There used to be a commercial on TV that asked (totally rhetorically) how long it had been since you had any of its product, and without giving you time to reply said, "Well, that's too long!"
The same question could be asked, with equal fervor and total seriousness, about how long it has been since you've heard the Jim Cullum Jazz Band. The JCJB played in Austin on January 10, 2001, and it played again on March 19, 2006, an unconscionable gap of over five years. But even if the time between concerts had been only one day, you could still say that that was still too long, as this is a band whose repertoire is so varied and vast and whose musicality and excellence is so undeniable that hearing them play every day would still not exhaust their appeal nor dull the keen edge of their jazz.
The March 19th concert was held at the Riverbend Church in Austin, on Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway), at 3:30 pm, and was sponsored by the Austin Traditional Jazz Society and funded in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts. This venue was new to many of the attendees, and its seating arrangements and acoustics (including microphones and a sound engineer) made for an excellent presentation to the over 370 listeners.
The first set kicked off with a fast number by Santa Pecora, "She's Cryin' for Me", in which each player took a solo. Next came a little-heard tune by Duke Ellington called "Misty Morning" (in a slow 4, with press rolls and a bowed string-bass), followed by "Sobbin' Blues" (by King Oliver) and "New Orleans Stomp" (also by King Oliver). After "Sweet Lotus Blossom" with a fine vocal by Howard Elkins, Jim Cullum introduced the players.
On trombone was Kenny Rupp, who has been playing for 55 years in every kind of musical group; what Mr. Cullum did not tell the audience is that Mr. Rupp is going to retire soon from the band. His trombone playing is extremely smooth and polished, but inventive and agile, making even his forays into the extreme upper register seem effortless. Playing clarinet was Ron Hockett, who continues to be one of the best jazz players in the world (to these ears); his flow of new ideas never flags, and occasionally he will slide into an agreeable Edmond Hall-like growl. The newest member of the band is Jim Turner on piano, from California, who displayed his virtuosity and versatility in tunes by both Ellington and Jelly Roll Morton. The rhythm section consisted of Howard Elkins on both guitar and banjo (plus vocal); Don Mopsick on string bass (which he also bowed with beautiful tone and slapped with rhythmic precision; he is also the webmaster for the band's website at http:// www.landing.com/); and Mike Waskiewicz on drums, with rock-solid time and interesting fills, who is ostensibly the youngest member of the band (Mr. Cullum alluded to his apparent youthful appearance by saying, "That Botox really does work."). Oh, and almost as an afterthought, Mr. Cullum referred to the cornet player in the band, himself.
The first set ended with a rarely heard tune called "Smokey Mary" (referring to a locomotive, not loco weed) by Ray Bauduc, in a fast 4, with only one chord underneath the solos and a blues progression in the other choruses, ending with a fine drum solo by Mike Waskiewicz.
The audience used the intermission to partake of the variety of cookies and beverages sold by the Riverbend Church volunteers, and there was a brisk business at the small table where a number of Jim Cullum Jazz Band CDs were on sale.
The second set started with one of the best tunes done by the JCJB, which (unaccountably) no other band seems to want to try: "Pep" by Jelly Roll Morton, with a great solo by Ron Hockett. Next, Jim Turner on piano was featured in Morton's "The Naked Dance", which was unusual in that the tempo intentionally sped up twice, with a great cornet solo by Cullum. The strongest and (to my ears) the best cornet solo of the day (to this point) came in Louis Armstrong's "Tight Like This". Cullum and Rupp then left to stage to let Ron Hockett play "After You've Gone", and the audience's loud and long applause recognized the excellence of his playing. The tune "Deep Blue Melody" was next, written by San Antonian Don Albert. The band then sang together the first chorus of "All by Myself" by themselves (tongue in cheek, to be sure, which probably made enunciation of the lyrics more problematic), and then worked up a great rendition of "Wild Man Blues" by Jelly Roll Morton, with some more strong cornet work by Jim Cullum, and an interchange of phrases between the cornet and clarinet. Kenny Rupp had another great solo, using what sounded like flutter-tonguing.
At this point Mr. Cullum talked a bit about his "Jazz Me News" newsletter, which is edited by Don Mopsick and made available on the Riverwalk.org website. Mention was also made that the Cullum weekly Riverwalk radio show is (strangely) not available in Austin, but may be heard on the internet at The Landing's website.
The final tune of the second set was all five strains of "Panama", before which Mr. Cullum talked fondly about his early days of dixieland in San Antonio, with Chuck Reiley (leader of the Alamo City Jazz Band) and the Southwest Jazz Band, which some forty years late now has a new CD just released, but recorded in 1961 (Southwest Jazz Band, Jazzology BCD-455, from GHB Records).
After a short break, guest artists joined the band and played two numbers, "My Honey's Loving Arms" and "Royal Garden Blues". On cornet was Austin's own Larmon Maddox (with a number of fine solos), Bob Alexius on string bass, and Budge Mabry on drums. Mr. Cullum ended the set and the afternoon with a long high note on the cornet, which to many symbolized the high point of the year in jazz in Austin. The audience, which filled the auditorium almost to overflowing, demonstrated their appreciation loudly after each song, and it can be said that this concert was the best in a long time in Austin, perhaps (dare we say it?) in as long as five years, two months, and nine days ("Well, that's too long!).
