band more Detailsfrom (831) 633-5053JAZZ PARTY AT THE SHEDD 2007March 2-4 John G Shedd Institute for theArts Eugene Ore Featuring Ken Peplowski(artistic director) Dave Frishberg Bill MaysChuck Redd Doug Miller Gary Hobbs Jere-my Pelt Tim Clarke more Workshops lec-tures concerts alternative activities Elder-hostel program Info from (800) 248-1615 orwwwthesheddorgNOW YOU HAS JAZZ JAZZ JAZZ FESTMarch 2-5 Pakefield Suffolk EnglandDetails from 0044-1406-365731 wwwTradi-tional-jazzcomPEE WEE MEMORIAL STOMPMarch 4 Birchwood Manor Whippany NJSponsored by New Jersey Jazz Society Hot-line (800) 303-NJJS wwwnjjsorgTRIBUTE TO BIXMarch 8-11 Racine-Marriott Hotel RacineWisc Mike Durhamrsquos Five Pods of PepperRalph Nortonrsquos Studebaker ChampionsMichael Bovingrsquos Scandinavian Rhythm Boys

Andy Schummrsquos Flatland Syncopators AnnGrecorsquos 1929 chorus line Details from Tributeto Bix 15745 W Birchwood Lane Liber-tyville IL 60048 (847) 996-0246 wwwgeocitiescombixfestSOUTHCOAST CLAMBAKE JAZZFESTMarch 9-11 Coos Bay North Bend andCharleston Ore Featuring Uptown Low-down Stompy Jones and 10th Avenue JazzBand wwwclambakejazzorgDESERT SWING lsquoN DIXIE JAZZ FESTMarch 9-11 Palm Springs Calif FeaturingBarbary Coast Dixieland Band High SierraChicago Six Titanic Jazz Band Night Bloom-ing Jazzmen High Society Royal Dixie JazzBand Yve Evans and Company Mike Hene-bry Orchestra Palm Springs High Jazz BandCathedral City High Jazz Band Details fromDixieland Jazz Society of the Desert PO Box1000 Cathedral City CA 92235-1000 (760)333-7932 wwwdesertjazzorgZEHNDERS JAZZ FEASTIVALMarch 9-11 Frankenmuth Mich Detailsfrom (800) 863-7999MOE JAZZ FESTIVALMarch 9-12 Hot lsquoBrsquo Hines New MelbourneJazz Band Riviera Jazz Band Gail Kinstronand Hot Foot Jazz more Details from MoeJazz Festival PO Box 733 Moe 3825 VicAustralia (03) 5174-3516INVERLOCH JAZZ FESTIVALMarch 10-13 Details from Inverloch Jazz Festi-val PO Box 154 Inverloch 3996 Vic Australia0409-220-864 wwwinverlochjazzfestorgauSARASOTA JAZZ FESTIVALMarch 11-18 Sarasota Fla Featuring DickHyman Eartha Kitt Four Freshmen JohnPizzarelli Swing Seven Count Basie Orches-tra Details from Jazz Club of Sarasota 330 SPineapple Ave Suite 111 Sarasota FL34236 Hotline (941) 316-9207SAVANNAH MUSIC FESTIVALMarch 15-April 1 Savannah Ga Details from(912) 525-5050LAKES JAZZ FESTIVALMarch 18-20 Ambleside England Phone01229-823544BOHEM RAGTIME amp JAZZ FESTIVALMarch 23-25 Kecskemet Hungary FeaturingJohn Arpin Fulton Street Jazz Band BohemRagtime Jazz Band Cell Block 7 SmilingRagtime Band Speak Easy Duo Adam Swan-son more Details from httpfestivalbohemragtimecomCHARLES TEMPLETON RAGTIMEMUSIC FESTIVALMarch 23-25 Seminars in Mitchell MemorialLibrary concerts in McComas Hall TheatreMississippi State University CampusStarkville Ms Featuring Jeff Barnhart MimiBlais Neville Dickie Tracy Doyle DavidJasen Sue Keller Virginia Tichenor andRichard Zimmerman Tours of Charles HTempleton Music Museum also offeredDetails from httplibrarymsstateedutempletonfestival Phone (662) 325-2559REDWOOD COAST JAZZ FESTIVALMarch 29-April 1 Eureka Calif FeaturingBuck Creek Jazz Band Blue Street Titan Hot7 more Details from Redwood Coast MusicFestival PO Box 314 Eureka CA 95502-0314 (707) 445-3378 wwwredwoodjazzorg

| January 2007

M SaGEF

Onstage

Quantity Size(s) Colors

Forest Green with white logo Burgundy with white logo (L XXL)Coral with white logo (No M)Jade with white logo (L XXL)Purple with white logo (XL XXL)Pale Pink with white logo (S M)Royal Blue with white logo (No XL)Red with white logo (S XL XXL)Black with white logo (S M L XL)Raspberry with white logoTurquoise with white logoHot Pink with white logo (S L XL)Gray with red logo (LXXL)Ash gray wred logo (S M XL XXL)Silver with red logo (S)Yellow with red logoWhite with red logo (No M)

Small (34-36) Medium (38-40) Large (42-44) X-Large (46-48)Extra Extra Large (50X) ($2 more per shirt)

My check for $ is enclosed (US funds drawn on US bank)

Charge my VISA MasterCard in the amount of $

Credit Card No Exp

Signature

Please send my shirts to

Address

City State Zip

Nifty RAG T-Shirts

Brighten your wardrobe with a snazzy new Mis-sissippi Rag T-shirt Itrsquos the perfect garb for fes-tivals and concerts (we guarantee yoursquoll easily findfellow subscribers) and theyrsquore easy care Makes

a great gift for your fa-vorite jazz or ragtimefan too Available in agreat selection of col-ors these T-shirts are50 cotton50 poly-ester All are embla-zoned with our logoand are just $10 post-paid US (elsewhereadd $2) Mail yourcheck to The Missis-sippi Rag T-ShirtDivision PO Box19068 MinneapolisMN 55419

Reneacutee Johnson

________

VINCE LEWISJan 19 Sohorsquos Charleston WVa Jan 26-27All That Jazz Weekend at Grove Park InnAsheville NC Feb 7 (with Steve Abshire)Millennium Stage John F Kennedy Centerfor the Performing Arts Washington DCDetails from wwwvincelewiscom

HIGHLIGHTS IN JAZZ 34TH ANNIVERSARYFeb 8 8 pm Tribeca Performing Arts Cen-ter Borough of Manhattan Community Col-lege 199 Chambers St New York NY Fea-turing Vince Giordano and the NighthawksTrio Da Paz Sol Yaged and special guest LewSoloff Details from (212) 220-1460

SKIP PARSONSJan 12-13 10 pm-1 am Fountain Restau-rant 283 Scotland Ave Albany NY

HALrsquoS BAYOU JAZZ BANDFeb 25 2 pm Brooklawn American LegionHall Browning Rd and Railroad Ave Brook-lawn NJ 08030 Tri-State Jazz Society eventDetails from (856234-5147 or wwwtristate-jazzorg

AL HIXON JAZZ TRIO SIT IN JAMEvery Monday 7 pm Baccorsquos Restaurant 29N Lemon Ave Sarasota Fla

CANUSEvery Sunday 430-730 pm HermannrsquosJazz Club 753 View St Victoria BC (250)

388-9166

BARBONE STREET JAZZ BANDFeb 11 2-6 pm Moose Lodge Easton Pa APennsylvania Jazz Society event Details from(610) 258-2082 or wwwpajazzsocietyorg

THE WASHINGTON CONSERVATORYTRADITIONAL JAZZ ENSEMBLEJan 16 Jan 30 8 pm Colonel Brooks Tav-ern 901 Monroe St NE Washington DCDetails from (202) 529-4002

BUCK CREEK JAZZ BANDJan 25-28 Fresno Mardi Gras Fresno Calif

THE JIVE ACESJan 12 730 pm Tamworth Assembly RoomsCorporation St Tamworth Staffs England Jan14 730 pm Gala Theatre Millenium Place CoDurham England Jan 19 730 pm TheQueenrsquos Theatre Billet Lane Hornchurch Eng-land Jan 20 7 pm Stafford Gatehouse The-atre East Gate St Stafford England Jan 26 7pm Rolls Royce Club Moore Lane Derby Eng-land Jan 27 Jump Jive and Swing Quaorn Vil-lage Hall Leicester Rd Nr LoughboroughLeicester England Jan 28 730 pm Jazz AndJive British Legion Hall Georges Rd W Poyn-ton Cheshire England Feb 16 Town Hall The-atre Raby Rd Hartlepool Cleveand England

THE KINGS SWINGERSJan 15 630 pm The Party House 677 Bea-

han Rd Rochester NY A Flower City JazzSociety event Info from (585) 235-5654

SMUGTOWN STOMPERSJan 30 7-930 pm Fairport Village InnFairport NY

LINDA IPANEMA AND THE DIXIE CATSJan 7 11 am-3 pm brunch The PrioryNewark NJ Jan 11 215-315 pm River-side Church New York NY Jan 22 215-315 pm Forest View Nursing Home ForestHills NY Jan 25 230-330 pm The Ams-terdam Nursing Home New York NY Jan25 Sheepshead Bay Nursing Home BrooklynNY Jan 28 245-345 pm The CupolaParamus NJ Jan 30 130-230 pm TheHoward Beach Public Lirary Howard BeachNY (The Great Ladies of Song) Info from(718) 934-2264 wwwLindaIpanemacom

DR JOHN CLARKrsquoS WOLVERINE JAZZBANDJan 9 7 pm Sherborn Inn Rtes 27 and 16Sherborn Mass Info from (508) 655-0521

NEW BLACK EAGLE JAZZ BANDJan 23 7 pm Sherborn Inn Rtes 27 and16 Sherborn Mass Info from (508) 655-0521

SALUTE TO TED CASHERJan 30 7 pm hosted by Dan Fox with spe-cial guests Jimmy Mazzy Eli Newberger DickJohnson Gary Johnson and members of

M SaGEF

Swing Legacy and Made in the Shade Sher-born Inn Rtes 27 and 16 Sherborn MassInfo from (508) 655-0521

BRIA SKONBERGJan 8 Bickford TheatreMorris MuseumMorristown NJ Tickets from (973) 971-3706

PIANO GREATS (DEREK SMITH ANDRIO CLEMENTE)Feb 3 Jazz in Bridgewater Bridgewater NJTickets from (908) 725-6640

THREE BENNY OPERA (DAN LEVIN-SON JOE MIDIRI DAN BLOCK)Jan 17 8 pm Jazz in Bridgewater Vo-Tech

Hall Bridgewater NJ Also featured by JohnSheridan Paul Midiri Brian Nalepka KevinDorn Tickets from (908) 725-6640

SACRAMENTO TRAD JAZZ SOCIETYCRAB FEEDJan 27 5 pm-midnight Country ClubLanes Sky Room Watt Ave and El CaminoSacramento Calif Featuring Fulton StreetJazz Band Black Tuesday Jazz Band TNTYouth Band Details from wwwsacjazzorg

9TH ANNUAL RENT PARTYJan 14 15 local bands Noon-5 pm DanteClub 2330 Fair Oaks Blvd SacramentoCalif A Sacramento Trad Jazz Society event

Info from (916) 372-5277

BOB SCHULZ amp BOB DRAGAFeb 11 Noon-5 pm Dante Club 2330 Fair OaksBlvd Sacramento Calif A Sacramento Trad JazzSociety event Info from (916) 372-5277

TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF HAROLDARLENJan 14 2 pm Bloomington Center for theArts 1800 W Old Shakopee Rd Blooming-ton Minn Featuring Christine Rosholt BruceHenry Connie Olson Rick Carlson KeithBoyles and Jay Epstein A Twin Cities JazzSociety ldquoJazz from J to Zrdquo concert Detailsfrom wwwtcjsorg

COYOTE HILLS JAZZ BANDJan 21 130-430 pm Dixieland Jazz Societyof the Desert monthly dance The Elks Lodge67-491 Hwy111 Palm Springs Calif (760)333-7932 or (760) 322-8530

SWING FIVE JAZZ BANDFeb 18 130-430 pm Dixieland Jazz Societyof the Desert monthly dance The Elks Lodge67-491 Hwy111 Palm Springs Calif (760)333-7932 or (760) 322-8530

THE BEAR REPUBLIC JAZZ BANDJan 7 1-530 pm Last Day Saloon 120 5thSt Santa Rosa Calif a TRADJAZZ eventDetails from (707) 938-0191

BARNEBEYrsquoS HOT FOURFeb 4 1-530 pm Last Day Saloon 120 5thSt Santa Rosa Calif a TRADJAZZ eventDetails from (707) 938-0191

WILL CONNELLYrsquoS RIVER LIFFEYSALOON JAZZ BANDJan 28 1-415 pm Pompano Elks Club 700NE 10th St Pompano Beach Fla HAGSevent Details from wwwhagsjazzcom

NEW LIBERTY JAZZ BANDFeb 6 7 pm Sherborn Inn Rtes 27 and 16Sherborn Mass Info from (508) 655-0521

ROBIN VERDIERrsquoS MONTE CARLOJAZZ ENSEMBLEFeb 13 7 pm Sherborn Inn Rtes 27 and16 Sherborn Mass Info from (508) 655-0521

BOB MILNEJan 8 2-345 pm Florida Atlantic Universi-ty 777 Glades Rd Barry and Florence Fried-berg Auditorium Boca Raton Fla Jan 9 2-345 pm and 7-845 pm Florida AtlanticUniversity Boca Raton Fla Jan 12-14 Rag-time Benefit Weekend Eau Claire Wisc Jan20-21 Grand Ledge Opera House 121 SBridge St Grand Ledge Mich Info from(517) 627-5170 Jan 25 Unitarian Universal-ist Fellowship of Elkhart 1732 Garden StElkhart Ind Details from (574) 294-6525Jan 26-27 Eagles amp Ivories Weekend WesleyUnited Methodist Church Muscatine Ia Call(563) 263-8895 or (563) 263-9978 for details

CLIMAX JAZZ BANDJan 25-29 Fresno Mardi Gras Fresno CalifDetails from (559) 292-3999

HIGH SIERRA JAZZ BANDJan 13 7 pm Memorial Bldg Hwy 198 ampSkyline Dr Three Rivers Calif A Sierra Tra-ditional Jazz Club event

NEBRASKA JAZZ ORCHESTRA ampYOUNG LIONS ALL-STAR BANDJan 11 Featuring trumpeter Mac McCuneclarinetist Gary Gollner and trombonist DanStrom in a special dixieland performance 730

| January 2007

See and Hear Your Favorite Traditional Jazz Musicians at

The 27th Annual

North CarolinaJazz Festival

February 1 ndash 3 2007Hilton Wilmington Riverside 301 N Water Street Wilmington NC 28401

Enjoy the ambiance of this lovely old historic cityon the Cape Fear River near the Atlantic coastal beaches

Invited All-Star MusiciansBucky Pizzarelli guitar Ken Peplowski reedsHerman Burney bass Tom Fischer reeds

Nicki Parrott bass Ed Polcer cornettrumpetJohnny Varro piano Duke Heitger cornet trumpetMark Shane piano Dan Barrett tromboneJoe Ascione drums Chuck Redd drumsvibes

Special FeaturesJonathan Russell ldquothe young lion of the jazz violinrdquo

Coastal Carolina Jazz Ensemble

3-Day Festival ndash One Venue (Hilton Ballroom) ndash Cabaret StyleSpecial hotel rates for Jazz Festival attendees ($100 per night) for reservationsphone (888)324-8170 from 8am-5pm or (910)763-5900

Festival Concert TicketsThursday - $30 each (3-hour special event concert with open seating) Friday and Saturday- $50 each (4-12 hour concerts reserved seating for tables often Single tickets open seating)

Patron Tickets $175 Includes Friday and Saturday night concerts Saturday Patronsrsquo Musical Brunch (when pa-tronmusicians are invited to sit in with the all-star musicians) reserved preferred seatingand name listed in the program Reserve early for best seating choice Patrons may includeThursday night special event concert in their package for total ticket price of $200

For additional festival information and reservations call Sandy Evans 910-793-1111 or e-mail sandyevans34yahoocom ( mail to 233 Racine Dr95 Wilmington NC 28403)

Presented in partnership with the Cape Fear Jazz Appreciation Society

wwwcapefearjazzcomNCJAZZFEST______________________

M SaGEF

_______

pm Embassy Suites Hotel 1040 P St Lin-coln Ne Contact (402) 477-8446 for tickets

CHUCK HEDGES MILWAUKEE CON-NECTIONJan 28 2-5 pm Coliseum Bar 232 E OlinAve Madison Wisc Madison Jazz Societyevent Details from wwwmadisonjazzcom

JAZZ GUMBOJan 15 630-830 pm Phineas PhoggrsquosSeville Quarter 130 E Government St Pen-sacola Featuring Modern Jazz Trio Feb 3 6pm same location Jazzfest Goes On (annualJazzfest fundraiser) Feb 19 Trumpets inTime IV Details from Jazz Society of Pensaco-la wwwjazzpensacolacom

NATURAL GAS JAZZ BANDJan 14 2-5 pm Larkspur Cafe Theatredowntown Larkspur Calif Feb 4 SanJoaquin Jazz Club Stockton Calif Detailsfrom (415) 453-7014

WOMBAT JAZZ BANDJan 15 7-9 pm Elsternwick Hotel Elstern-wick Vic Australia

JEAN KITTRELL amp THE ST LOUISRIVERMENFeb 2-4 Central Illinois Jazz Festival Holi-day Inn Select Decatur Ill Details from (217)546-6091 Feb 19-20 JazzSea Mardi GrasParty Holiday Inn San Diego on the BayDetails from (800) 323-3881

JEFF BARNHART QUINTETJan 28 2-5 pm Moolah Shrine Center12545 Fee Fee Rd St Louis Mo A St LouisJazz Club event Details from (636) 305-0285or wwwstlouisjazzcluborg

UPTOWN LOWDOWN JAZZ BANDJan 14 Mountaineerrsquos Club 300 3rd Ave WSeattle Wash A Puget Sound Trad Jazz Soci-ety event

JAZZ CRUISESAug 11-18 Big Band Party at Sea round tripfrom New England to Canada on the msMaasdam with The Brooks Tegler OrchestraDetails from Jazz Club at Sea (800) 433-0493or jcasannualjazzpartyatseacomJazzSea Cruises Feb 21-Mar 3 JazzSeaMexico 10-day cruise from San Diego to Puer-to Vallarta onward on ms Ryndam Jan 5-15 2008 JazzSea 25th Anniversary from FtLauderdale to Barbados St Lucia StMaarten Martinique Tortola and Half MoonCay Details from JazzSea Cruises (800) 323-3881 or wwwjazzseacomJazzdagen Cruises March 4-11 MexicanRiviera Rendezvous on the Crystal SymphonyMay 12-19 Tahiti on the Paul Gauguin ofRegent Seven Seas June 13-June 20 Glo-ries of Greece on the Crystal Serenity Com-bine this cruise with the following cruise for a5 discount June 20-July 2 Splendors ofthe Mediterranean on the Crystal SerenitySept 12-26 Alaska Siberia and Japan onthe Regent Seven Seas Mariner Dec 1-8Jazz Alive in 2007 on the Crystal Symphonyround-trip from Miami to Mexico and KeyWest with 25 recording all-star artists Detailsfrom Jazzdagen Tours (800) 433-0078 or wwwjazzdagencom

Jan 6-9 Forbes Jazz Festival Forbes NSW AustraliaJan 10-13 Intrsquol Assn of Jazz Educators Conf New York NYJan 12-14 Eau Claire Ragtime Festival Eau Claire WiscJan 19-21 Big BandSwing Dance Weekend Asheville NCJan 25-28 The Sounds of Mardi Gras Fresno CalifJan 26-27 Eagles and Ivories Ragtime Festival Muscatine IaJan 26-28 ldquoAll That Jazzrdquo Weekend Asheville NCFeb 1-3 North Carolina Jazz Festival Wilmington NCFeb 2-4 Central Illinois Jazz Festival Decatur IllFeb 9-11 Grampians Jazz Festival Halls Gap Vic AustraliaFeb 10 Trad Jazz Youth Band Festival Sacramento CalifFeb 16-18 Newport Beach Jazz Party Newport Beach CalifFeb 21-24 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival Moscow IdFeb 23-25 San Diego Jazz Party San Diego CalifFeb 23-25 Colorado River Jazz Festival Blythe CalifFeb 23-25 Oregon Dixieland Jubilee Seaside OreFeb 24 Gold Coast Jazz Festival Gold Coast Qld AustraliaMarch 1-4 Dixieland Monterey Monterey CalifMarch 2-4 Jazz Party at The Shedd 2007 Eugene OreMarch 2-5 Now You Has Jazz Jazz Jazz Festival Pakefield Suffolk EnglandMarch 8-11 Tribute to Bix Racine WiscMarch 9-11 Desert Swingrsquon Dixie Jazz Festival Palm Springs CalifMarch 9-11 Southcoast Dixieland Clambake Coos Bay OreMarch 9-11 Zehnders Jazz Feastival Frankenmuth MichMarch 9-12 Moe Jazz Festival Moe Victoria AustraliaMarch 10-13 Inverloch Jazz Festival Inverloch Vic AustraliaMarch 11-18 Sarasota Jazz Festival Sarasota FlaMarch 15-April 1 Savannah Music Festival Savannah GaMarch 18-20 Lakes Jazz Festival Ambleside EnglandMarch 23-25 Charles Templeton Ragtime Music Festival Starkville MissMarch 23-25 Bohem Ragtime amp Jazz Festival Kecskemet HungaryMarch 29-April 1 Redwood Coast Dixieland Jazz Festival Eureka CalifMarch 29-April 1 Victoria Hot Jazz Jubilee Victoria BC CanadaMarch 31-April 1 Pensacola JazzFest Pensacola FlaApril 2-8 Sarasota Jazz Festival Sarasota FlaApril 13-15 Jazzaffair Three Rivers CalifApril 13-15 French Quarter Festival New Orleans LaApril 18-22 Zehnders Ragtime Festival Frankenmuth MichApril 20-22 Atlanta Jazz Party Atlanta GaApril 22-23 Classic JazzRagtime Festival Bowral NSW AustraliaApril 27-28 Highlands Jazz Festival Abingdon VaApril 27-29 Capital City Jazz Fest Madison WiscApril 27-29 Jazz in the Olympics Port Angeles WashApril 28-29 Mother Lode Hot Jazz Party Jackson CalifApril 27-May 6 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival New Orleans LaMay 3-6 City of Derry Jazz amp Big Band Festival Derry EnglandMay 4-6 Chattanooga Trad Jazz Festival Chattanooga TennMay 5 11th German Jazz Record Collector Fair Hannover GermanyMay 9-13 Keswick Jazz Festival Keswick Cumbria UKMay 11-12 Dixieland Jazz by the Sea San Clemente CalifMay 11-13 Rain or Shine Festival Aberdeen WashMay 25-27 Old-Time Piano Playing Contest Peoria IllMay 25-28 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Sacramento CalifMay 26-27 Paradise Valley Jazz Party Scottsdale ArizMay 30-June 3 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival Sedalia MoJune 22-24 Elkhart Jazz Festival Elkhart IndJune 22-24 Cedar Basin Jazz Festival Cedar Falls IaJune 28-July 1 Americarsquos Festival Olympia WashJune 7-10 Glenn Miller Festival Clarinda IaJuly 11-15 Whitley Bay Jazz Festival Newcastle Upon Tyne EnglandJuly 27-29 Great Connecticut Traditional Jazz Festival Moodus ConnAug 2-5 Orange County Classic Jazz Festival Costa Mesa CalifAug 25-Sept 1 Bude Jazz Festival Cornwall EnglandSept 13-16 Jazz at Chautauqua Chautauqua NYSept 28-30 Ragtime Festival 2007 Superior WiscNov 8-11 Arizona Classic Jazz Festival Chandler Ariz

2008Sept 18-21 Jazz at Chautauqua Chautauqua NYNov 6-9 Arizona Classic Jazz Festival Chandler Ariz

Upcoming Festivals

___________________

M SaGEF

Plainsong Sept 26 2006 will be remembered byLeslie Johnson and me as the day we delivered thefinal print version of this journal to our printer inShakopee Minn And even though we already wereplunging ahead into cyberspace there was an air ofsadness and nostalgia because 33 years of publishingThe Ragtrade in a traditional newsprint format werecoming to an end The thoughtful folks at ShakopeeValley Printing gave Leslie a huge beautiful plantand wished her well The plant is flourishing threemonths later and wersquore up and running electronical-ly to wit

At ldquopresstimerdquo we received word of the death oftrad bassist Dave Faison in Las Vegas of heart-relat-ed causes Faison lived in Minnesota for many yearsand was an in-demand and well-loved musician Amemorial service was held in the Minneapolis areaDec 16 with many musicians participating in musi-cal salutes

The St Paul West 7th St club formerly known asMitchrsquos now is Bennettrsquos still hosting the Bill EvansNew Orleans Jazz Band each fourth Tuesday 7-10pm The name change occurred after former ownerChuck Mitch sold the place recently

Veteran Minnesota band leader Ted Unseth isseeking financial support and affiliation with an edu-cation institution for his 12-14 piece American Clas-sic Jazz Orchestra ldquoIrsquom looking for a college univer-sity (or other) institutionto help get fundingrdquoUnseth told The Rag via e-mail recently ldquoI think it(ACJO) should become an institution itself ndash itrsquos a liv-ing museum of classic American music that should besupported in a fashion similar to the Lincoln Centerfor the Performing Arts jazz series or the Smithson-ian Jazz Masterworks seriesrdquo FFI Ted Unseth tede-boyattnet or wwwtedeboynet

Twenty-one-year-old accordionist Patrick Harisonis making a name for himself here in Minnesota andin New Orleans His first CD Streetwalkers is gettingairplay and favorable reviews a second CD will bereleased soon and he is organizing a concert for Jan27 as part of the annual St Paul Winter CarnivalHis love of New Orleans is reflected in the interviewhe gave Claire Joseph in the Nov 5 St Paul PioneerPress For CD purchase info concert schedule and abio (651) 351-9180 or Cheri Bell harisonbookinggmailcom

Media Matters While putting a new ribbon in myfaithful old Smith-Corona I happened upon a storyin the Nov 28 St Paul Minn Pioneer Press thatadvised me HD digital radio was here and that atleast in Minnesota it includes some jazz For anexplanation of what HD radio is read the article Ifyou donrsquot know jack about Jack FM the MinnesotaHD digital jazz station read the article If you donrsquotknow what a Smith-Corona is you are SOL

The November issue of The Force in Jazz newslet-ter of the Madison Wis Jazz Society offered bestwishes to Leslie Johnson and the online version of

The Rag as well as its usual complement of Societyand area news and events wwwmadisonjazzcom

The November issue of Earlyjas Rag of Northeast-ern Ohio praised The Rag and Leslie Johnson andran stories about Norrie Cox Paul Whiteman RedNichols and a trip to Memphis wwwearlyjasrageditorearlyjasrag (330) 678-5903 Earlyjas POBox 1421 Kent Ohio 44240

Trumpeter Brad Eggen who also is president ofTwin Cities (St Paul-Minneapolis Minn) MusiciansUnion Local 30-73 AFM paid tribute in the unionrsquosnewsletter Duet to an old friend he never met ndashtrumpeter Maynard Ferguson who died recently

Congratulations to Nicole Swanson 23 the newMiss Minnesota Shersquos a viola player orchestra aspi-rant and member of Twin Cities Local 30-73 Con-grats also to 83-year-old Minnesota jazz teacherRuben Haugen who was honored by the Twin CitiesJazz Society recently for his 56 years of teaching A

Haugen alumni band did the honorsin concert at Bloomington MinnHigh School Haugen recently recov-ered from injuries suffered in a caraccident

The December issue of JazzNotes newsletter of TCJS is full ofbig band news plus complete list-

ings of area events including TCJSrsquoldquoJazz from J to Zrdquo series wwwtcjsorg

The December issue of Ragtime Notes newsletter ofthe Classic Ragtime Society based in IndianapolisInd previewed its own events plus the 8th annualEau Claire Wis Ragtime Festival Jan 12-14 the13th annual Eagles and Ivories Festival MuscatineIowa Jan 26-27 the Lake Superior Ragtime SocietyrsquosFrigid Frolics concert Duluth Minn Feb 11 and theWest End Jazz Bandrsquos May 6 train trip to HudsonLake Ind May 6 wwwindianaragorg

The Fall issue of Bix Notes newsletter of the BixBeiderbecke Memorial Society announced Rich John-sonrsquos retirement from the organization after 24 yearsand reviewed the Bix Fest wwwbixsocietyorg

The December issue of the newsletter of the Illiana(Illinois-Indiana) Club of Traditional Jazz previewedthe Central Illinois Jazz Festival Decatur Ill Feb 2-4 the Tribute to Bix Festival Racine Wis March 9-11 and the Capital City Jazz Festival Madison WisApril 27-29 There also are big band memories fromeditor Eddy Banjura and the deaths of club support-ers George Lett and John Tully were noted TheNovember issue had some kind words for The Ragand Leslie Johnson and Banjurarsquos memories of Bixand Bing jazzEddyaolcom (219) 923-6775

What is jazz Armstrong reportedly once said ldquoIfyou have to ask yoursquoll never knowrdquo but William Per-ry writing in the latest newsletter of the Catfish JazzSociety (catfishjazzyahoocom) and Bill Fullerwriting in the December issue of Northeast OhiorsquosEarlyjas Rag beg to differ

Out of our area but worth noting Trumpeterflugelhornistvocalisteducator Clark Terry will beinducted into the Sweet and Hot Music FoundationWalk of Fame at this yearrsquos festival in Los AngelesSept 1-4 wwwsweethot org

Please send me your news by the fifth of the monthpreceding publication Will Shapira 5644 Morgan AvS Minneapolis MN 55419 wshapiraaolcom Noattachments please ndash just text Thank you Later

Jazz in the Heartlandby Will Shapira

| January 2007

_____________

___________

________

____________

________________

_____________

M SaGEF

FarewellsAhmet Ertegun 83 co-founder of

Atlantic Records in 1947 died Dec 14 inManhattan His death was due to abrain injury suffered when he fell back-stage Oct 29 at a New York concert cele-brating President Bill Clintonrsquos 60thbirthday He had been in a coma sincethe fall The son of a Turkish diplomatErtegun was responsible not just forrecording jazz artists like the Preserva-tion Hall Jazz Band but also for record-ing such RampB and rock musicians asLed Zeppelin the Rollling StonesAretha Franklin and Ray Charles Withhis brother Nesuhi and producer JerryWexler he built Atlantic into a majorrecord label and he described its rise toCharlie Rose during a fascinating inter-view broadcast on Public Televisionwhen the film Ray (based on the life ofRay Charles) was released Ertegunwas one of the RAGrsquos first subscribers

Dolores (Dodie) OrsquoNeill 92 the love-ly swing era singer who graced theRAGrsquos February 2006 cover died Dec 12in Upstate New York surrounded by herloving family Her career included herown radio show when she was just asenior in high school a successful careeras a nightclub singer and well-receivedstints with the Artie Shaw Bob ChesterJack Teagarden and Gene Krupa bandsShe is considered by fellow musiciansand critics to have had one of the finestvoices of the big band era

European jazz great Oscar Klein 76died Dec 12 in Germany A versatilemusician who played trumpet clarinetguitar and harmonica Klein was self-taught Recordings made with LionelHampton were only some of the 200recordings he made during a four-decadecareer He also played with Wild BillDavison Bill Coleman Dexter Gordonand other jazz legends

Bill Price 83 who died Dec 21 inBradenton Fla was more than a suc-cessful business executive ndash he was asuperb cornetist who was mentored byNew Orleans trumpeter Lee Collins inChicago during the 1940s Price passedthe baton along mentoring othersincluding members of the Hall BrothersJazz Band the house band at the Empo-rium of Jazz in Mendota Minn While inChicago Price played with top jazzmensuch as Baby Dodds Georg Brunis MiffMole and the Original Salty Dogs Priceachieved business success as vice-presi-dent of Minnesota-based Data CardCorp in the 1970s and with the jazzdrumming president of the company

Bill Drake formed a memorable bandcalled The Original New Yorkers releas-ing four critically acclaimed albums

Bassistvocalist Dave Faison 88 diedDec 9 in Las Vegas Nev from compli-cations after receiving a pacemaker Hiscareer was primarily in the Minneapo-lisSt Paul area where he played withthe Percy Hughes band the MouldyFigs the Blackburn-Beach Blues Bandthe Hall Brothers Jazz Band the BillEvans New Orleans Jazz Band andHenry Blackburnrsquos Creole Four He

retired to Las Vegas in 1996 butreturned to Minneapolis on occasionalways welcome when he sat in withlocal musicians

Big band singer ldquoLiltinrsquordquo MarthaTilton 91 died of natural causes Dec 8in Brentwood Calif Especially knownfor her recording of ldquoAnd the AngelsSingrdquo with the Benny Goodman bandTilton also worked with Artie Shaw andJimmy Dorsey Among her other hitrecordings were ldquoIrsquoll Walk Alonerdquo andldquoThatrsquos My Desirerdquo

_________________

M SaGEF

It is indeed an honor to write this col-umn for the first online edition of The Mis-sissippi Rag Shorter than usual the col-umn highlights the traditional jazzactivities in New England since aroundNovember 1

Therersquos sad news from Connecticut TheGalvanized Jazz Bandrsquos oldest fan EarlCapron 97 a resident of Trumbull diedNov 12 He sang and played banjo withhis Bourbon Street Seven Jazz Band formore than 40 years Fred Vigorito GJBleader has expressed his sincerest sympa-thies to Capronrsquos wife Penny and the

Capron family and Vigorito told TheRagtrade ldquoEarl was an inspiration to allmusicians including this one and he willbe missed by allrdquo

Bands at the Sherborn Inn SherbornMass in November were Jeff HughesrsquoLost in the Sauce Stan McDonaldrsquos BlueHorizon Jazz Band with guest trumpeterCharlie Lewis and the New Black EagleJazz Band There was no jazz at the Sher-born Inn in December

Bands appearing at the Sherborn Innthis month are Doctor John ClarkrsquosWolverine Jazz Band the 9th the BlueHorizon Jazz Band the 16th and theNew Black Eagle Jazz Band the 23rd

On Jan 30 there will be a salute at theSherborn Inn to reedman Ted CasherSpecial guest musicians will be JimmyMazzy on banjo and vocals tubaist EliNewberger reedman Dick Johnsondrummer Gary Johnson members ofMade in the Shade and Henry (thins)Francisrsquo Swing Legacy and others Pro-ceeds will go to Childrenrsquos HospitalBoston

Jeff rsquos Jumpinrsquo Jive cornetist Jeff Hugh-esrsquo new band was at Ma GlocknerrsquosRestaurant Bellingham Mass Oct 24The other players were Dr John Clark onreeds Francis on piano bassist JustinMeyer drummer Dave Bragdon andvocalist Debbie Larkin Clarkrsquos WolverineJazz Band was at Glocknerrsquos Nov 7 OnDec 5 The Henry amp Debbie Show featur-ing Francis Larkin Ted Casher on tenorsaxophone and clarinet bassist Todd Bak-er and Gary Johnson played there RobinVerdierrsquos Monte Carlo Jazz Ensembleplayed Glocknerrsquos Dec 12

The Blue Horizon Jazz Band withguest trumpeter Mike Peipman and guestdummer Richard Malcolm and the NewBlack Eagle Jazz Band performed at the

Bridgwaye Inn Marshfield Mass inNovember The Annual Spectacular Holi-day Jazz Festival was scheduled for Dec17 Musicians lined up were Hughes andJeff Stout trumpets trombonists TomBoates and Lee Prager Clark and StanMcDonald reeds pianists Ross Petot andVerdier banjoists Dave MacMillan andJimmy Mazzy (also vocals) bassist JohnPierce drummer Richard Malcolm andDebbie Larkin

In November Frank Sinatra-stylistSteve Marvin accompanied by trios

entertained at the BangkokParadise Salem Mass theRat Pack Cafeacute Framing-ham Mass the West EndCafeacute Cranston RI andAngelicarsquos MiddletonMass

The Suncoast Dix-ieland Classic was held

at the Sheraton Sand KeyHotel Clearwater Beach Fla Nov

17-19 and four New England bands werethere the Bearcat Jazz Band the Galva-nized Jazz Band Jeff Barnhartrsquos AllstarJazz Band and John Clarkrsquos WolverineJazz Band GJBrsquos guests were trombonistCraig Grant banjoist Bob Price andsinger Jane Campedelli

In Connecticut the Heartbeat JazzQuintet is again playing every Wednesdayfor the jazz lunch (1145 am-145 pm) atBillrsquos Seafood Restaurant Westbrook

On Oct 29 the Galvanized Jazz Bandwith guest trombonist Herb Gardner wasfeatured at Marisarsquos Restaurant 6540Main Street Trumbull Conn GJB will beat Marisarsquos Jan 28 600 to 830 pm Call(203) 459-4225 for information

Bill Logozzorsquos Heartbeat Jazz Band wasat Oliverrsquos Essex Conn Dec 7 and willalso be there Jan 11 and the band will beat Oliverrsquos the first Thursday (700-1000pm) monthly

Performing the last Thursday (630-930pm) every month at the Silvermine Tav-ern 194 Perry Avenue Norwalk Conn isthe Constitution Jazz Band led by trom-bonist Bill Gray The other members aretrumpeter Simon Wettenhall Russ Whit-man on clarinet and soprano and basssaxes pianist Herb Gardner and bassistBarry Bockus

Connecticut trombonist Jim Fryerplayed with Vince Giordanorsquos NightHawks Nov 29 and Dec 20 at the IridiumJazz Club 1650 Broadway and 51stStreet New York City

Catherine (Foxie) Van Blaricom is thenew director of The Great ConnecticutTraditional Jazz Festival according toFred Vigorito

If you have news of trad jazz swing orragtime in New England please e-mailme at algeobaolcom

Yankee Jazz Beatby George A Borgman

| January 2007

___________

M SaGEF

Of the three British traditional jazzfestivals we attended this year theWhitley Bay International Jazz Festival(July 14-16) stood out for two reasons aplethora of bands from the continentand the two pre-festival concertsarranged by Keith Nichols featuring anldquoArdquo band of jazz musicians

On Wednesday night the first pre-fes-tival concert was a tribute to Bix Beider-becke at the Whitley Bay PlayhouseAndy Woon took the part of Bix and hewas ably supported by pianistvocalistKeith Nichols Norman Field Matthias

Seuffert Spats Langham MartinWheatley Alistair Allen Nick WardFrans Sjostrom and Mike Piggott

On Thursday night the same bandwas supplemented by the Northern Sin-fonia performing a program of PaulWhiteman numbers This took place inNewcastle at the Sage in Gateshead anew theater complex A performance ofldquoRhapsody in Bluerdquo featured all of theabove plus Wayne Marshall on pianoBoth of these pre-festival events wereoutstanding

The Whitley Bay festival itself ran

from Friday night through Sundayevening For us the bands from the con-tinent were the most exciting One ofour favorites was the Red Hot Feet-warmers from southern France featur-ing Stephane Gillot (reeds leader andarranger) and his fianceacute Aurelie Tropezan outstanding reed player in her ownright They played in the style of JimmieNoone and Gillot had lengthened manyof the numbers by adding music in thestyle of the composer They were verypopular and will be back next year withthe addition of Aureliersquos sister and their

The British Festivals of 2006Keswick Whitley Bay Bude

May 11-14 July 14-16 August 26-September 2

Text by Andy and Kathy WittenbornPhotos by Andy Wittenborn

At the Whitley Bay International Jazz Festival the Serenaders gathered around the microphone for a bit of lsquo20sjazz The trio a part of the Bratislava Hot Serenaders Orchestra from Slovakia consists of Daniela MaderĭcovaacuteJana Dekaacutenovaacute and Lrsquoudmila Zalpatočnaacute Thatrsquos Richard Fičor banjoistguitarist in the background

M SaGEF

| January 2007

father The Bratislava Hot Serenaders from

Slovakia made their second appearanceat the festival and were extremely popu-lar with everybody This is a full bandwith three violins they play music of thersquo20s to the early rsquo40s The band has fivesingers ndash two males and three females ndashall dressed in the clothing of the rsquo20s

From French Switzerland came the

South Side Serenaders This is anotherband with two persons in the front line ndashin this case Rene Hagmann (trumpetand reeds) and Thomas Winteler (clar-inet and soprano sax) Winteler was fea-tured in a number of Sidney Bechetsongs and this band played a number oflesser known songs as well as the usualstandards

Another French band was the HotAntic Jazz Band which was very enter-taining and also great musically

Guest musicians added to the excite-ment of all three festivals At Keswicktrombonistvocalist Lucien Barbarinnephew of Paul Barbarin guested witha number of New Orleans-style bandsReedman Matthias Seuffert from Ger-many was a popular addition to bandsat Keswick and Whitley Bay FransSjostrom from Sweden played bass saxat Whitley Bay and Bude Bent Persson(trumpet and cornet) also from Swedenguested at Keswick with a number ofbands and also led his own band

BBC award winner Keith Nichols wasfeatured at all three festivals Nichols isa versatile and extraordinary musicianwho plays piano and trombone and doeswonderful vocals He is well liked byboth musicians and fans and is unpre-tentious enough to have accepted arequest to play at the 70th birthday par-

Red Hot Reedwarmers AurelieTropez and Stephane Gillotmake sweet music togetherAND theyrsquore engaged to bemarried Thatrsquos bassist HenriLamaire in the background

At the Whitley Bay festival thehotel lobby was the venue for aspecial half-hour performanceby Matthias Seuffert and MartinWheatley

Norman Field of the ChalumeauSerenaders plays the bass clarinetthat he inherited from the USA

The South Side Serenaders take the stage at Whitley Bay From left theyare Claude Lauprette piano Rene Hagmann cornet Thomas Wintelersoprano sax Henri Lamaire bass Pierre-Alain Maret banjo and JeanLavorel percussion

Vocalist guitarist and banjoplayer Tom ldquoSpatsrdquo Langham isthe leader of Spats and HisRhythm Boys

M SaGEF

Anne Barnhart played a session with herhusband Jeff at Keswick

The Fryer-Barnhart All Star International Jazz Band frontline included George Huxley clarinet Alistair Allen trom-bone and Andy Woon trumpet In back are Brian Mellor onbanjo Nick Ward drums and Annie Hawkins bass

In August 1963 the GeorgeLewis New Orleans Allstarsvisited Japan and performeda series of concerts over athree month period

Their first performance was atelevision concert whichforms the basis of this DVDrelease

The DVD containsbull 1 hour of music footage

digitally enhanced fromoriginal TV tapes

bull Photo Gallery bull Interviews

euro3000(approx $40 USD)

George Lewis in Japan 1963 DVD

Band MembersGeorge Lewis - ClarinetErnest lsquoPunchrsquo Miller -

Trumpet Louis Nelson - TromboneJoe Robichaux - Piano Emmanuel Sayles - BanjolsquoPaparsquo John Joseph - BassJoe Watkins - Drums

Visit wwwevergreenmusicorg to purchase your DVD online

ty of a fan mixing easily with the gueststo their delight He led and arranged theaforementioned Whitley Bay pre-festivalconcerts and has a variety of bands bigand small playing all types of tradition-al jazz

One of the most popular bands andone which we really enjoy is the Fryer-Barnhart International All Star Jazz

Band a combination of two Americans(trombonist Jim Fryer and pianist JeffBarnhart) and some of Britainrsquos top jazzmusicians As always they played topacked houses at Keswick and BudeTheir driving rhythm enhanced bydrummer Nick Ward bassist Annie

Hawkins and guitaristbanjoist BrianMellor combines with the versatility andhumor of Jeff Barnhart and the first-class playing of reedman George Huxleytrumpeter Gordon Whitworth and Fryerwho always makes a point of recognizingall of the organizers and volunteers

M SaGEF

Lucien Barbarin sat in ontrombone and also sang withthe New Orleans Heat

| January 2007

Guitarist Rachel Hayward isalso the Bude Festival director

without whom the festivals would not bepossible

Banker John Maddocks led his superbJazzmen as well as collaborating withGeorge Huxley in the Huxley-MaddoxReeds United at both Keswick andBude He also played with Mike CoxrsquosBlack Snake Jazz Band at Bude

Another foreign band which played atboth Keswick and Bude was theLouisiana Washboard a delightful five-piece band from Norway Their wash-board player is a real asset who does nottry to overpower the band as some doThe interaction between the reed playerand leader Steinar Saetre and trumpeterKetil Saethre was musically exciting

Bassist Isabel Toner Debbie Arthurs leads DebbieArthursrsquo Sweet Rhythm band

Keith Nichols plays piano for Spats and HisRhythm Boys and trombone with the Colle-gians

Enrico Tomaso played with Keith Nicholsrsquo Earthbound Spirits

The New Orleans heat played at Keswick and Bude Fromleft Alan Birkinhead trombone Harry Slater bass GwynLewis trumpet Dion Cocharn drums John Scantlebury saxclarinet Tony Peatman banjo and Barry Grummett piano

M SaGEF

Pianist and arrangerJon Penn is a welcomeaddition to many bandsHis recent endeavor is aHot Five Jazz Bandinspired by his nineyears playing with thelate Ben Cohen whomwe heard at our first Bude festi-val Pennrsquos band played toenthusiastic houses at bothKeswick and Bude

George Huxley is another ter-rific musician who plays in anumber of bands and sometimesleads his own band Hersquos a virtu-oso reeds man who plays anexquisite soprano sax He playedat Keswick and Whitley Bay

Spats Langham is at homesinging and playing anythingfrom a Bing Crosby number to aUkulele Ike song He is great onrhythm banjo and guitar andalso as a soloist He led his ownband (Spats and His RhythmBoys) and played in variousbands at Whitley Bay and Bude

Two other truly outstandingBritish musicians are Nick Ward(percussion) and Norman Field(reeds pennywhistle) As wehave said before we think Wardis the model whom all percus-sionists should follow Field isalways an asset both for hissuperb playing and for hisincredible knowledge of 1920sand 1930s traditional jazz Both

men played at all three festivalsTwo New Orleans style bands

we particularly like are The RaeBrothersrsquo New Orleans Band andNew Orleans Heat The RaeBrothers have a more subtlestyle and both brothers Mac andDave sing sweetly The NewOrleans Heat in contrast have adriving raucous sound led bypowerhouse trumpet playerGwyn Lewis The band is a littlerough around the edges butthatrsquos as it should be

Time does not permit us todescribe all the bands at thethree festivals but we canassure you that if you attend anyone of these festivals you will beexcited and pleased with themusic

If you want more informationfor 2007 go to the following web-sites Keswick (May 9-13) wwwtheaterbythelakecom WhitleyBay (July 11-15) wwwwhitley-bayjazzfestorg and Bude (Aug25 to Sept 1) wwwbudejazzfesti-valcouk Accommodations goquickly so donrsquot delay

Mike Durham rightplayed with severalbands including Spatsand His Rhythm Boys

co BELAIR Computers5022 Campbell Blvd Suite L White Marsh MD 21236(410) 933-3535 bull fax (410) 933-3133

wwwnoteworthyjazzcom

The Good StuffA TRIBUTE TOCHARLIE BYRD

featuring

Gene Bertoncini

Two In The Pocket

featuring

Steve AbshireVince Lewis

Steve Abshire amp Vince LewisLive at the Mainstay

with Joe Byrd amp Chuck Redd

Time OnMy Hands

featuring

John DoughtenBrooks Tegler

A L S O AVA I L A B L E O N N O T E W O RT H Y C D

ldquoIf ever two musicians were meant to record together it is Steve Abshire and Vince Lewis Their impeccable

sense of style and sophistication makes this second collaboration one of the most swinging recordings

in yearsrdquo - Randall Kremer Smithsonian Jazz Cafe

ldquoVince Lewis and Steve Abshire take a back seat to noone in any aspect of jazz guitar playing It is absolutely

thrilling and delightful to sit down and listen for thefirst time and then again and again ingenious

imaginative interplay exciting beautiful and rareEvery single song is handled with extreme care

we are richer for their performancesrdquo- from the review by Will Shapira The Mississippi Rag - June 2006

_________

__________

_____________

______

M SaGEF

Brian Carrickrsquos Algiers Stompersrsquo front line includes ChasHudson Peter Wright and Brian Carrick In the back row areJohn Baker Bill Cole Malc Hurrell and Gabrielle Gad

| January 2007

FESS WILLIAMS 1926-30 (JazzOracle BDW 8014 2 CDs)Heebie Jeebies What Did Rome-O-Juliet Nobody But My Baby Is Get-ting My Love Gamblerrsquos Blues Vari-ety Stomp Alligator Crawl DixieStomp Drifting and Dreaming HerelsquoTis A Few Riffs Hot Town FrictionKentucky Blues Do Shuffle SnagNasty Big Shot Sell It Betsy BrownSweet Savannah Sue Ainrsquot Misbe-havinrsquo Buttons Musical Camp Meet-ing Goinrsquo to Get lsquoCha Hot MamaYour Smiling Face Slide Mr JellySlide Shersquos Still Dizzy lsquoLeven-ThirtySaturday Night Irsquom Feelinrsquo DevilishAll for Grits and Gravy Playing MySaxophone You Canrsquot Go Wrong IdaSweet as Apple Cider EverythingrsquosOK with Me Dinah Just to Be withYou Tonight

Reviewed by William J Schafer

Stanley R Williams (1894-1975)was from Danville Kentucky playedwhat is usually derisively calledldquogaspiperdquo clarinet and became one ofthe biggest big time bandleaders inNew York in the heyday of the HarlemRenaissance The combined force ofsnobbery and revisionist jazz historymakes his name vague (he was knownprofessionally as ldquoFessrdquo because heonce was a schoolteacher) and hisaccomplishments all but forgottenOnce he was the lord of the dance andruler of Harlemrsquos Rosemont and SavoyBallrooms the proprietor of thehottest dance band in the age of theCharleston and Black Bottom

His band was the icon of black hotdance groups when they were cultur-ally most effective Rudolf Fisher aphysician and top writer among thenew black literati wrote a famousshort story ldquoCommon Meterrdquo whichwas set in ldquothe Arcadia on HarlemrsquosLenox Avenuerdquo and featured a battleof the bands between two hot orches-tras ndash those of ldquoFess Baxterrdquo and ldquoBusWilliamsrdquo ndash an obvious homage toFess Williamsrsquo famous group But thecanon-making that set up jazz historyand criticism as ldquoseriousrdquo endeavors inthe 1930s and rsquo40s ruled out a manwho made rude squawking and growl-ing noises on his horn and most of

whose music was more or less ldquonoveltymusicrdquo or ldquonut jazzrdquo

Early critical purists scowled at sax-ophones and ruled out as barbaric apractice such as slap-tonguing forreeds (although it was OK for BubberMiley to ldquobubberrdquo on his cornet andTricky Sam Nanton to perform auralcontortions with his sliphorn) Theruthless separation by critics andreviewers of ldquoartrdquo music and ldquopopularrdquomusic at the root of jazz meant that itwas good to worship Fletcher Hender-son and bad even to listen to a popularmusical anarchist like Fess WilliamsHowever when Williamsrsquo band playedthousands danced bought his hot-sell-ing Victor records and believed them-selves to be quaffing from the Pierianspring of jazz Who are we ndash ofayrecord collectors compulsive-obsessivediscographers and nerds in herds onthe edge of jazz ndash to say that Williamsrsquoflat-out vulgarity and crude brio fromthe heart of the Jazz Age are ldquowrongrdquo

This collection displays all the char-acteristics of Williamsrsquo solo sax andclarinet noodling (something on theorder of negroid klezmer styles) andexcellent work by a good big bandSkilled soloists like trumpeter GeorgeTemple trombonist David ldquoJellyrdquoJames and pianist Fats Pichon arewell worth hearing Others like altosax man Lockwood Lewis (a jug bandalumni) and drummer Ralph Bedellare first-rate musicians also Theband plays well in sections and thearrangements are functional dance-able and swinging Williams addsvaudevillian humor to his clarinetwork and his hammy vocals but audi-ences then evidently lapped up thisbroad comedy

Williamsrsquo band and his own playingare utterly distinctive and becomemore and more ldquonormalrdquo on listeningacross a large swath of work like thaton these two CDs For me the experi-ence became a guilty pleasure likeeating forbidden sticky candy I waitedwith some eagerness for the next pop-ping bubbling clarinet passage and Ibecame positively attached toWilliamsrsquo exuberant vocals a vastlong league beyond the work of mostbanal big band singers of the era andeven foreshadowing such interestingjive singers as Leo Watson of theblessed Spirits of Rhythm

James plays a tricky trombone toc-cata in ldquoSlide Mr Jelly Sliderdquo andWilliams has an answer for him in

ldquoPlaying My Saxophonerdquo whichreminds us that Jazz Age listenerswere just learning the hip musicologyof jazz and instruments like clarinetsand saxophones were as fascinating tothem as were electric guitars to theearly rock and roll audiences (ToniMorrison is especially good in think-ing this idea through in her novel ofthe wild 1920s Jazz) For everydancer or record buyer who had theexquisite taste to track down KingOliverrsquos or Jelly Roll Mortonrsquos brilliantrecords hundreds must have boughtFess Williamsrsquos records and gottentheir tickets for the Rosemont and theSavoy

It is worth listening closely to FessWilliamsrsquo band and trying to decidewhatrsquos in and whatrsquos out how wemake such glib decisions about thevalue ndash esthetic andor historical ndash ofsuch work Williams had an eye andear for popular music and many of histune titles are as terse as haiku ldquoHerelsquoTisrdquo ldquoHot Townrdquo ldquoBig Shotrdquo ldquoSell Itrdquoor ldquoHot Mamardquo This odd artisticunderstatement in the midst of exag-gerated hokum is just one of the manyinteresting contradictions that makeFess Williamsrsquo music still worth ahearing The second CD includes anumber of alternate takes The CDtransfer was gorgeously engineered bythe late John RT Davies and thus isfit for angelsrsquo ears

This set of CDs can be purchased atWorlds Records in the US or orderedfrom Jazz Oracle Records 1 ReidManor Toronto MBY 2H8 Canadafor $34 (US check cash or IMO)Website is wwwjazzoraclecom

TIMELESS THE CLASSIC COL-LECTION New Orleansrsquo OwnDukes of Dixieland (Leisure Jazz0-49009-1076-2) 3 hrs 5914 min(four discs)Disc 1 At Dukesrsquo Place DarktownStruttersrsquo Ball Lullaby of DixielandRagtime at Dukesrsquo Place MuskratRamble South Rampart StreetParade Up a Lazy River Thatrsquos aPlenty Petite Fleur Mississippi MudSecond Line Sensation Rag SugarFoot Stomp Big Butter and Egg ManJambalaya Vodka amp Tonic StepRight Up Disc 2 Bogalusa StrutYes Sir Thatrsquos My Baby When theSaints Go Marching In Fidgety FeetWhen Itrsquos Sleepy Time Down SouthDixieland One Step Do You KnowWhat It Means to Miss New Orleans

Reviews

M SaGEF

Tiger Rag Swing That Music CreoleLove Song Slide Frog Slide Chero-kee Disc 3 Me and My ShadowHigh Society Struttinrsquo with SomeBarbecue Tijuana Panama LittleRock Getaway Borneo Bay At theJazz Band Ball Goose Pimples Can-dy I Found a New Baby SmokyMary Over in the Gloryland Sickand Tired Disc 4 Royal GardenBlues Just a Closer Walk with TheeBourbon Street Parade Just a LittleWhile to Stay Here Amazing GraceSwing Low Sweet Chariot SweetGeorgia Brown Running Wild Blue-berry Hill What a Wonderful WorldGo to the Mardi Gras Big Chief IceCream Canal Street Boogie BlackBottom Stomp

NEW ORLEANS MARDI GRASNew Orleansrsquo Own Dukes of Dix-ieland with Luther Kent (LeisureJazz 0-49009-1077-2) 5415 minCarnival Time All On a Mardi GrasDay (Big Bass Drum) Go to the Mar-di Gras Mardi Gras Mambo (IkoIko) Bourbon Street Parade WhileWe Danced at the Mardi Gras BigChief Second Line Sick and TiredHey Pocky Way New Suit Saints(Street Beat)

Reviewed by Tom Jacobsen

These are the two latest from theDukes of Dixieland Both werereleased in 2006

The first Timeless is a collection ofcuts from recordings made by severalmanifestations of the band between1975 and the present That is essen-tially the post-Assunto period of theband during which John Shoup hasoverseen the grouprsquos fortunes

Some five different ldquobandsrdquo are rep-resented in these recordings eachidentified by the changing leadership(though there is considerable overlapamong the sidemen) cornetist ConnieJones leader (two recordings from1975) trumpeter Mike Vax leader(1976) reedman Otis Bazoon leader(1978 1979) trumpeter Frank Tra-pani leader (1984 1985) and drum-mer Richard Taylor leader (1990-pre-sent) Up to six cuts from each of 16individual recordings (LPs or CDs)make up the collection

Since most of the pre-Taylor record-ings were new to me I found this aninteresting reflection of the evolutionof the band after the Assunto era atime when this kind of music wasstruggling to stay alive But itbecomes a great challenge to tracethis evolution clearly The individual

tunesbands are presented in only theroughest of chronological order unfor-tunately The presentation becomesvery hodge-podge by disc four whichhas the following order four tunesfrom the 1997 recording two tunesfrom 1999 two tunes from 2002 twotunes from 2003 two tunes from 2006then one tune from 1978 one from1995 and one from 1991 It is nevermade clear to the listener (or reader ofthe liner notes booklet) why each bandor recording could not have been pre-sented in a simple and straightfor-ward chronological order It wouldhave made the album much moreuser-friendly

Be that as it may there was much ofinterest to me here I enjoyed hearingthe earlier performances of many finemusicians who are still gracing thestages of the city today For exampleeight cuts by Connie Jones in his early40s Likewise Otis Bazoon was just28 when he is heard on the first ofnearly two dozen tunes in the collec-tion And Tim Laughlin was 27 whenhe joined the band for an 11-year stintin 1990 And so it goes with the likesof Al Bernard Tim Herbez Ernie EllyGeorge French Al Barthlow TomMcDermott Ben Smith Scott Oben-schain (aka Richard Scott) Mike Ful-ton and so on And then there is the

January 5-15 2008A 10-day cruise on Holland Americarsquos ms Maasdam celebrating the 25th Anniversary of JazzSea Cruises

From Ft Lauderdale to Barbados St Lucia St MaartenMartinique Tortola and Half Moon Cay with

Buck Creek Climax Grand Dominion Bob Schulz Frisco Jazz

Jean Kittrell amp The St Louis Rivermen Tex Wyndham Dick Williamsrsquo JazzSea Jam

and Tim Allanrsquos Banjos AweighFor a detailed sales brochure price schedule and reservation

form please fill out and send in the coupon below or e-mail us

From $759 per personThatrsquos under $80 per day Per person double occupancy Port charges and govrsquot fees extra

Please send me more information

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

PHONE EMAIL ADDRESS

JAZZSEA CRUISES3256 Seven Seas Drive bull Tavares Florida 32778

18003233881 bull jazzseaaolcom bull wwwjazzseacomFla Seller of Travel Ref No ST36404

Member Cruise Line International Association bull Member International Association Of Travel Agents IATAN

JOIN THE CELEBRATION

Donrsquot missthe boat

J a z z S e a c r u i s e s

_____________

M SaGEF

group who is no longer with us FrankTrapani Phamous Lambert andFreddie Kohlman among others It isfair to say that there is a host of verygood musicians to be heard on thesefour discs

The second CD New Orleans MardiGras was started in 2003 and finishedin August 2005 just before HurricaneKatrina hit the city Final mixing didnot take place until December 2005and it was released just prior to thehistoric post-Katrina Mardi Gras sea-son of 2006 Three tracks from thealbum are included in the above com-pilation

This is a fun album clearly intend-ed to convey the spirit of Carnival sea-son The program includes none of thetypical dixieland repertoire but con-sists of many standards associatedwith Mardi Gras ndash parade music withthe characteristic local street beatThe band is the current six-piece out-fit plus a handful of guests (vocalistLuther Kent the late Brian OrsquoNeil ontrombone screech trumpeter BarneyFloyd saxophonistguitarist CharlieBrent and guitarist Steve Reynolds)There are moments when given thetight arrangements the full ensembleproduces a distinct big-band feel

New Orleans Mardi Gras reveals agroup of serious musicians having funIf yoursquore planning a Mardi Gras party(itrsquos February 20 this year) you mightwant to invite them to join you

Both of these CDs are availablefrom the Dukes of Dixieland 747Magazine St New Orleans LA70130 Tel (504) 299-9000 wwwduke-sofdixielandcom

THE COLLECTED WORKS OFJENS ldquoJESSErdquo LINDGREN

Jens Lindgren longtime ldquobutter-singerrdquo and lyric trombonist with Swe-denrsquos durable and much-loved Kusban-det has sent us a bundle of CDsfeaturing his music over the past 15 orso years With far too much material fordetailed description or review here arenotes and ordering information

Kusbandet The Man From Harlem(Circle CCD-190) A lively session from2000 with mixed jazz and pop numbersfairly representing the Kusbandet in itscontemporary manifestation

Kusbandet Kusbandet In Sweden-Osregn (Kenneth CKS 3401) A 1991 CDof intriguing Swedish pop-jazz musicfrom the 1920s to the 1980s recordedand played very well of interest to anyKusbandet lover

Stockholm Classic Jazz Band DreamHouse (Scana CD 96032) One of thosetheme albums (all ldquodreamrdquo songs) thatactually works pretty well driven by alively small band Features Oz-Ameri-can multi-instrumentalist (trumpettrombone sax) Tom ldquoMaybe Hersquos DrWhordquo Baker Orange Kellin and theKusbandet regulars in a lively andimpressive session from 2002

Jessersquos Jazz Bands 1978-98 (ScanaCD 96027) A 1999 compilation samplingnumbers by the Classic Jazz Band (usu-ally a sextet) over two decades featur-ing various guest artists includingcameos by Ken Colyer and Jabbo Smith

Jessersquos Jazz Bands Mess Around1990-2004 (Scana CD 96040) Moresampling this time with an Armstrong-based repertory and a series of guesttrumpet virtuosi including Duke Heit-ger Bent Persson Patrick Artero andCuff Billet and with Orange Kellin orEvan Christopher on some tracks

Jessersquos New Orleans Band Sentimen-tal Journey (Scana CD 96029) A 2001tribute album to New Orleans Revivaland American Music classics by a Ger-man-Swedish group that reproducesevery nuance and needle-pop of the old78s all mainline classics played withjoie de vivre and oomph

Jessersquos New Orleans Band With AnnaSise Bourbon Street Favourites (ScanaCD 96031) The title says it all oldwarhorses galore and while Anna Sisersquosvoice may be a taste hard to acquirethere is skill and good will in these digi-tal bits

Stockholm Petit Jazz Band Back ToThe Jungle (Scana CD 8539) A 1996session that may have seemed a goodidea at the time by a strange quartet -tuba banjo sax and trombone honoring

Tiny Parham and others Not wellrecorded and a very idiosyncratic mix ofmusic by a cumbersome combination

Generally musical quality is excellenton these CDs and the Kusbandet musi-cians are hard-working and inspiringLindgren himself is an energetic andcharismatic musician and the repertoryis usually unusual and intriguingBeginning with the Kusbandet in 1964he has carved out a lifetime career fur-thering Swedish jazz and maintainingultra-high standards in doing so JesseLindgren sells these CDs by mail Fordetails of cost and delivery contact himat Jens ldquoJesserdquo Lindgren Skraddar-grand 2b SE-111 27 Stockholm Swe-den E-mail jessembox314 swipnetseWebsite wwwjessenu

CHASINrsquo THE SPOTS FeaturingMarty Grosz Randy ReinhartJon-Erik Kellso Scott RobinsonDan Block Vince Giordano ArnieKinsella (Jump JCD 12-28) 6727minInto Each Life Some Rain Must FallIf I Didnrsquot Care I Donrsquot Want To SetThe World On Fire When The SunGoes Down With Plenty Of MoneyAnd You Whispering Grass WhoaBabe Someonersquos Rocking My Dream-boat Christopher Columbus MyPrayer Wersquoll Meet Again I Cover TheWaterfront Letrsquos Call The WholeThing Off When My DreamboatComes Home Irsquom Getting Sentimen-tal Over You Trsquoainrsquot Nobodyrsquos BiznessIf I Do Maybe Swing High SwingLow

Reviewed by Jim Adashek

This tribute to the vocal group TheInk Spots was conceived by producer JoeBoughton and executed by arrangerguitarist vocalist and raconteur MartyGrosz The recordings were made inthree sessions February 23-24 and June9 2004 after a trial run of this materialat the Jazz at Chautauqua party in Sep-tember 2003

In some ways this seems like oddmaterial for a jazz group to perform andinterpret Considered a precursor of doo-wop and rock and roll the Ink Spots hadtheir heyday in the 1930s and rsquo40s Theystarted in 1932 as a swing and jivegroup in the manner of Slim Gaillardand Slam Stewart Early recordings forVictor in 1935 were good but unsuccess-ful Things changed in 1936 with theaddition of singer Bill Kinney Thegroup began doing ballads combiningKinneyrsquos high tenor with a talking cho-rus by Orville ldquoHoppyrdquo Jones 1939rsquos ldquoIfI Didnrsquot Carerdquo was their first chart top-

| January 2007

Jens ldquoJesserdquo Lindgren

___________________

________

____________

M SaGEF

Price for CD is $17 postpaid VISAMasterCard Discover acceptedFree catalog Arbors Records ndash2189 Cleveland Street Suite 225Clearwater FL 33765 Phone (800) 299-1930 Fax (727) 466-0432E-mail mrdgatenet Internet wwwarborsrecordscom

ARBORS RECORDS WHERE CLASSICJAZZ LIVES ON

The Worldrsquos GreatestJazz Band

A rare live performance by classic groundbreaking all-star musicians2 CDs for the price of 1

ARCD 19343

Jay Geils Gerry Beaudoinand the Kings of Strings

These veteran guitarists present an easygoing set of jazz classics featuring violin

phenom Aaron WeinsteinARCD 19332

Maurice HinesTo Nat ldquoKingrdquo Cole With Love

World-renowed Maurice Hines pays hisheartfelt tribute to Nat ldquoKingrdquo Cole bringing

new life to music we know well ARCD 19323

Ralph Sutton at St George Church

Savor an evening of live Ralph Suttonperforming in his prime

2 CDs for the price of 1ARCD 19336

Marty Grosz and His Hot Combination

Marty Grosz displays his wit wisdom and fine musicality in company with a collection

of hot all-starsARCD 19319

John Bunch SalutesJimmy Van Heusen

Due to his elegant and graceful pianostylings John Bunch has been called

ldquothe Fred Astaire of the pianordquoARCD 19326

Warren Vacheacute and the ScottishEnsemble Donrsquot Look Back

These performances are sublime ldquoVacheacute has nouse for any but the most perfect notesrdquo

ndash Steve Futterman The New YorkerARCD 19318

Dave GlasserAbove the Clouds

ldquo play this CD and discover whatgrooving is all aboutrdquo ndash Nat Hentoff

ARCD 19337

_________

M SaGEF

| January 2007

per Thereafter the group was a hit fac-tory until it began experiencing frequentpersonnel changes in the late 1940sThe Ink Spotsrsquo biggest seller now all butforgotten was ldquoThe Gypsyrdquo released in1946

Grosz amp Company adapt the songs ofthe Ink Spots to the jazz idiom by con-centrating largely on their pre-1939 out-put and by picking up the tempo on bal-lads The arrangements breathe new lifeinto these old chestnuts with unexpect-ed key and tempo changes For exampleldquoIf I Didnrsquot Carerdquo begins with Giordanocarrying the melody on a lugubriousbass sax followed by Robinsonrsquos lopingC-melody sax After Groszrsquos tongue incheek vocal the tempo doubles withGiordano and Robinson playing far moreenergetically

The music on this disc could bedescribed as tightly arranged smallband swing with a 1920s gloss added byScott Robinsonrsquos C-melody sax and thefrequent inclusion of bass sax work byGiordano or Robinson About a third ofthe tracks feature the vocal styling ofMarty Grosz including ldquoWith Plenty ofMoney and Yourdquo and ldquoLetrsquos Call theWhole Thing Offrdquo which seem tailormade for Groszrsquos humorous touch Rec-ognizing that imitation isnrsquot always thesincerest form of flattery the groupmakes no attempt to replicate The InkSpotsrsquo trademark vocal harmony

Arranging a tribute to the Ink Spotsmust have been a challenge for MartyGrosz The end result is a fine album ofsongs sung by the Ink Spots but playedin a style that will entertain jazz fanswith amusing vocals skillful arrange-ments and scintillating solos

Available from Allegheny Jazz Society283 Jefferson Street Meadville PA16335-1425 or by e-mail from alljzall-telnet

CHARLESTON MAD ONE MORETIME JAZZ BAND (Stomp Off CD1410) 6708 min Charleston Mad Bouncing AroundPapa Mamarsquos All Alone BluesPoutinrsquo Papa It Belongs To You RedRiver Blues Snookum 688 GlideMessinrsquo Around Travelinrsquo Blues NewOrleans Shuffle Dreaminrsquo the HoursAway Easy Come Easy Go BluesWeary Way Blues Little Bits Wa WaWa Therersquoll Come a Day AngryWhip Me with Plenty of Love

Reviewed by Peter Gaskell

Music-making is often a familyaffair in France with parents showingthe way to sons and daughters or

brothers teaming up in commonendeavors such as small band jazz asis the case with sousaphone playerMichel Marcheteau and his brotherAlain on banjo and guitar The broth-ers provide the regular rhythmic driveto the One More Time Jazz Bandwhich bears a name that makes onethink of Count Basie but is in fact aclassic outfit that would have beenperfectly at home on Chicagorsquos SouthSide in the Twenties

Set up in 1992 by Alain Marcheteauand winner a few years ago of theMegegraveve jazz competition the OneMore Time band plays regularly inParisian jazz clubs like the Petit Jour-nal Saint Michel Last year it attract-ed the interest of Bob Erdos and ear-lier this year it recorded a CD for hisStomp Off label

The album just released bringstogether 19 relaxed authentic-sound-ing tracks of small band jazz playedwith total respect for the originalsmall band style The frontline under-standing between Seacutebastien Gillot oncornet and Guy Champecircme on clar-inet is perfect with both taking theirbreaks well and soloing effectively

There are no weak links anywherein a lineup that also includes Jean-Claude Lauprecirctre on piano MichelMarcheteau on sousaphone and AlainMarcheteau on banjodobro Thechoice of numbers on this album is ablend of well-known material such asldquoWeary Way Bluesrdquo (from the Blythecollection) Lovie Austinrsquos ldquoTravelinrsquoBluesrdquo or Joe Oliverrsquos ldquoWa Wa Wardquo aswell as lesser-known tunes such asthe attractive ldquoSnookumrdquo by WalterBennett or ldquoEasy Come Easy GoBluesrdquo from the pen of Roy Bergeacutere

The album opens with a nicelypaced ldquoCharleston Madrdquo followed by ajovial suitably bouncy rendering ofthat revivalist favorite written byArmand Piron ldquoBouncing Aroundrdquowhich benefits from a second trumpetpart promisingly played by leaderAlain Marcheteaursquos son Benocirct -- anassurance that the future of jazz issecure in that family at any rate

ldquoIt Belongs to Yourdquo is a neat medi-um-tempo number with a generoushelping of breaks for clarinet andsousaphone while ldquoRed River Bluesrdquois that rare thing an unhurried rich-sounding slow blues (attributed toClarence Williams) Then comes a suc-cession of lively interesting numberssuch as ldquoSnookumrdquo and an unusualLonnie Johnson dobropiano duet enti-tled ldquo688 Gliderdquo so called in referenceto the six guitar strings and 88 notes

on the piano played by leader AlainMarcheteau and pianist Lauprecirctre

Above all the nice thing is that thisis music you can hear very easily inParis where jazz clubs like the PetitJournal keep the New Orleans flagflying You can talk to the musiciansbetween sets exchange views andopinions on playing on numbers onstyles Players with at least 40 yearsof music under their belts such as theMarcheteau brothers are only toohappy to talk about jazz especiallywhen their interlocutors are peoplefrom the land that gave jazz to theworld Frankly this reviewer finds itstrange that people still go aroundsaying jazz has no future With 100years already on the clock there isplenty more to come No one with anysense can think of turning his or herback on music of such vitality inven-tion authenticity and sheer joie devivre

Available from Stomp Off PO Box342 York PA 17405 or online atwwwstompoffrecordscom Phone(800) 678-8863

HUDSON LAKE by Laura Mazzu-ca Toops Twilight Times Books2005 210 pp $1695 as tradepaperback (available February2007) or $495 as USD downloadfrom httptwilighttimesbookscom (423) 323-0183

I blame Dorothy Baker for it allShe went and wrote a flashy best-sell-

ing romance about poor Bix Beiderbecke(Young Man with a Horn) in 1938 only ahalf-dozen years after Bix shuffled offthis mortal coil Since then we havebeen deluged with lurid tales of the JazzLife and the sad death of youthfulgenius Laura Toopsrsquo tale of Bix amp Co atHudson Lake Indiana in the summerof 1926 is a fair representative of thissub-genre

Toops did her homework well and duginto data about an episode in Bixrsquoscareer with a Jean Goldkette unit out ofSt Louis captained by Frank Trum-bauer on a summer idyll at a HudsonLake ballroom leased and renamed theBlue Lantern Inn The tale is crammedwith well-researched jazz data vivid

M SaGEF

___________

characters and way too much incidentincluding Al Caponersquos mob (with a thugnamed Jack McGurn as deputy) theIndiana Ku Klux Klan a Local Floozyand a Respectable College Girl (both inlove with Bickie as he is often called)

The problem at root is that no oneknows all that much about HudsonLake and the Goldkette gig (it takes upfour scant pages with photos in JeanPierre Lionrsquos new and magisterial biog-raphy Bix) So poetic license takes overand Toops spends most of her timeweaving a knotty skein of romance sexand licentious behavior The tale is notas awful as Frederick Turnerrsquos 1929which is hard to beat for squalid andrepulsive detail but itrsquos not a prettyromance either Bix is drawn as a goofyfuddled soak Pee Wee Russell as a club-wielding bully and Frank Trumbauer asa Captain Queeg-like martinet I donrsquotthink any of the historical figuresdeserve this

Thatrsquos the problem with historicalromances ndash they mingle fact and fictionand leave truth to the wind Toopsrsquoinvented figures are interesting enoughndash Joy the slut with the heart of silver-plate who narrates half the chaptersRay the soda jerk-bootlegger and severalothers The ldquorealrdquo people on the otherhand are a lot less real and often seemoddly sinister Irsquom not sure this kind ofnaturalism is a good advertisement forearly jazz and its considerable glories

Most of the detail and the feeling forthe music are quite good Toops knowsher stuff and is reasonably careful Theproblem though with such historicalfiction is that you have to be virtually100 accurate Any howlers howevertrivial are picked up by the proofread-ing obsessives who are your only audi-ence

For example a few I spotted (verypicky but such a text invites the readerto be an interactive nitpicker) a farmerdescribes his favored weapon as a ldquodou-ble-ought shotgunrdquo (p 52) evidently aconflation of ldquodouble-barreledrdquo with thesize of big buckshot sometimes used(OO) but no farmer would make such amistake (Schaferrsquos Rule No 347 for fic-tion writers if you donrsquot know A LOTabout weapons arm your characterswith kitchen knives or baseball bats)On page 59 Bix refers to Stravinskyrsquoslandmark ballet music as ldquoRites ofSpringrdquo but it is not plural and Bixwould never have said so On p 89 acharacter puts ldquosome hot jazz records on

the phonographrdquo but there were nochanger phonographs in 1926 ndash onerecord at a time please Elsewhere acharacter is called an ldquoalpha malerdquo a bitof pop-zoology slang only recently invogue

However Toops is generally athoughtful and graceful writer capableof passages like this

While the fellows she now knew as PeeWee Dan and Itsy went horsing aroundin the lake Bix would swim laps thenhoist himself onto the pier woolenbathing suit streaming water and sitwatching them On Mondays whentheyrsquod take the South Shore into Chica-go all dressed in tailored suits colorfulshirts and ties the color of sherbet hersquod

hook onto the departing traincar just asit was pulling out of the station wearinga brown suit a too-tight vest and a tiewith a knot that was always just slightlyaskew (p 53)

With such powers of observation anda fluid prose style Toops doesnrsquot needthe lurid melodrama she injects into thetale Still Hudson Lake may wellenchant devoted Bixians or addicts ofchick-lit action tales with a recent his-torical setting Itrsquos all a damned sightbetter than Regency Romance anyhow

Ordering details from httptwilight-timesbookscom or (423) 323-0183

Classic Jazz - Perfect Gifts

JazzbyMail

Special Price $1495 each

plus shipping

wwwjazzbymailcomor

1-800-678-8863117 West Lockwood Ave

St Louis Missouri 63119

GSL-5101

GSL-5103

lt STEAMBOAT STOMPSteamboat Stomp On A Slow Boat To China When Youand I Were Young Maggie Louisiana Fairy Tale Put OnYour Old Grey Bonnet Do You Know What It Means ToMiss New Orleans Basin Street Blues Sweet GeorgiaBrown Some Of These Days East St Louis Toodle-OoTwelfth Street Rag Waiting For The Robert E Lee WestEnd Blues and more

SUNDAY ON THE RIVER gtJust A Closer Walk With Thee In The Garden WhatA Friend We Have In Jesus Amazing Grace Just ALittle While To Stay Here Battle Hymn Of The Re-

publicDown By The Riverside Nobody Knows TheTroubles IrsquoveSeen Over In The Gloryland Ave

Maria Whispering Hope When The Saints Go Marching In

GSL-5104

lt KING OF RAGTIMEMaple Leaf Rag The Entertainer Bethena The Rag-TimeDance Solace Palm Leaf Rag Paragon Rag The Cas-cades Swipsey Cake Walk The Chrysanthemum The Fa-vorite Scott Joplinrsquos New Rag Weeping WillowSunflower Slow Drag A Breeze From Alabama The EasyWinners

GSL-5102

1904 ST LOUIS WORLDrsquoS FAIR gtMeet Me In St Louis Louis The Entertainer Liberty Bell

March St Louis Rag A Rag-Time Skedaddle On ThePike Sunflower Slow Drag (Two Step) St Louis Tickle

The Favorite St Louis Exposition March Strolling lsquoLongThe Pike At a Georgia Campmeeting The Cascades ThePeacherine Rag Harlem Rag Hiawatha (A Summer Idyl)

Funny Folks and Stars and Stripes Forever

All InstrumentalPerformances

__________

___________

M SaGEF

| January 2007

Winter weather greeted us in Arizonarsquos Valley ofthe Sun when we got home from the San DiegoDixieland Jazz Festival We really didnrsquot mind thecool temperatures Our hearts and minds werestill warm from all the great hot music we wereexposed to in San Diego It was a grand festivalwhere we especially enjoyed performances byParis Washboard with Jeff Barnhart on piano theBuck Creek Jazz Band featuring our local ChuckStewart on tuba Joan Reynolds and her hot RedRose Ragtime Band Mighty Aphrodite with sensi-tive drumming by Beth Goodfellow who reallyshould be featured more Janet Hammer singingwith the High Society Jazz Band when leader

Larry Channave became ill the work of AnitaThomas whose jam set with Butch Thompsonplaying his clarinet brought back fond memories ofthe ldquoold daysrdquo at Mendota Minnesotarsquos Emporiumof Jazz and the newly formed Heliotrope RagtimeOrchestra We saw many others all excellent andwill continue to consider San Diego as one of thefestivals on our ldquomust-attendrdquo list for 2007and beyond (The RAG will run Andy Witten-bornrsquos festival photos next month)

On our arrival home we learned thatSwingtime Jazz Band reedman Rich Kleinhad been taken to the local Mayo Hospitalwhere he underwent heart bypass surgeryWersquore glad to report that he is recovering sat-isfactorily but will be off for several weeksHis chair will be covered by Cal Abbott andJohn Cieslak until Richrsquos return

On January 14 the Annual Gathering ofthe Ragtyme-Jazztyme Society will be heldat the Church of the White Spire inPhoenix The public is invited to this meet-ing following the early business meetingCall (480) 348-3702 for full information

The Arizona Pickers and Grinners Socie-ty continues to meet on the third Saturdayof the month at the Devonshire Senior Cen-ter 2802 E Devonshire Phoenix from 8am to noon This popular society meetingis also open to the public

The Arizona Classic Jazz Society broughtScott Anthony and his Golden GateRhythm Machine to town for a Dec 3 partyat the Crowne Plaza San Marcos GolfResort Playing in the San Francisco-basedband were banjoist Anthony cornetist BobSchulz pianist Bob Hirsch and tubaist JimMaihack among others

The Joe Hopkins Jazz Combo played atthe Scottsdale VFW Dec 2 and plays everySunday for brunch at the San Marcos from10 am to 1 pm Another regular gig forthe group is at Chances Are every Sundayfrom 6-10 pm

In Colorado the editor of the fine newsletterof the Denver Jazz Club writes that he thinksldquothe best way for the Denver Jazz Club toacquire a larger number of new members wouldbe to sponsor a few performances by musiciansthat play mainstream and contemporary jazznot just traditional jazzrdquo If the Club movesaway from its ldquotraditional jazz onlyrdquo policy itwill be interesting to see what happens

Our contact in the Flathead Valley of North-ern Montana reports quite a bit of jazz activity

in the Kalispell-Whitefish-Big Forkarea The Company Brass Bandstill plays on weekends at theBig Fork Inn but most of thepersonnel I remember when I

played there has changed BillyRoot Pete Terry Chuck Lee areall gone I donrsquot know what hap-pened to Jerry Akers or Lou Per-rine Bob Beck is living here in

the Sun Lakes area where it isreported he plays drums witha big rehearsal band Music isbeing played at the EaglesClub in Kalispell and that

club is considered the localhome for jazz in the area

Until next month keep supporting your localjazz musicians E-mail news to me at RLynndrumsaolcom

Jazz in Mountain Timeby Bob Lynn

___________________

__________________

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The West Coast Ragtime Festival cel-ebrated its 20th year with a wonderfulevent held November 17-19 at the RedLion Hotel in Sacramento Calif Some45 artists were presented There weresix great ragtime bands playing not tomention the trios and other combina-tions which performed And three danceinstructors kept the dance floors full ofattendeedancers most of whom weredressed in vintage styles

The following made this festival extra-special for me bull Six young musicians ages 14 to 18

proved that our ragtime music will

continue and evolve into the comingdecades with wonderful playing byJoel Hill Jared DiBartolomeo AdamSwanson Andrew Barrett StephanieTrick and Adam Yarian

bull Virginia Tichenor accompanied by herhusband Marty Eggers reminded usof her composer-father TreborTichenor in her programs

bull Mimi Blaisrsquo lecture ldquoRagtime as Artrdquogave us a new perspective on theidiom and of Mimi herself We cameaway from her lecture feeling goodabout ragtime and those who performit so well

bull Frederick Hodges showedhimself to be a very talentedmaster of ceremonies as well

bull as a pianist of the first order bull Robbie Rhodes started the festival out

right with his trio playing for dancingHe played my all-time favorite compo-sition by Irving Berlin ndash ldquoCUBArdquoGreat

bull Excellent sets were presented byMorten Gunnar Larsen (marvelous)Brian Holland Tom Brier Chris andJack Bradshaw Nan Bostick and CarlSonny Leland

bull Jack Rummelrsquos ldquoRagtime 101rdquo wasinformative and interesting

bull Dave Reffkinrsquos presentation of high-lights from his ldquoRagtime Machinerdquoradio productions was sensational

bull Dan Grinsteadrsquos Evergreen RagtimeTrio played great and appreciateddance tempos

bull Adam Swansonrsquos ldquoHistory of CharlesThompsonrdquo was intelligently present-ed and surprisingly professional givenAdamrsquos youth (Hersquos only 14) An added delight for me was the

chance to reminisce with Butch Thomp-son about some of our old friends andtimes in Minnesota In addition to beinga fine gentleman Butch is a musicianbeyond compare on piano and clarinet

There were many other superb musi-cians we didnrsquot get a chance to seeprompting a ldquocomplaintrdquo from me Therewere just too many fine artists on theschedule and not enough time to seethem all We really would have liked tohave heard sets by Jim Radloff EricMarchese Terry Waldo Sue KellerDavid Thomas Roberts Frank FrenchJohn Remmers Mark Allen Jones SteveStandiford Steven K Goodman andShirley Case and there were four or fivespecial shows or seminars we missedbut wanted to attend

Perhaps we can get to them all nextyear when the 21st annual festival willtake place on November 16-18

They All Played Ragtime at WCRFText and Photos by Bob Lynn

Jack and Chris Bradshaw play aduet four hands on one piano

The Porcupine Ragtime Ensemble withSusan Desper flute Bub Sullivan man-dolinvocals and Petra Sullivan violinNot shown Steve Drivon percussion The future of ragtime from left Adam Swanson Adam Yarian

Joel Hill (this yearrsquos winner of the 15-18 year old piano com-petition) Stephane Trick Andrew Barrett and Jared DiBar-tolomeo

Washboard Kitty Wilson playedwith the Raspberry Jam Band

M SaGEF

| January 2007

Itrsquos been three months since I wrote my lastcolumn for the RAG A lot of water has flowedunder the bridge ndash thankfully not over the lev-ees ndash since that time and we in New Orleanshave now survived another hurricane seasontotally unscathed In fact this has been one ofthe most benign hurricane seasons I have expe-rienced since moving to the city 15 years agoWe can thank God for that

Given these generally favorable circum-stances the city has begun to accelerate thepace of reconstruction and recovery ndash still fartoo slowly in the minds of most citizens ndash sinceKatrinaRita The crack Army Corps of Engi-neers continues its restoration and rebuildingof the levees and flood walls ruined by the hur-ricanes though far behind the schedule thatthey had originally proposed

There is evidence of building activity every-where even in the most devastated neighbor-hoods of Lakeview and the Ninth Ward One ofthe most salutary examples of this is the Habi-

tat for Humanityrsquos Musiciansrsquo Village in theUpper Ninth Ward a truly impressive projectA couple of bassists familiar to RAG readersPeter ldquoChuckrdquo Badie and Dewey Sampson areamong the new homeowners there

Hundreds of the cityrsquos restaurants (includingseveral very good new ones) are up and run-ning And the same goes for jazz clubs Amongsome of the more recent openings are KingBoldenrsquos (formerly the Funky Butt 820 NRampart) Snooks (corner of Bourbon andOrleans in the Quarter) and Club 528 (528 Ful-ton St in the Warehouse District) The latter in

particular presents an impressive array of localtalent nightly in two shows (530 and 800weeknights and 700 and 930 on weekends)Preservation Hall has added a Sunday after-noon session (330) with Lars Edegran and theSt Peter Allstars Of course the old standardbearers ndash Donnarsquos Fritzelrsquos Palm Court Cafeacute(closed over Christmas holidays but reopened

New Yearrsquos Eve) Snug Harbor SweetLorrainersquos and the SteamboatNatchez among others ndash continue tooffer live music on a regular basis

Armstrong Park has been closedsince Katrina The Mahalia JacksonTheatre had 14 feet of flood-waterand Municipal Auditorium had 20feet But work is now underway to

get the park and its facilities open again Oneindication of that took place on October 4when the National Park Service held aldquoground-breakingrdquo ceremony initiating therestoration of historic Perseverance Hall (builtca 1820) on the east side of Armstrong TheHall will serve as a focal point in the proposedseven-acre National Jazz Park that wasauthorized by Congress in 1994 When therestoration is completed hopefully in latespring the building and its adjacent courtyardwill host jazz performances and other jazz pre-sentations now held in the temporary Visitorsrsquo

Detroit Brooks and his Syncopating Percolators play at Nickel-A-Dance From left Mari Watanabe piano Brooksbanjo Roland Guerin bass Michael White clarinet Gregg Stafford trumpet Herman Lebeaux drums and May-nard Chatters trombone

Some of the first houses erected at theMusicians Village site

M SaGEF

Center in the Quarter But this under-taking is just the first phase in the over-all plan for the Jazz Park Additionalfederal funds will be needed to completethe project

But before turning to some of themusical highlights of the last threemonths let me say that the local story isstill a tale of two cities the parts of town(French Quarter CBD and most ofUptown) spared by the floodwaters andthe much larger areas that were notspared New data released by theLouisiana Recovery Authority in lateNovember and early December indicatethat the cityrsquos population is only about200000 (about 40 of its pre-Katrinasize) The suburban areas (except StBernard) fared much better regainingmost if not all of their pre-Katrina popu-lation Yet surveys indicate that there isstill a substantial part of the local popu-lation ndash perhaps a third ndash who are main-taining a wait-and-see attitude beforecommitting to remain in town beyondthe next couple of years Clearly thelocal recovery is just in its infancy

Some Highlights Space limitationsbeing what they are this account canobviously be only very superficial

In early October Jazz Ascona thewell-known annual festival in Switzer-land came to New Orleans to honor ourcity and its music Ascona which hasbeen the leading New Orleans festival inEurope for more than 20 years raisedsome $160000 to help local musiciansand musical organizations in theirrecovery from Katrina Led by artisticdirector Nicolas Gilliet the Swiss con-tingent hosted a splendid evening offood and music at the Palm Court Cafeacuteon October 4 Music for the evening wasprovided by some 20 local musicians

who had performed at the Ascona festi-val over the years A similar programwith 20 other alumni was held at Don-narsquos Bar and Grill on the followingevening Kudos to Gilliet and his col-leagues from Ascona for their much-needed generosity

The 13th annual Nickel-A-Danceseries of free Sunday-afternoon perform-ances at Cafeacute Brasil was again a big suc-cess this year with large and enthusias-tic crowds present on all occasions Sixperformances featuring the bands ofDetroit Brooks Banu Gibson GeorgeFrench Chris Clifton Lionel Ferbos andMark Braud took place between October1 and November 5 On October 22 MinaLea Crais was honored with a LifetimeAchievement Award for her many contri-butions to the local jazz community

Another series of free concerts

ldquoThursday Night Liverdquo was held in theFrench Market Pavilion in Dutch Alleyeach Thursday evening in October Per-formers included John Boutteacute ShannonPowell Doreen Ketchens the TremeacuteBrass Band Bruce ldquoSunpierdquo Barnes andWalter ldquoWolfmanrdquo Washington

Another exciting new event FiestaLatina debuted on the weekend of Octo-ber 20 at the Contemporary Arts Centerin the Warehouse District Local Latinbands were featured in concert but thehighlight was a performance by ace clar-inetist Paquito DrsquoRivera and his quintet(Paquito will be back in town for a con-cert with the Louisiana PhilharmonicOrchestra on January 12) The fiestawas sponsored by New Orleans Jazz andHeritage Foundation which plans tomake it an annual event

The Norwegian Seamenrsquos Church cele-brated its 100th anniversary on theweekend of October 13 with a variety ofactivities that included concerts by theNorwegian Ytre Suloens Jass-ensemblefeaturing Tricia Boutteacute (who now livesin Norway by the way) Lars EdegranrsquosNew Orleans Jazz All-Stars and theLouis Ford Quartet The honored guestwas Crown Prince Haakon of NorwayAmong his activities while in town wasa tour of the Musiciansrsquo Village on Sat-urday afternoon

Varia Among the many hurricane vic-tims were the cityrsquos two largest recordstores Virgin Megastore did not reopenafter Katrina and Tower Records wassold to a Los Angeles conglomerate andwent out of business in early OctoberThat leaves the Louisiana Music Facto-ry as the largest such retailer in the city

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band wasrecently named as a recipient of the2006 National Medal of Arts The award

Musicians Villag eDirector Jim Pate (in shorts)explains the Habitat for Humanity project toNorwegian Crown Prince Haakon (center) TheNorwegian ambassador (sunglasses) stands be-tween the Crown Prince and Pate

The Louis Ford Quartet played at the Norwegian Sea-mens Churchs Centennial Thatrsquos Ford left on clar-inet Phil Campo on drums partially hidden behindHank Bartelsrsquo bass and Jamie Wight piano

95-year-old Lionel Ferbosplayed at Nickel-A-Dance

M SaGEF

| January 2007

was presented by President Bush in aceremony at the White House on Novem-ber 9 Congratulations to the Jaffe familyand all the musicians who have per-formed with the band for that honor

Another award deserving of mentioneluded me earlier Pete Fountainreceived an honorary Doctor of Musicdegree from Loyola University in a cere-mony on that campus last springDespite suffering from a bad case of

shingles forthe last sever-al months Dr Fountain is back playinghis Friday-Saturday night gig at thecasino (now restored and renamed ldquoHol-lywoodrdquo) in nearby Bay St Louis MissTom McDermott has been sitting in forDavid Boeddinghaus on piano recentlyand according to reports fitting in verynicely with the Fountain band

One Morsquo Time is back in town for atleast one more time The hit vaudevillemusical which debuted 28 years agotoured the world and closed on Broad-way four years ago opened at the LePetit Theatre du Vieux Carreacute on Novem-ber 24 Vernel Bagneris whose inspira-tion it is is back in the cast along withthree new singing actresses CharlotteLang Joan Spraggins and Ellen SmithOrange Kellin is the musical director(and clarinetist in the band) TrumpeterMark Braud who played in the band inNew York is also back as is bassist Wal-ter Payton The show was scheduled torun on Friday and Saturday nights andSunday afternoons through December17 No matter how long it has run OneMorsquo Time will always be a hit

The International Association for JazzEducation announced in September thatit will be back in New Orleans for itsannual conference in 2011 (January 8-11) They were last here in 2000 andthat was a memorable event One canalways count on performances from thetop names in jazz at the IAJE meetings

Comings and Goings A well-knownfriend of jazz and clarinetist in NewOrleans was Father Francis (Frank)Coco who passed away on September 7He was 85

Known as ldquoThe Jazz Priestrdquo FatherCoco was closely associated with PeteFountain having walked with Petersquos

Half-Fast Walking Club and serving asthe clubrsquos chaplain for 45 years Hewould often sit in with some of the bestbands in town and I can remembernights when though getting on in yearshe would just pop into Fritzelrsquos and sitin with Jack Maheursquos house band

ldquoHe could have made a living playingmusicrdquo Fountain said ldquoHe sat in withjazz bands in New York They welcomedhim because he came to play He didnrsquothold anybody backrdquo

But his career was in the churchserving for many years on the faculty ofJesuit High School in the city and laterin the retreat ministry in nearby com-munities Father Cocorsquos burial tookplace on September 12 at the JesuitCemetery in Grand Coteau La He willbe missed in these parts

Another great friend of New Orleansmusic is no longer with us Veteran tele-vision newsman Ed Bradley died ofleukemia on November 9 He was 65

For those of us who are regulars atthe New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fes-tival Ed Bradley became a familiar andfriendly face over the years He seems tohave been in town for one or both of theweekends every year Ironically ndash I thinkit was at the most recent Jazzfest ndash Isaw him and his wife in the ldquoJazz Tentrdquoat precisely 6 pm on a Sunday nightwhen 60 Minutes (the popular TV pro-gram with which he has been associatedfor so many years) was airing locally He just smiled when I asked him how hecould be in both places at once Irsquoll missseeing him on 60 Minutes and at Jazzfestas well

A tribute to Bradley was held in NewYorkrsquos Riverside Church in late Novem-ber New Orleans was represented at

Singer Barbara Shorts performed at Asconanight at Palm Court with Lars Edegran pianoDan Farrow tenor sax Bernie Attridge bassDuke Heitger trumpet and Frank Oxley drumsNot visible is Lester Caliste trombone A second-line parade is led by the Society Brass Band

at Armstrong park after the Jazz Park groundbreak-ing ceremony

M SaGEF

________________

______________

___________________________

_____________________________________________

M SaGEF

ARIZONA Tucson Jazz Society Hotline (520) 743-3399Arizona Classic Jazz Soc wwwazclassicjazzorgRagtyme-Jazztyme Society (480) 348-3702Jazz in Arizona (Jazz in AZ) wwwjazzinazorgCALIFORNIAFresno Jazz Hotline (559) 292-3999Sacramento Trad Jazz Society wwwsacjazzorgSacramento Ragtime Soc wwwsacramentoragtimecomSan Francisco KJAZ Hotline (415) 769-4818San Joaquin Dixieland Jazz Society (209)465-1930New Orleans Jazz Club of No CalifwwwnojcncorgNorthern California Jazz Societies wwwjazzdanceorgMother Lode Ragtime Soc wwwsuttercreekragtimecomWest Coast Ragtime Society wwwwestcoastragtimecomSo Bay Trad Jazz Society wwwsouthbayjazzorgLong Beach Jazz Hotline (310) 597-LIVESan Diego Jazz Hotline (619) 297-5277COLORADOBoulder Friends of Jazz wwwboulderfriendsofjazzorgFLORIDAGulf Coast Area Jazzline (239) 945-0556Miami Jazz Hotline (305) 382-3938Central Florida Jazz Society fjsjazzexcitecom

Pensacola Jazz wwwjazzpensacolacomSoutheast Florida Trad Jazz Hotline (954)563-5390Jazz Club of Sarasota wwwjazzclubsarasotacomSouthwest Florida Jazz Society (239) 872-0822Suncoast Dixieland Jazz SocietywwwsdjsorgINDIANAIlliana Jazz Club Hotline (219) 923-6775KENTUCKYLouisville Jazz Hotline (502) 329-0893LOUISIANANOJC Jazz Hotline (504) 455-6847LaJFed Jazz Hotline (504) 522-5267MARYLANDBaltimore Jazz Hotline (301) 945-2266MASSACHUSETTSCape Cod Jazz Hotline (508) 394-JASSMICHIGANWindsorDetroit Area (248) 476-2674MINNESOTAKBEM Jazz Info Hotline (763) 586-6000 ext8850Twin Cities Jazz Society wwwtcjsorgLake Superior Ragtime Society (715) 394-4319MISSISSIPPIBiloxi Jazz Hotline (601) 388-6555MISSOURISt Louis Jazz Club wwwstlouisjazzcluborgKansas City Jazz Hotline (816) 753-JASS

KC Ambassadors Jazz Hotline (913) 967-6767Ozark Jazz Society wwwlakeozarkjazzorgNORTH CAROLINACape Fear Jazz Soc wwwcapefearjazzcomOHIOCincinnati Jazz Hotline (606) 581-6873Cleveland Jazz Hotline (440) 333-7422PENNSYLVANIAPittsburgh Jazz Hotline (412) 343-9555SOUTH CAROLINAHilton Head Jazz Society (803) 842-HHJSTEXASAustin Trad Jazz Society www1onrcomatjsUTAHSalt Lake Jazz Hotline (801) 571-8020VIRGINIARichmond Jazz Hotline (804) 643-1972Potomac River Jazz Club wwwprjcorgWASHINGTONPuget Sound Traditional Jazz Society (425)776-5072Greater Olympia Dixieland Jazz Soc(360)754-8129WASHINGTON DCPotomac River Jazz Club wwwprjcorgWISCONSINUnlimited Jazz Ltd(414) 797-2845Madison Jazz Society wwwmadisonjazzcomCentral Wisc RagtimeEarly Jazz Soc (715)676-3504Chippewa Valley Ragtime Society (715) 834-6897

CYBERSPACE US event postings wwweventinfousCanada event postings wwweventinfocaJazz Clubs Worldwide wwwjazz-clubs-worldwidecom

| January 2007

the memorial with performances byWynton Marsalis Aaron Neville and theRebirth Brass Band who ended the cer-emony with ldquoWhen the Saints GoMarching Inrdquo

Clarinetist Evan Christopher was intown in mid-November for a couple ofappearances at Palm Court He said hewas on break from touring the countrywith the busy New Orleans Jazz Orches-tra and probably would not be back intown until French Quarter Festival

A number of jazz notables passedthrough town in the autumn GuitaristGene Bertoncini (October) and vocalistMark Murphy (November) appeared inthe Sandbar series of concerts at theUniversity of New Orleans and DizzyGillespiersquos All-Star Big Band and theHeath Brothers Quartet performed atthe Contemporary Arts Center inNovember

The holiday season was fast approach-ing as these lines were being written sogreetings to all from the Crescent CityAnd a very happy New Year twjtulaneedu

New Orleans Jazzfest producer George Wein left conversed at the 2006festival with ldquo60 Minutesrdquo broadcast journalist Ed Bradley who died Nov9 Bradley an avid and knowledgeable jazz fan who attended Jazzfestevery year was narrator for NPRrsquos ldquoJazz at Lincoln Center Radiordquo broad-casts and loved to sing with Jimmy Buffettrsquos band as Teddy Badly

ClubsOur comprehensive Clubs listing isnt in this first Online RAG because there were no Novem-ber or December RAGs and we need confirmations of existing gigs before publishing a new listIn the meantime trad jazz and ragtime society hotlines or websites from past Clubs pages arelisted below We welcome corrections and additions Send to editormississippiragcom

________________

_________

_______

___________

M SaGEF

After jazz advocate RandyRichards died March 12 2006 his

wife Liz and daughter Gayle Griggdonated much of his massive collectionof photos books and recordings to variousjazz organizations including jazz clubsand TJEN The Mississippi Rag was thegrateful recipient of photo albums of jazzevents and a wonderful scrapbook ofautographed photos clippings and let-ters from musical greats This is the firstin a series weve entitled ldquoFrom RandysScrapbookrdquo in which well share some ofthe delights from Randys fascinatingand eclectic collection The newspaperclippings here are reminiscent of ourHokum and Hilarity series from 2005and indicate that even the Dorseybrothers succumbed to horseplay forPR purposes

From left Soccer Miller Don Nyer Kay Crossan Jim Crossan Tommy Dorsey and Jimmy Dorsey

From left William Lambert TomBrown Larry Shields RaymondLopez and Arnold Loycano

From Randyrsquos Scrapbook

M SaGEF

| January 2007

A 33-year tradition continues witha new format same great contents

bull Current Newsbull Exciting informative

personality profiles

bull Thought-provoking CD and book reviews

bull Historical articles

bull Treasured photosof past and presentperformers

bull The worldrsquos most complete listings offestivals and gigs

$6 for a 3-monthtrial subscription$12 for 6 months

Keepsake

Issue $3

The last print RAG

(October 2006)

THE MISSISSIPPI RAG

A new era began January 2007 hellipThe Rag is now an Online Rag

PO Box 19068 Minneapolis MN 55419 Phone 952-885-9918 FAX 952-885-9943

Web site wwwmississippiragcom

EST 1973

An Old Tradition

The January 2007 online RAG

M SaGEF

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