Dedicated to the performance and preservation of Traditional Dixieland Jazz in Austin and Central Texas
Jazz All-Stars from Dallas, San Antonio and Austin Play ATJS Concert at Cap City Comedy Club on Sunday, June 21
By Dan Augustine
They made it sound so easy! Well, OK, they were billed as 'All Stars', which certainly implies a high level of competence, but really, it was like watching Fred Astaire calmly do impossible dance-steps that would tie a mortal's legs in knots.
Now, take Bob Krenkel from Dallas on clarinet, soprano sax, and bass sax. He's been coming to Austin as an All-Star for something like 24 years, and he keeps playing each instrument with such ease and excelllence that one tends to forget that most other musicians will never be able to play like that. David Jellema from San Antonio on cornet and clarinet is of similar aplomb, casually tossing off nifty riffs on both instruments that make you stop the beer on the way to your face with an expression that says "Whoa! How did he do that?" Not to be outdone, our own Dave Stoddard of Austin played valve trombone today, but he also plays tuba, and plays each one with intricate jazz phrases that seem so lovely and logical that you tend to forget what a jungle of chords and rhythms he was faced with before he started playing.
The All-Star rhythm section featured San Antonio's Mark Hess on piano and Bobby Black on banjo and guitar, and Austinites Ryan Gould on string bass and Budge Mabry on drums. Collectively they have more minutes keeping the beat and providing bass lines and chords than there are tortilla chips in Austin, plus their salsa is hotter. And even though the band had never played in public before Sunday, June 21, 2009 (at the Capital City Comedy Club in Austin, hosted by the Austin Traditional Jazz Society), such was their expertise and years of experience that you couldn't tell. They played before an enthusiastic audience of about 170 jazz-lovers, and a passel or two of dancers of all styles and ages.
Highlights of the afternoon's performance included "Wild Man Blues" in the third set, with Krenkel on clarinet playing one of his best solos of the day, some bent high notes at the end. Stoddard then also played one of his best solos, with good choices of chord tones and some fast scalar runs he doesn't usually do. Jellema on cornet came in with a flutter-tongued low-register passage and some great melodic ideas. Mark Hess's solo was also one of his best. This was perhaps the best song of the afternoon, and it's a pity more bands don't play it. The band was really in a zone on this song, with everything clicking just right.
Quieter moments of the afternoon featured David Jellema, a noted Bix Beiderbecke specialist, on his Conn Victor cornet playing "Singing the Blues" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" with touches not only of Bix but of Bobby Hackett, . Bobby Black traded his banjo for guitar and played some nice reflective solos. Ryan Gould had some great solos (as in "Sorry") slapping his string bass, but not because it misbehaved, rather the contrary. He also demonstrated a strong voice and good intonation and enunciation on his vocals on "Louise" and "Breeze". Sidney Bechet's "Si Tu Vois Ma Mere" and "Petite Fleur" also received delicate treatments and some fine duetting with Bob Krenkel on soprano sax and David Jellema on clarinet.
It looked like the dancers (especially the younger swing-dance couples) appreciated the up-tempo tunes like "Sorry" and "Riverboat Shuffle". The crowd involuntarily went, "Oooohhh!!" when Dave Stoddard announced they were going to play "When I Get Too Old to Dream". "Borneo" included a bridge or verse that this reviewer has never heard before. Throughout all of these tunes, the rhythm section of Mabry, Gould, Black, and Hess provided steady tempos, good bass-lines, strong off-beats, and clear delineation of the chord-changes.
After singing "Happy Birthday" to Budge Mabry, Bob Krenkel thanked the audience and ATJS for inviting him down to Austin as an All Star for 24 years. The band then did one of their own favorites (mine too), "Once in a While" in a fast 4, with a good beat and dancers swinging around each other. Krenkel took two choruses on his bass sax, with some happy audience-members clapping along off the best. Jellema played a muted cornet solo in stop time, and the finish had two quiet 16-bars passages followed by a loud ensemble and triumphant finish, with some members of the audience standing and clapping. The ATJS All Stars not only made it look easy, they provided great entertainment, proof of which lies in the fact that everybody had a good time and that subjective time seemed much shorter than the three hours that actually elapsed.
The Swinging Strings Bring Fresh
Instrumentation To ATJS’May 17 Concert at the Cap
City
Comedy Club’s Cabaret
Review by Daniel Augustine
All
told, there were one-and-a-half standing ovations. At the end
of
the concert, the whole audience got to its feet and clapped and whooped
(in a dignified manner, of course) to thank the Swinging Strings for
their wonderful concert. But also, after the band's hot
rendition
of "Wolfgang's Lament" (what a great title!), at least half the
audience spontaneously got out of their chairs and applauded and
cheered. (I would have too, but i was busy writing down that
they
got up and applauded and cheered.)
The proximate cause of these
celebrations? Why, the concert hosted by the Austin
Traditional
Jazz Society on Sunday, May 17, 2009, from 2 till 5 pm at the Capital
City Comedy Club. The band -- the Swinging Strings -- was one
that nobody knew anything about, even though most of its members had
already played for others of these concerts previously with other bands.
In
his introduction of the band, Dave Stoddard pointed out that the style
of music we call "traditional jazz" is not limited just to bands with
cornet, clarinet, and trombone backed by banjo, tuba, and
drums.
Back in the 1930s, an equally important style of jazz flourished when
Belgian gypsy jazz-guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910 – 1953) and
French jazz-violinist Stephane Grapelli (1908 - 1997) formed the
"Quintette du Hot Club de France" in 1934.
The Swinging Strings
is a similarly constructed group, in which the leader of the group,
bassist Ryan Gould, is joined by Erik Hokkanen on violin and guitar, J.
D. Pendley on guitar and banjo, Dave Biller also on guitar, and Jon
Doyle on clarinet and tenor saxophone. All of these musicians
play constantly in the central Texas area and all are superb
instrumentalists. Gould, Pendley, Biller, and Doyle play
regularly with Stanley Smith's Jazz Pharaohs every Wednesday at the
Elephant Room, and also play in a number of other groups around
town. Jon Doyle recently finished a tour playing with Ray
Benson
and Asleep at the Wheel. Erik Hokkanen currently plays with
his
new "gypsy surf" band, the Hip Replacements, every Tuesday at
Flipnotics starting at 9 pm. But he has also been a
three-time
winner of the Kerrville Folk Festival's "Instrumentalist of the Year"
Award, has toured through Finland (being a third-generation Finn), has
been inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame. With the
help
of his son Luke he also teaches a rock 'n' roll summer camp in
Austin. His latest CD features some of his own songs like
"Wolfgang's Lament", "Barton Springs Swing", and "Goin' Back to Zilker
Park".
Dave Biller kicked off the first song of the first set
with a nice solo on "Coquette", and it was immediately apparent that
there were no weak links anywhere in the band, every one of them having
full mastery of their instrument. "Honeysuckle Rose" was
next,
featuring a typically inventive clarinet solo by Jon Doyle, and the
Erik Hokkanen showed what a violin can do in jazz. Hokkanen
not
only played with fire and artistry, but his on-stage demeanor and
expressive face also entertained the audience. (While some
players rip off astounding chunks of notes without so much as a blink,
others like Hokkanen seem to let the audience see how hard they're
working and what the notes mean to them
emotionally.) "The
Sunny Side of the Street" was next, followed by "Blue Skies", in which
Jon Doyle's clarinet solo occasionally reminded some listeners of the
agreeably raspy tone of Edmond Hall. There was a good steady
beat, thanks to Ryan Gould's tireless and accurate string-bass
line. Just in case anyone in the audience was in doubt as to
the
name of the song, Gould helpfully shouted out "BLUE SKIES!!" after the
song ended, in his best music-hall voice.
The next song had most
of us scratching our heads, trying to figure out the name of the
tune. It turned out to be an Erik Hokkanen composition named
"The
Farr Brothers Blues", honoring Hugh and Karl Farr who played fiddle and
guitar and helped found a group called The Sons of the Pioneers with
Leonard Slye (who later became better known as Roy Rogers).
It
started with a slow, gypsy-like minor-key intro by the violin, bowed
bass, and clarinet, and then grew into a fast 4-beat blues with a
strong off-beat. Ryan Gould had an impressive string bass
solo,
featuring triple-slaps. (See
http://www.answers.com/topic/hugh-karl-farr for more information about
the Farr brothers.) The set's last tunes were "Basin Street
Blues", "Brazil" in a fast 4, and "China Boy" with a great solo by Dave
Biller.
The second set started with "Struttin' with Some
Barbecue". (Jazz fans interested in the meaning of song
titles
might take a glance at the Jive Dictionary at
http://www.cabcalloway.cc/jive_dictionary.htm, where it is revealed
that 'barbecue' in this context means "the girl friend, a beauty" --
hence the strut.) The next song was another Hokkanen
composition,
called "Wolfgang's Lament", which started off in a slow gypsy rhythm
and an evocative guitar solo by Dave Biller. Not to be
outdone,
J. D. Pendley followed with an equally impressive solo. After
Hokkanen's violin solo, full of twists and turns and impossible high
notes, the tempo changed to a fast 4-beat rhythm, and the audience
spontaneously started clapping on the beat with it. Ryan's
fast
slap-bass solo with sixteenths led into an even faster 4-beat racehorse
tempo, and the song ended with the audience roaring its approval, half
of them standing up and clapping furiously. After it died
down, i
asked the guy next to me, "OK, now how do they top THAT?"
Well,
the answer is, you don't even try. Instead, the band went
into a
medium-fast 4 with a good beat, prompting (once again) the dancers
(including a bevy of young swing-dancers) to get out on the
dance-floor. Ryan Gould played a heck of a bass
solo. The
next song was "If I Had You", led off by Dave Biller, and after the
song ended Ryan Gould helpfully annouced the song title and added that
it was "not written by Dan Augustine". In point of fact,
ASCAP
(of which I am a member) requires me to disclose (not immodestly) that
ALL of the songs played today were not written by Dan
Augustine.
I hope that sets everybody's mind at ease.
The next tune had no
takers as to the name. It was a fine danceable song that
turned
out to be an old Count Basie ditty called "Topsy". Mr. Gould
next
favored the audience with a heartfelt vocal in "When the Red Red Robin
Comes Bob-Bob-Bobbin' Along". The set ended with an
increasingly
faster rendition of the "Twelfth Street Rag", in which Dave Biller
quoted the "Third Man Theme" in his solo. The tempo increased
to
fast, then faster, then even faster, then too fast, and finally much
too fast. A break was then called so the musicians could
replenish their precious bodily fluids.
The third set began with
J. D. Pendley alone with his guitar, unamplified but near a
microphone. He played a beautiful version of "April
Kisses". Next, he became the backup accompanist to Dave
Biller
and Erik Hokkanen, both of whom played guitars in a tune that I think
was called "Troublant Boléro" by Django Reinhart. Hokkanen
displayed huge chops on guitar (musician talk for "how can he be such a
virtuoso on guitar too?"). Before the next song, Ryan Gould
announced where the players in the band could be heard around town, and
said that Erik Hokkanen's CDs could be found at Waterloo
Records.
He then invited crowd-favorites Larmon Maddox on cornet and Dave
Stoddard on valve trombone to sit in with the band to play "I Can't
Give You Anything But Love", with J. D. Pendley on banjo, and perhaps
the high point of the song was Maddox trading 8s with Hokkanen (more
jazzer talk, meaning that the players alternated solos of eight bars
each). A great Jon Doyle solo in "Minor Swing" (one of Django
Reinhardt's most popular tunes) was followed by a fantastic solo by
Erik Hokkanen. After "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", the
band
audibly mulled over what to play next, and finally Erik Hokkanen said,
"I Surrender, Larmon Dear". This turned out in fact to be the
old
Bing Crosby song "I Surrender Dear", with a lovely solo by Larmon and
an exquisite solo by Dave Stoddard. The set and the concert
ended, not with "Saints", but with "Bye Bye Blues", an old
banjo-favorite. As the last notes were dying away, the whole
audience rose almost as one and cheered and applauded loudly.
Who
says this ain't traditional jazz?
The Easy Street Ramblers debut at ATJS April 19 concert
By Dan Augustine
A new band called the
Easy Street Ramblers played for the
Austin Traditional Jazz Society on Sunday, April 19th, at the Capital
City Comedy Club. Made up of veterans of the jazz scene in
central Texas, it featured players from both San Antonio and Austin and
was led by Bob Black on banjo and guitar (a former member of the Jim
Cullum Jazz Band). Also from San Antonio were: Jay Thomas on
bass trumpet and Superbone (a combination of slide and valve trombone),
who has previously played for ATJS in Phil Armstrong's Crystal City
Jazz Band; Rich Markow on vocals reminiscent of those in 1930s bands
(he also presided at the washboard); and Jim Kelly on string
bass. Bobby Black and Jay Thomas have played together at
Julian's Italian Restaurant in San Antonio every Friday for several
years and both play in the Sentimental Journey dance
orchestra. Jim Kelly played at Pappadeaux Restaurant there
with Bobby Black and Jay Thomas for a number of years.
Heading up the Austin contingent was Larmon Maddox on cornet,
who for
years played with Chuck Reiley's Alamo City Jazz Band and is currently
the best traditional jazz cornetist in central Texas not named Jim
Cullum. He was joined by special guest artist Stanley Smith
on clarinet and vocals, who has a list of jazz and popular credits as
long as your arm: he currently plays guitar and clarinet and sings on
Tuesdays at the Elephant Room on Congress Avenue, and on Wednesdays he
plays clarinet and sings with the Jazz Pharaohs there. He
also has played and recorded with the Asylum Street Spankers.
(See his website at http://www.stanleysmithmusic.com/bio.htm for more
information about him and his CD "In the Land of Dreams", which is also
available through CD Baby.) Joining Larmon and Stanley was
Budge Mabry on drums and washboard, who has played with the Alamo City
Jazz Band and with the others in the band for decades in central Texas.
Bob Black kicked off the first set with "Honeysuckle Rose", and right
away the band established a rapport with the audience. Jay
Thomas has a marvelously mellow tone on his bass trumpet, which is not
widely known as a solo instrument. It sounded somewhere in
the middle of a trombone and a flugelhorn, and his melodic ideas and
extended range on the instrument immediately showed his
expertise. Stanley Smith then played a clarinet solo with
wonderful rich tone and a deceptively simple selection of rhythms and
notes. One of the hardest things to do in any kind of music
is not to play a million notes all over the place, which winds up
sounding like everybody else (Brahms is reputed to have said, "It is
not hard to compose, but it is wonderfully hard to let the superfluous
notes fall under the table."). Then Larmon Maddox
reinforced this point in his solo, demonstrating how one builds an
entirely different and attractive structure on the foundation of the
same set of chords. In the next tune, "Sleepy Time Down
South", Larmon played even better (how is that possible?) in an
extended tasty solo.
Next, Stanley remarked that it was "nice to be playing in a band with
cats" his own age, a sentiment that just emphasized the cohesive style
and maturity of the whole band's playing. Bobby Black on
banjo then led the band in "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", with a
good beat and energy, thanks to the steady pulse provided by Jim Kelly
on bass and Budge Mabry on drums. Rich Markow sang "Dream a
Little Dream of Me" in the boy-singer style of some 1930s bands, in a
strong tenor voice with good intonation and understandable lyrics (what
a radical idea!). Jay and Bobby played a little solo duet
without the rhythm section. Other tunes in the first set
included such old favorites like "You Took Advantage of Me",
"Moonglow", "A Kiss to Build a Dream On", and "After You're
Gone". The crowd was spontaneously impelled to clap (OFF the
beat) during Bobby's banjo solo in "Once in a While", which had
intensity and drive (with a tricky ending). And the first set
ended with a possible central-Texas first, a washboard duet between
Budge and Rich in "Sweet Georgia Brown", with Budge looking like he was
having more fun than anyone else in the building, and the crowd loved
it and him.
During the break between sets, our ATJS Treasurer Malcolm Rodman
mentioned that ATJS was doing financially well and that "The banks and
the government should run as well as we do." Ben Conroy
favored the audience with some expert ivory-tickling boogie-woogie.
The second set started with "Willie the Weeper" at a nice bright tempo,
and then Stanley showed what a great jazz-singer he is with his vocal
on "George on My Mind" (which he has done countless times at the
Elephant Room, and it never fails to enchant the audience).
"Avalon" and "Someday You'll Be Sorry" followed, and Stanley sang
"Rosetta" to a rapt audience (when he sings, people listen and quit
talking, as what he's doing commands their attention). Rich
sang and scatted a version of "Sunday" and the set ended with a lively
version of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" (which some bands have purposefully
mis-translated as "The Bear Missed the Train").
The last set featured "Mama's Gone Goodbye", "On the Sunny Side of the
Street" (with another fine Rich Markow vocal), and Stanley singing "St.
James Infirmary", with a great solo on cornet by Larmon Maddox (using
trills and shakes). A very nice solo on bass trumpet by Jay
Thomas followed in "'S Wonderful". The set and concert ended
with "All of Me", "If I Had You", "Dinah" (with a quiet intro of cornet
and guitar), and a rousing rendition of "Shine".
This may be a new band, but the players showed nothing but decades of
playing fine jazz. They satisfied and pleased the crowd with
both their choice of songs and their jazz virtuosity, and we look
forward to hearing from them again.
March 15, 2009: Review of the Tim Laughlin New Orleans All
Stars ATJS Concert
Review by Dan Augustine
Photos by Tom Straus
Here are some random thoughts after coming back from the Tim
Laughlin concert:
Well. Where do i start in trying to describe to you
the
concert? Did you ever notice (now i sound like Andy Rooney --
not necessarily a bad thing) that when you don't like something, it's
very easy to talk about why you didn't like it. But when you
DO like something, suddenly you're at a loss for words.
Example: in 25 words or fewer, tell me why you love/hate lima beans.
Melody. Big, fat glistening globules of gorgeous
notes strung
together like chains of paper ovals i used to hang on the Christmas
tree -- that was what i heard today.
Tone. Trying to describe Tim Laughlin's tone on the
clarinet
is like trying to tell someone how a good steak tastes. Can't
be done. Yes, you could say that its sound is closer to that
of an Albert-system clarinet than most run-of-the-mill clarinets, or
how a fine piece of leather feels to your fingers.
Texture. Body. And not only Tim's tone, but those
of Connie Jones and Rick Trolsen also. Connie gets a big fat
sound out of his cornet, no matter what the register he's playing in
is, and you may be excused for not noticing it because you're swept up
in the stream of his musical ideas. Rick Trolsen's trombone
sound is a pure, clear tone, and he sometimes pops out a string of
high-altitude notes that both surprise and please you.
Energy, enthusiasm, vivacity, LIFE! For the first
time ever
(in my experience), the audience after the first set did what other
Austin audiences do between sets, and that was to stand up, stretch,
talk with friends and neighbors about the music, walk around, schmooze
a little, go take a look at the CDs for sale. Seems like in
most previous concerts, everybody just kept sitting in their chairs and
talked among themselves. This energy came in large part from
the great rhythm section. Hal Smith on drums, one of the world's best
drummers, showed why he's called that with rock-solid tempos and
inventive fills, dings, accents, and even pauses (a big part of good
drumming, in my opinion, is knowing when NOT to play -- you can
sometimes create drive and intensity by intentionally leaving a space
where a sound is expected). Matt Perrine on string bass
anchored the beat and the harmonies, and displayed a lot more chops on
that instrument that i expected, as i know him from his sousaphone
work, which is spectacular (more later on that). And Tom
McDermott on piano not only filled in the harmonies but put in a lot of
extra melodic phrases that gave one a better idea of the underlying
chords and also commented and complemented what the soloists were
playing.
Loud! The players in Tim Laughlin's band seemed to be playing
louder, individually and collectively, than those in previous
bands. Well, no, that's not quite it. Maybe it was
just with more intensity. "More intensity", you know, doesn't
necessarily mean louder. Tim showed that in many of his
solos, as he played with a dark luscious tone in the low register of
the clarinet, but he did so quietly, and people listened.
They stopped talking and concentrated on those quiet notes.
Did you ever see an old fellow on a porch whittling a piece of
wood? He wasn't in any hurry, and didn't seem to be making
anything recognizable, but gradually you began to see a form taking
shape, and you realized you were watching the act of creation of art,
right before your eyes. In music, that can happen also, and
it happened today, but nothing physical was created. Time
itself was shaped and colored before your ears (not eyes), and you
could see the entire process unfold. Sound has not only
pitch, but color, and texture, line and shape, and master musicians are
able to sculpt aural images of thoughts and feelings no words will ever
be able to capture. (Doesn't stop me and us from trying,
though, as you can see.)
OK, i've gotten WAY ahead of myself here, writing the middle
of the
review at the top. Here are the chronological particulars:
first, this was a concert sponsored by the Austin Traditional Jazz
Society at the Capital City Comedy Club on March 15, 2009.
The featured band was Tim Laughlin's New Orleans All-Stars, but
unfortunately their flight was late and ATJS had to scramble to
assemble what ATJS Vice-President Dave Stoddard called a 'shadow'
band. The band, which could have easily been a headliner
anywhere else, consisted of Dave on valve trombone, David Jellema from
San Antonio on cornet, Larmon Maddox also on cornet, Bob Black from San
Antonio on guitar and banjo, Bob Alexius on string bass, and Hal Smith
on drums. (They all just happened to bring their
horns. Bob brought his string bass for Matt Perrine to play,
and Hal Smith had arrived in Austin earlier in the week to scout out
some barbecue and mingle with some railroad enthusiasts; he was playing
the drums loaned by Budge Mabry.) They played the first set
at 2 pm, starting out with "Louisiana" and then narrowing into "New
Orleans". "Jazz Me Blues" followed, along with "Dinah", "Big
Butter and Egg Man", and "China Boy". All played with gusto
and expertise, on the spur of the moment, demonstrating the
universality of traditional jazz, six players who had never before
played together as a group coming together and playing some fine music
with no rehearsal. Recognizing this, and enjoying their
music, the audience gave them a big hand after the last number.
Tim and the others got set up on stage and started playing
about 1:45
pm. Matt Perrine settled on using Bob Alexius' string bass,
but Ryan Gould had also brought his bass for Perrine to try out, and
ATJS owes him a big "Thank you!" for helping out. Matt
Perrine also on one song used a sousaphone brought by your reviewer
(blush). And as mentioned earlier, Hal Smith played on Budge
Mabry's drum set. Thanks to all those folks for bringing
their instruments!
The Tim Laughlin New Orleans All-Stars started off with "My
Buddy", and
exhibited both finesse on the melody and increasing rhythmic and
dynamic drive toward the end. The next tune was one that Tim
Laughlin wrote, called "Dumaine Street Breakdown", which is the first
song on Tim's CD "The Isle of Orleans". Of the song, Tim
says, "In the summer of 2002, I moved to the French Quarter.
This was the first song I wrote in my new place, reflective of one
hellacious move-in experience in the heat of July and recalling my
first night without air conditioning."
(http://www.timlaughlin.com/isle.htm) The next tune was
"Blues for Faz", 'Faz' being Irving Fazola, one of New Orleans finest
clarinet-players (many people had trouble pronouncing and spelling his
real name -- Irving Henry Prestopnik (1912-1949) -- so he used his
nickname 'Fazola', which reportedly derived from his childhood skill at
solfege, three of whose note-syllables are Fa-Sol-La; an alternate
story is that Louis Prima used to call him 'fazola', Italian for
'beans'). At any rate, Tim played a great solo on this tune,
especially in his low register tones. Tom McDermott also
showed some massive chops in his piano solo. Connie Jones
sang a jazzy version of "Sugar" next, and had many couples heading for
the dance floor. "Gentilly Street" was the next song, also by
Tim Laughlin, based on his living in that New Orleans neighborhood as a
child. With a muted trombone Rick Trolsen then played "Indian
Love Call" with the rhythm section, with nice ideas paired with a lot
of melodic dexterity. "Avalon" at a fast tempo, kept in
strict time by Messrs. Smith, Perrine, and McDermott, started out with
just clarinet and rhythm, but then built intensity, with a strong piano
solo and a fine string bass solo by Matt Perrine, whose melodic
improvisations always seem to exploit unexamined areas of the chord
structure. Quiet. Almost a silence. Those
were the usually missing aspects of a soft clarinet solo with other
bands, but when Tim Laughlin played Sidney Bechet's "Si Tu Vois Ma
Mere" (also called "Lonesome") with pianissimo rhythm accompaniment,
the room got so quiet you could hear your own breathing.
Connie Jones added a great inventive solo, and Tim finished with his
low lovely tone. Hal Smith pepped things up with a New
Orleans-type street beat on Tim's song, "March of the Uncle Bubbys"
(New Orleans reference to "any older New Orleans gentleman set out to
having a good time"), including a drum solo at the finish that showed
why he's one of the best drummers in the world (and why he's played on
over 150 recordings). The last tune of the set was the title
track to Tim's "Isle of Orleans", with Matt Perrine on sousaphone,
playing an incredible solo with great ideas, high register, fast notes,
prompting many in the audience to give Matt and the band a standing
ovation at the end of the song (something i've never seen before at any
of our concerts).
The second set began with the crowd still milling around,
buying the
band's CDs, talking, and generally schmoozing, all good things,
indicating the level of energy generated in the first set.
The first song was the old favorite, "At the Jazz Band Ball", with a
good tempo and a great trombone solo, loud and high, by Rick
Trolsen. Later were another Tim Laughlin tune, "Crescent City
Moon", which got many couples out on the dance floor, followed by a
rousing rendition of "Lena, Queen of Palesteena", a 1920s Klezmerish
song originally performed by the Original Dixieland Jass
Band. It featured Hal Smith on drums for the intro, then a
drum solo with toms and later snare, then a duet between the drums and
clarinet. An instant change of pace was next with "Love Sends
a Little Gift of Roses" (once played by the Benny Goodman quartet) for
clarinet and rhythm, and some beautiful phrasing by Tim
Laughlin. A good two-beat version of "Who's Sorry Now?"
generated a number of happy "Awww"s from the audience. Rick
Trolsen had another superb trombone solo in it. The concert
ended about 5 pm (with about 90 percent of the audience still in their
seats or dancing) with an uptempo four-beat version of "Way Down Yonder
in New Orleans", Connie Jones providing great melody and
drive. The crowd got to their feet and pounded their hands
together and whooped and hollered in appreciation of one of the best
performances ATJS has ever put on. Unfortunately, there was
not enough time for an encore, as the band had to scramble back to an
early flight back to New Orleans. However, the CD-sales table
sold almost all 30 of Laughlin's "Isle of Orleans" CD, plus quite a few
of his other CD and also CDs by the other band-members.
For those who would like more information about the band and
its
members and how to buy their recordings, here are some of the band
members' websites:
Review of ATJS concert by Band Aid Jazz Band on February 22,
2009
By Dan Augustine
Once again the Band Aid Jazz Band from San Antonio put a
tourniquet on our malaise, staunched the flow of fun from our day, and
gave us a transfusion of good music right into our hearts. Health-care
professionals all, they wisely prescribed an afternoon of traditional
jazz, high spirits (fermenti and otherwise), and convivial
companionship, hosted by the Austin Traditional Jazz Society on a
pleasant Sunday afternoon on February 22, 2009, at the Capital City
Comedy Club in Austin, Texas.
The Band Aid Jazz Band claims to have no leader, but Neil
Walsdorf on clarinet handled the announcements and other leaderlike
duties with skill and aplomb (that's a small purple fruit bestowing
calm and professionalism when ingested). He was joined not only by his
wife Beverly Walsdorf on piano, but his daughter Linda Walsdorf on
vocals. Jerry Lindner conducted skillful operations on his cornet and
vocals, Dan Bacon demonstrated a thorough understanding of tubes and
sheaths on his slide trombone, and Arthur Richardson promulgated
percussive permutations of aortic rhythmic schema on his drums. Bob
Black's mastery of the banjo resulted in his promotion to the front
line, and we were doubly blessed to have two tuba-players for the
occasion with regular Bill Chapman (also on baritone horn) being joined
by Jay Thomas (who also plays fine trombone).
Fans began arriving an hour or more before the 2 pm kickoff,
especially a busload of celebrants from Sun City who call themselves
the Zoomers. Other groups and individuals soon joined them, and by 1:45
pm the hall was at least half filled, with the good and friendly
wait-staff scurrying around getting refreshing beverages and food for
the crowd.
The first set kicked off early, about 5 minutes till 2 pm,
with a rousing rendition of "Washington and Lee Swing", and it did,
propelled in part by Bob Black's fine banjo-work. Bill Chapman took
another of his 'stratospheric' solos, but on baritone horn this time.
Not to be outdone, Jay Thomas played a fine solo on tuba on the next
song, "Tin Roof Blues". Then Linda Walsdorf sang "If I Had You" with
impressive style, good intonation, and excellent enunciation. (Isn't it
nice to be able to understand words when sung, especially when the
lyrics are meaningful and there is a great melody with it?) A vocal
duet by Jerry and Neil on "Darktown Strutters' Ball" followed, and
Jerry (in a glittery tam) further entertained us with a vocal in what
to this non-French speaker sounded like French. "St. James Infirmary"
with a vocal by Dan Bacon was next, followed by Linda crooning "I Can't
Give You Anything But Love". A trombone-baritone duet by Dan and Bill
on "Bourbon Street Parade" was followed by a baritone-tuba duet by Bill
and Jay, in turn followed by Jerry's vocal accompanied by the duet of
Neil and Dan. Neil then told the story about a tricky bar in New
Orleans that found a way to double-charge patrons, and this was an
introduction to the song "Second Line" (with a vocal by Dan), with the
band stepping off the stage and played parading around the room.
(Sadly, no one in the audience followed, but maybe next time some folks
will remember to bring their parasols.) Linda favored the audience with
"Exactly Like You", as Jerry tiptoed behind the piano and mysteriousy
began wardrobe changes with his back to the audience. Happily, there
was no X-rated "wardrobe malfunction" in the next song, but instead an
alternate persona appeared greatly resembling the former Jerry Lindner,
but wearing an apron with a female form on it and sporting an
accumulation of hair on his head that might scare Medusa. Fortunately,
the audience turned not to stone but to a mass of giggles as Jerry-ette
sang the old Bessie Smith song, "I Can't Do without My Kitchen Man".
The set ended with the more normal "Back Home in Indiana".
During the intermission, ATJS President Tom Straus presided at
the CD-raffle and mentioned the big March 15th concert of Tim Laughlin
and his band from New Orleans. ATJS Vice-President Dave Stoddard
pointed out other local jazz-events. The audience now numbered almost
200 foot-tapping souls.
Highlights of the second set included "I've Found a New Baby",
"Take Me Back to New Orleans", "St. Louis Blues", and Linda Walsdorf
singing "Bye Bye Blackbird". A number of couples always seemed to be
enjoying the dance-floor. Also played were "Do You Know What It Means
to Miss New Orleans" (that city's "National Anthem" according to Neil),
Linda on "I Ain't Gonna Give You None of My Jelly Roll" and "After
You've Gone", and Jerry singing "I Got a Mama Down in New Orleans". The
set ended with perennial favorite "That's a-Plenty".
The last set included ATJS Director Scott Bailey on trombone
and vocals. Linda sang "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and Jerry sang the
old Turk Murphy favorite "The Curse of an Aching Heart", with dual
trombones of Scott and Dan. Giving a temporary dispensation to excess
sucrose indulgence, Jerry played the "Sugar Blues", followed by Linda's
obvious canard "I Ain't Got No Body". Harking back to his wiggier days,
next Jerry waxed wistfully on "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister
Kate". The last songs of the afternoon were Linda's vocal on "Baby
Won't You Please Come Home", Jerry's vocal (in French) on "Bill
Bailey", and Dan's vocal on "What a Wonderful World". The last song
was, of course, "When the Saints Come Marching In", with the audience
clapping in rhythm to the beat, and the tune segued into "Mama Don'
'Low", which in turn turned into "Dixie". The crowd came to their feet
and awarded the band a standing ovation.
Record Convention Coming To Austin
By Becky Maddox
If you have a vintage record collection that you want to
downsize,
or if you would like to find some additional albums for your
collection,
you may be interested in the up coming AUSTIN RECORD CONVENTION. Here
are the particulars:
SPRING 2009 AUSTIN RECORD CONVENTION
APRIL 3/4/5
CROCKETT EVENT CENTER
10601 N. LAMAR BLVD. AUSTIN,TX
CONTACT: DOUG HANNERS
512-288-7288
doug@austinrecords.com www.AustinRecords.com
FYI: table cost is $150; he will also sell for you for a fee.
Photos from the January 2009 Jam Session
Provided by Tom Straus
Note: photographs are not
available if you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer as your
browser. We suggest you upgrade to Firefox
which is faster, safer and more
secure.
2009 Jam Session A Major Success
By Dave Stoddard
The Austin Traditional Jazz Society staged another successful
Jam Session on January 11 at the Cap City Comedy Club before 230
enthusiastic fans. Dave Stoddard managed the event, played trombone and
sang the harmony part on a vocal.
A total of twenty-seven musicians took part. One musician
played two instruments—Jay Thomas played some fine solos on bass
trumpet in the first set, then came back to play some good tuba in the
third and final set. Groups ranged in size from eight to fourteen
players, as people shuttled in and out. The bands played a variety of
jazz standards at tempos which kept the dance floor in constant use the
entire afternoon.
The quality of the players was shown by how well they formed
up into groups, most assembled in that form for the first time. The
jammers played some fine jazz to a most enthusiastic crowd. The Society
has now staged seven Jam Sessions beginning with their renewal in 2003.
The Jam Session distance award this year goes to clarinetist Ron Newton
of Carson City, NV. Ron played some of his numbers with trumpeter son
Sean of the Chaparral Dixielanders.
Our thanks go out to all of the fine musicians who helped make
this year's Jam Session a hit.
Clarinet: Phil Armstrong, Ron Newton and Sammy Epstein
Trumpet/Cornet: Larmon Maddox, David Jellema, Steve Bauserman and Sean
Newton
Tenor Saxophone: Andy Blake and Dan Torosian
Trombone/Bass Trumpet: Dave Stoddard (leader), Jay Thomas, Monte Price
and Scott Bailey
Piano: Mike Hess
Banjo/Guitar: Bobby Black, J.D. Pendley, John Huntsberger and Tom
Straus
Tuba: Dan Augustine and Jay Thomas
String Bass: Ryan Gould, Robert Carter, Tim Paco and Bob Alexius
Drums: Rob Schmidt, Budge Mabry and Luther Keeler
Vocals: Janis Machado
Announcing "Pure Jazz Radio"
Contributed by Tom Straus, President ATJS
For
those of you who just can’t get enough jazz, here is a new
jazz Internet
radio station that will begin broadcasting January 1.
"Just a quick hello to
wish you all a
Happy
Holiday Season. Where did
this year go?"
"I'd also like to announce
a new
venture called
"Pure Jazz Radio". Please
check out our website at www.purejazzradio.com. The
target "air date" is January 1, 2009. One
will be able to access the station
easily by clicking a "Listen Live" button on the website."
"Pure Jazz Radio will be a
full time
Internet
Radio Station featuring Jazz and Standards 24/7, including a "Sunday
Sinatra" program every Sunday starting at 10am EST."
"My enthusiasm for this
project is
twofold:"
"First, to be able to
program a
station that
features traditional Jazz and Standards, and appeals to a highly
discriminating
audience, is very exciting. Commercial
radio (and now even non-profit radio) has seemed to give up on this
demographic."
"Second, the world wide
reach of the
medium
(not to mention the sound quality) is
mind-boggling. We
will literally be able to reach
anyone in the world with internet access....With WIFI, portable radio
and car
radio access cannot be too far off."
"I'll keep in touch to let
you know
how we are
looking with our January 1st target. In
the meantime, please check out the website and let me know what you
think. As always, your
input is always welcome."
address for music service:
4 Norwood Lane
Lake Ronkonkoma, NY 11779
DIXIELAND JAZZ CENTRAL TEXAS
DISCUSSION GROUP FORMED
By Jim Ivy
One of the things
that has been missing on this website is a place where members and
others interested in Dixieland Jazz in our Central Texas area can post
information and carry on discussions. Now there is a Yahoo
group just for Dixieland fans in Central Texas. Everyone is
welcome to join the discussion. You can post photos and files
there that may be of interest to other Dixieland fans also.
Check it out now - go tohttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/DixielandJazz
Join the group now. Voice your opinion about
Dixieland Jazz
in Central Texas!
ATJS 08-09 Concerts Bring Back Favorite Bands,
Areas Newest Dixieland Band, Jan. Jam Session
...Plus Special Concert, All at Cap Citys Cabaret
By Malcolm Rodman
Traditional Dixieland Jazz is alive and well in Central Texas
thanks
to the loyal fans of the Austin Traditional Jazz Society. This Fall
marks our 32nd season of bringing Our Kind of Music to Central Texas
audiences. And, we want you and your friends to be part of it! Use this
pre-addressed form to renew for the new season!
The
2008-09 Schedule
(Subject to change. Timely
information at www.atjs.org)
September 7, 2008
Silver Creek Jazz Band
October 19, 2008
Giant City Jazz
November 16, 2008
Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats
January 11, 2009
ATJS Jam Session
February 15 or 22, 2009
Band Aid Jazz Band
March, 2009
Special Concert (TBA)
April 19, 2009
Easy Street Ramblers
May 17, 2009
Swinging Strings
June 21, 2009
ATJS All-Stars
Our Home, Cap City Comedy Club. Musicians and fans
alike
appreciate the staging and sight lines from every part of the hall and
the superior sound system. The room allows musicians and fans to play
off one another. Our fans have responded favorably to the suggested two
item minimum (drinks and/or food). The burgers and other fare turned
out by the kitchen from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. have been received
enthusiastically.
Concerts are on Sundays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Cap City
Comedy Club,
8120 Research Blvd. (US 183) at Anderson Square in North Austin.
Admission
for ATJS members is free by showing the current (Red) membership card.
Guests, Public invited: $10.00. Suggested minimum: 2 items, food and/or
drink.
Doors open 1:30 p.m. Features: Food (kitchen open 1:30 to 4:00 p.m.),
full bar
to 5:00 p.m., dance floor, free parking with overflow parking one block
south.
Subscribe now to ATJS's 2008-2009 season of Dixieland Jazz
concerts at Cap City Comedy Club's Cabaret
The best deal is to join before September, to take advantage
of our
full years program. To encourage newcomers throughout the year, we
always credit your $10.00 single show admission fee toward a season
membership and dues are pro rated as the season progresses. See the
front desk, or check www.atjs.org for details.
** In recent years, ATJS has sponsored Austin appearances by
the Jim Cullum Jazz Band of San Antonio, Connie Jones Jazz All Stars
from New Orleans and Ed Polcers Jazz Band from New York.
The Austin Traditional Jazz Society, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit society,
is dedicated to the preservation and
performance of Traditional Dixieland Jazz in Austin and Central Texas /
P.O. Box 27694 / Austin, TX 78755-7694 / www.atjs.org / President: Tom
Straus / Editor: L. Malcolm Rodman / (512) 795-9112 /
E-mail:: mnbrodman@austin.rr.com
Pics from the January Jam Session
Furnished by Ryan Gould
Call for Submissions
Do you have
an idea for an article that will be of interest to ATJS members and to
the
hundreds of others who visit ATJS.ORG each month? Over the
last thirty days, ATJS.ORG has had over
500 visits from 23 different countries!
Our visitors are looking for timely and up-to-date information
about
traditional jazz, or as it is sometimes called, "Our Kind Of Music" (OKOM).
We need your help in furnishing the information that will
keep ATJS.ORG one of the top
sites for OKOM articles and information.
If
you can write new, original articles concerning traditional
jazz,
especially articles connected to the Central Texas area, and, if you
would like to see your work published on ATJS.ORG, please submit
it to ATJSWebmaster@austin.rr.com.
While we wait
for new articles, you can browse through our previous
articles,
concert reviews, and photograph archive. Just select from the
menu on the left.
- Webmaster
The Austin Traditional Jazz Society is a non-profit organization
dedicated to the preservation and performance of Traditional Dixieland Jazz in
Austin and Central Texas
