Jazz Pharaohs Meet ATJS at May 18 Concert at Cap City Comedy Club
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, quite a strong case can be made for the proposition that the Jazz Pharaohs is the best band playing traditional jazz in Austin, Texas. Let us examine the merits of this argument by considering the band and its members, the songs they play, where and how much they work, and their performance before an enthusiastic audience at the Capital City Comedy Club on May 18, 2008, in a concert hosted by the Austin Traditional Jazz Society.
The Jazz Pharaohs band was formed back in 1991 when Danny Barnes (banjo), Mark Rubin (tuba), Tony Brusset (guitar), and Stanley Smith (clarinet) began playing gigs around Austin. In 1992 the band began playing at the Elephant Room in downtown Austin, and are still there today at the early show from 6 to 8 pm on Wednesdays. They have had a number of prominent sit-ins joining them, including recently Mr. Jim Cullum on cornet, who drove up from San Antonio just to play with them for free. The Jazz Pharaohs have a CD entitled Old Man Time (2003), available at CD Baby (http://cdbaby.com/cd/jazzpharaohs).
The band's members at this ATJS concert were Stanley Smith (leader, clarinet, vocals); Freddie Mendoza (trombone, vocals), Jon Doyle (tenor sax, clarinet), J. D. Pendley (guitar), Ryan Gould (bass, vocals), John ('Salty') Salmon (drums), and Liz Morphis (vocals).
Stanley Smith has a long and illustrious career in jazz, including stints with the Asylum Street Spankers. He's won awards as the best clarinet player for eight years at the Clarksville Jazz Festival, and he also plays guitar, winning the Best Acoustic Guitar award in 1998 by the Austin Jazz and Music Critics. Stanley 'Cool Pops' Smith also performed on the movie soundtrack for "The Newton Boys" and has played on over forty recordings in the last five years. He's opened for Taj Mahal, Mose Alison, Leon Redbone, Richie Havens, Maria Muldaur, and Bill Monroe.
Freddie Mendoza, currently co-director of the jazz studies program at Texas State University (you know, good ol' "Southwest Texas State", for all you oldsters out there) is a San Antonio native who earned degrees in music from UT and from Texas State. He's performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Bill Watrous, and Harry Connick Jr., and has appeared on over fifty recordings.
Jon Doyle has been playing clarinet and tenor sax around Austin for many years, has performed on a number of recordings, and is one of the first players that Jim Cullum will call to fill in down in San Antonio. Guitarist J. D. Pendley has also played at Cullum's in San Antonio, and appears regularly with a number of Austin bands. Ryan Gould is one of Austin's busiest bass-players, and the ATJS audience enjoyed his singing and playing recently with Aunt Ruby's Sweet Jazz Babies. 'Salty' (John Salmon) on drums gets more sound out of his snare and high-hat than most other drummers with their entire drum-kits, and he keeps a rock-solid beat with tasty fills.
Liz Morphis, luscious in both sound and sight, has been singing with the Jazz Pharaohs for years, but she also sings the blues, R&B, rock 'n' roll, and (as she says) "a little Loretta Lynn every now and then." Originally from northeast Louisiana, she moved to East Texas in Junior High School and has been in Austin for over ten years.
Stanley started off the concert by saying that he had just gone through dental- reconstruction surgery and thus could not play his clarinet today. This was surely a big disappointment for him, but he did sing a number of songs in his smooth bluesy styling, and we all hope that he will be back playing again soon. Be sure to stop in at the Elephant Room on Wednesday evenings and catch him and the Jazz Pharaohs.
The first set started with a medium-fast version of "I've Found a New Baby", with a good beat to it. The band continued with "Exactly Like You", with Jon Doyle on clarinet, occasionally using an Edmond Hall-like tone to good effect. Stanley took a vocal chorus, and Freddie Mendoza's solo showing why he's one of the premier trombonists in the state of Texas. In the background, Salty, Ryan, and JD laid down some great time, and the whole ensemble was really rocking in the out chorus.
Before the next song, Stanley gave a brief history of the band, mentioning Gene and Beverly Wisdom's association with the band. About the song "It Had to Be You", Freddie said that at one point they played this song something like ten times per week at weddings and other events, and he figured he might as well go ahead and sing it, as he already knew the lyrics. So he did a vocal to a good soft four-beat tempo, followed by his trombone solo, using wah-wah at times. After the band played rousing versions of "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" (fast 4, good beat) and Liz sang "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans", it occurred to me that if your foot ain't tapping to this music, you're either deaf or dead.
Liz reinforced this notion in her next song, "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby", and any male in the audience would have to be dead not to answer in the affirmative. The band ended the first set with quite a few couples dancing to "Moonglow", followed by "Dinah" (in the key of G, if you're taking notes), with vocals by both Liz and Stanley. You're not going to find any better traditional jazz anywhere in the country.
In the second set, Mr. Larmon Maddox was invited to sit in on cornet with the band, and the best traditional-jazz cornet player north in Austin soon showed why most knowledgeable fans award him that honor. The band played "Summertime" with a lovely vocal by Liz and a tasty solo by Larmon, followed by "'Deed I Do" in a fast 4- beat. Mr. Ryan Gould was featured singing "I'll See You in My Dreams", adding another dimension to his excellent bass-playing. Next, the band led the crowd in a slow 4-beat version of "Happy Birthday", sung to ATJS member Jim Robinson, who turned 70 on this day and even brought his own birthday cake to share with others. The set ended with Liz singing "Bye Bye Blackbird". It was evident that the Jazz Pharaohs have spent many hours planning and rehearsing their songs, as all the routines, solos, turnarounds, and endings were well worked out. Sitting in with the band along with Larmon in the third set was ATJS Vice President Dave Stoddard on valve trombone. Stanley sang "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and Dave took a fine melodic solo. Freddie Mendoza was featured next with a vocal on "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (so apparently these last two songs depict sunrise on Bourbon Street). With Salty smooth with the brushes, Liz crooned Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo", with a nice reflective solo by Larmon on cornet. The next song was at first a puzzlement to yours truly, with J. D. Pendley accompanying Liz in what turned out to be the intro to "Blue Skies", with a great Jon Doyle solo.
The last two songs of the concert affirmed the traditional jazz roots of the Jazz Pharaohs, as they romped through "Royal Garden Blues", with Ryan Gould slapping his bass and Freddie Mendoza's solo gradually lifting the whole band into another level of intensity and volume. "When the Saints Go Marching In" was the last song, with Stanley and Liz alternating in a duet, Jon Doyle playing two fine choruses (the first low, the second higher with more Edmond Hall flavorings), and Larmon, Dave, J. D., and Freddie all combining in a big finish. The crowd appauded enthusiastically, as well they should, for this great jazz band from Austin that shows why they are one of the best anywhere. Ladies and gentlement of the jury, I rest my case.
