In the forty years that WHEN IT’S SLEEPY TIME DOWN SOUTH was his theme song, Louis Armstrong must have sung it more than 365 times a year. I will leave the mathematics to you. But he never tired of it, and it was his way of saying, “Here I am, ready to bring you love!” to an audience — in Hinsdale, Illinois; Hempstead, New York; Yokohama, Japan . . . around the world. So the song has the deep feeling for me that hymns do for other people, or perhaps the National Anthem. I don’t stand up and put my hand over my heart, but that is the way I feel when a band plays this song.
The EarRegulars did a beautiful job of evoking Louis in a place he probably never visited — The Ear Inn, 326 Spring Street, Soho, New York City — last Sunday night, February 26, 2012. They were Matt Munisteri, guitar; Alex Hoffman, tenor saxophone; Greg Cohen, string bass; Danny Tobias, cornet.
Incidentally, while The EarRegulars were playing, millions of people were watching “the winners” be announced at the Academy Awards; others were watching an all-star basketball game. I think the real winners were playing and listening at The Ear Inn, with no need for any ripping open of envelopes or running up and down a basketball court.
Good evening, everybody!
