August 2008

Riverwalk Jazz Welcomes Nashville Station WFSK-FM

Beginning this month, Riverwalk Jazz will be heard on Mondays at 9:00 PM on WFSK-FM 88.1, Fisk University in Nashville, TN. Visit the station website for more information. And please help us pass the word.

This Month on Riverwalk Jazz

If you want to play it hot, you've got to have a clarinet and a trombone in the band. Our guests show us why. Plus, we visit California and make a stop to share a mint julep or two with Johnny Mercer along the way.

8/14 Slipping and Sliding: Jazz Trombone at its Best
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band is joined by contemporary masters of the jazz trombone, Dan Barrett and Bob Havens, with tunes from the playing of Kid Ory, Tommy Dorsey and others.

8/21 Our Huckleberry Friend: The Lyrics of Johnny Mercer
The Jim Cullum Jazz Band and guest vocalist Rebecca Kilgore bring to life some of Johnny Mercer’s best-loved songs including "Moon River" and "P.S. I Love You."

8/28 Clarinet Marmalade: Hot Jazz to Smooth Ballads
This concert show spotlights clarinet artistry. Along with our own Ron Hockett, Ken Peplowski, Allan Vaché, and Evan Christopher join The Jim Cullum Jazz Band.

Note: Riverwalk Jazz public radio broadcasts are recorded well in advance of their airdates. These listings do not reflect live appearances at The Landing in San Antonio. For what's happening at The Landing, check our calendar page.

Join us for Riverwalk Jazz
Radio Broadcasts at ‘Club Pearl’

Revisit Kansas City Hotspots of the 1930s with
Bluesman Dennis Rowland & The Jim Cullum Jazz Orchestra

Date: Friday, October 3, 2008

Sign up for Advance Notice of Ticket Sales at tickets@riverwalkjazz.orgrg.

San Antonio’s premiere venue, The Pearl Stable at The Pearl Brewery. All seating ‘Cabaret-Style’, food and beverage service at tables.

Thanks to our Sponsors: Mission Pharmacal, Texas Public Radio, National Endowment of the Arts, San Antonio Area Foundation, Charter Members Riverwalk Jazz Hot 100 Club, Hyatt Regency San Antonio, and The Pearl Brewery http://www.pearlstable.com/.

Just Ask

Just ask and we’ll answer your questions about The Landing, The Jim Cullum Jazz Band, and Riverwalk Jazz on the radio.

Greetings.

What player do I need on my computer (a laptop) in order to play Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues"?

Thanks. Dr. Trenton R. Ferro

Editor replies:

Trenton, we linked to "West End Blues" in the Real format on the Red Hot Jazz Archive, so be sure that the Real player is loaded onto your laptop. You can download a free version from Real.com.

Dear Riverwalk:

How do I change my password?

Thank You, Ben Ferguson

Editor replies:

Ben, changing your password on our site is easy. Log in to http://www.riverwalkjazz.orgrg/ as usual, then in the upper right hand corner click on Update Profile > enter your password once more > Change/Reset Password > follow the instructions.

From the Forums

Here is a recent post from Riverwalk Jazz Forums:

From: capt morgan

Greetings all! My name is Morgan and I'm a Chemical Engineer living in Southern California. I discovered Riverwalk and the Jim Cullum Jazz Band though my main hobby (obsession) swing dancing. Specifically, The Lindy Hop and other traditional jazz folk dances that accompany jazz music (also includes The Balboa, The Collegiate Shag, and The Charleston).
Read more >>

Photo Credits

• "Indian Summer" sheet music cover from johnnymercer.com
• Edward "Kid" Ory from Concord Music Group
• "Lazybones" sheet music cover from johnnymercer.com
• Ron Hockett © Riverwalk Jazz
• The Jim Cullum Jazz Orchestra © Riverwalk Jazz
• Only known photo of Buddy Bolden, believed to be in the public domain

Buddy Bolden on the Holodeck
By Alan Kurtz

Reprinted courtesy jazz.com.

Hackneyed or not, it was a dark and stormy night. My meeting with the Mad Scientist, as I'd begun to think of him, had been scheduled after hours to accommodate my day job as an actuarial archivist. Arriving 20 minutes late, I nearly drove past the secluded entrance, which under even ideal atmospheric conditions might be described as dimly lit and poorly marked. "Got an appointment?" demanded the security guard at the front gate, his face hidden beneath the hood of a yellow slicker dripping rain from every crease.

"I'm Kurtz," I hollered cheerily from the cozy confines of my sedan. The sentry motioned for me to roll down the window. "Kurtz," I reiterated against the blustery wetness now dampening my countenance but not my enthusiasm. "The jazz writer. I'm here to interview Dr. Cabman."
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Subversive Sounds—Race and the Birth of Jazz in New Orleans

by Charles Hersch (2008, University of Chicago Press)

Reviewed by Nic Jones

Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 2008 AllAboutJazz.com and Ric Jones

In avoiding any pre-planned model with which to simplify the subject of this book, Charles Hersch has produced something that's far more closely reflective of human experience and actions than it otherwise might have been. He also is clearly not an author for whom determinism serves any great purpose, and it's to his credit that he's produced a book the arguments of which are put across both cogently and persuasively.

Hersch's understanding and appreciation of the racial climate of New Orleans in the early decades of the twentieth century, and by implication the social and cultural milieu from which jazz sprang, isn't clouded by a jaundiced eye. The clarity of his thinking illuminates what was—and arguably still is—an immensely complicated situation.

In view of this—and despite the fact that there's more than a little weight to the argument that it would have taken such a state of inter-racial fluidity to produce the music at all—what emerges from his text most strongly is the idea of music as a bridge for crossing racial divides, and this despite the efforts of some of its practitioners.
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Classic Jazz Media Online

"Tiger Rag," Kid Ory 1959

The Capitolians featuring Miff Mole and others, 1928

"My Heart," Turk Murphy with Bob Schulz

"At the Jazz Band Ball," Johnny Mercer vocal, 1964

"Ring Dem Bells," Ken Peplowski, 1995

"I've Got a Heartful of Music," Benny Goodman Quartet, 1936

Where to Hear Live Jazz

Regular Gigs:

• David Ostwald's Gully Low Jazz Band at Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, New York City, Wednesdays at 5:30 PM. Call 212-581-3080.
• Trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso leads the Ear Regulars at the Ear Inn, 326 Spring St. (SoHo), New York City, Sundays at 8:00 PM.
• Clint Baker and The Cafe Borrone All-Stars, Cafe Borrone, Menlo Park, CA, Fridays at 8:00 PM. Call 650-200-7622.
• New Black Eagles Jazz Band, J.P. O'Hanlons Pub & Restaurant, Ayer, MA, 2nd Thursday monthly, 7:30 PM. Call 978-772-9282 or visit their website.
• Vince Giordano's Nighthawks at Sofia's at the Edison Hotel, Cache Room (downstairs), 221 West 46th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue), Mondays at 8:00 PM. Call 212-719-5799 or visit their website.
• Doug Finke's West Market Street Stompers, Bearno's By The Bridge, 131 W. Main St. Louisville KY, Fridays at 5:30 PM. More info at 502-584-7437.

Parties, Concerts, and Festivals: More comprehensive lists can be found on websites for the Mississippi Rag and American Rag. For a list of links to jazz societies nation-wide, click here.

• 7-10 Orange County Classic Jazz Festival, Costa Mesa, CA. Visit their website for more information.

• 8-10 JVC Jazz Festival, Newport, RI. Featured guests include Warren Vaché Jr., Howard Alden and others. Visit their website for more information.

• 29-Sept. 1 Sweet and Hot Music Festival, Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel, Los Angeles, CA. Featured guests include Banu Gibson, Chuck Hedges, John Cocuzzi, Johnny Varro, Tom Saunders, Rebecca Kilgore, Jim Galloway and others. Visit their website for more information.

On the Road with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band

The Jim Cullum Jazz Band appears Monday through Saturday nights beginning at 8:00 PM at The Landing in San Antonio, except for highlighted dates below. To find out when the JCJB is coming to your town in 2008, view our event calendar.

August Events

31 The Jim Cullum Jazz Band will play a concert today at the Torre Di Pietra Winery, Fredericksburg, TX. Call 830-644-2829 for tickets and more information.

Click here for directions and a map.

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