Don’t be afraid. It’s only hot jazz of the highest order, 2023 style, performed by the EarRegulars at The Ear Inn (326 Spring Street, Soho, New York City): Jon-Erik Kellso, Puje trumpet; Scott Robinson, bass saxophone; James Chirillo, guitar; Russell Hall, string bass.
And by the way, hold that tiger!
And if there’s no mail in the mailbox, today is, after all, a national holiday: Scott Robinson’s birthday. We celebrate him as a soaring creator and deeply kind, funny human being. “Thank you for being born!” as someone once said.
I was only fooling. No need to call 911 or hide the children. I’m celebrating the closing performance of Danny Tobias and the Safe Sextet at the Pennsylvania Jazz Society’s June 13, 2021 concert in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. The Safe Sextet is Danny, trumpet and Eb alto horn; Randy Reinhart, trombone and euphonium; Mark Shane, piano; Pat Mercuri, guitar; Joe Plowman, string bass; Jim Lawlor, drums. And they play TIGER RAG — without devouring the song or the audience. This one’s for my friend / friend of the music Joan Bauer:
Anyway, should an escaped tiger have burst into the hall, we had our secret weapon / protector: Clyde Beauregard Redmile-Tobias, who would have pacified it with wags and licks:
More to come from this delightful afternoon, with no wild beasts in sight. (However, the photograph of the tiger caught my attention because of its lovely coat and shining teeth. Is there a Tiger Spa, and does this one floss?)
Jazz fans of a certain vintage know the photographs of Fifty-Second Street jam sessions — in this case, Sunday afternoons at Jimmy Ryan’s in the early Forties, with every luminary within ten miles joining in on the closing BUGLE CALL RAG. Or this pastoral little gathering, no doubt improvising on Debussy:
I see Hot Lips Page, Kenny Hollon, possibly Jack Bland, Pete Brown, and Marty Marsala, and I imagine Zutty Singleton or George Wettling. Oh, yes, “Very Blowingly.”
By 1948 or so, the line of clubs on “Swing Street” — Fifty-Second between Sixth and Seventh — was gone, and now, even though there’s a street sign denoting past glories, no trace remains. But Sunday nights at The Ear Inn, 326 Spring Street, when the EarRegulars held court — as we hope they will again — were a divine evocation of that time and place.
Perhaps the most memorable and happy of New Year’s celebrations was January 2, 2011, with All The Cats Joining In. I don’t exaggerate: Jon-Erik Kellso, Danny Tobias, Bria Skonberg, trumpet; John Allred, Emily Asher, Todd Londagin, trombone; Pete Martinez, Dan Block, clarinet; Lisa Parrott, alto saxophone; Matt Munisteri, Howard Alden, guitar; Nicki Parrott, string bass; Chuck Redd, wire brushes on paper tablecloth. Ecstasy at The Ear!
As we go backwards into time, and forwards also, here is the last glorious improvisation of that night, a nearly-sixteen minute TIGER RAG:
and the tail of that TIGER:
I look forward to a return of such ecstasies. Join me at 326 Spring Street — in reality and in joyous memory — and let’s share a big portion of hope.
A completely torrid interlude from the 2018 Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival, featuring the Holland-Coots Jazz Quintet with Marty Eggers, string bass, sitting in for Steve Pikal. The other incendiaries are Brian Holland, piano; Danny Coots, drums; Marc Caparone, cornet; Evan Arntzen, clarinet. Although TIGER RAG owes something to Jelly Roll Morton, this rendition owes a great deal to Louis Armstrong. And who would find fault with that?
I’ve written a good deal and posted more than a few videos of this multi-talented group on this blog, which you can find. However, I hope you know that they are among the stars of the late-Spring STOMPTIME cruise in the Eastern Caribbean: details here. I am fairly sure that no pets are allowed on board, so you’ll have to check with the cruise line.
A holy artifact from the Larry Rafferty Collection:
I can’t write the dialogue here, “Mister Berry, could I have one of your used reeds and could you autograph it for me?” but it obviously happened and it feels sacred to those of us who understand the power of Chu.
Because he has been gone nearly seventy-five years (victim of an automobile accident in 1941) Chu has been eclipsed. But Charlie Parker named his firstborn son Leon in Chu’s honor, and Sonny Rollins has told young musicians asking for advice on tenor players, “Listen to Chu Berry!”
We can still do that: SITTIN’ IN, recorded for the Commodore Music Shop in November 1938, with Chu, his friend Roy Eldridge,trumpet; Clyde Hart, piano; Danny Barker, guitar; Artie Shapiro, string bass; Sidney Catlett, drums. It’s based on a strain from TIGER RAG and — although very brief — allows us to hear Chu’s speaking voice as well as his energetic tenor style:
To think of his early death is so sad. Yet he left us so much, if we can only hear it.
I waited to post this until the British heir to the throne safely entered this world, so as not to draw attention from that monarch-to-be. But here’s another royal event, the jazz coronation of Howard Miyata as Musician of the Year on March 2, 2013, at Dixieland Monterey / the Jazz Bash by the Bay. His regal attendants include Susie Miyata, Gordon, Brandon, and Justin Au (nephews three), and the High Sierra Jazz Band, with special commentary by Pieter Meijers and Bryan Shaw.
Where HAIL TO THE CHIEF meets TIGER RAG, and where “catcalls” are a good thing. Congratulations to Uncle How!
To say that I’m honored would be an understatement!
Read what Andrrew J. Sammut has written about JAZZ LIVES and the person who is currently typing these words — in a profile of this site and me at ALL ABOUT JAZZ:
One of the regular features of JAZZ LIVES is my reporting on what delights occurred at The Ear Inn (326 Spring Street, Soho, New York City) on the preceding Sunday night. Saying that I have a good time would be an understatement.
But even I — expecting the finest kind of jazz synergy on a regular basis — was astonished by what happened on January 2, 2011.
The EarRegulars and their friends created extraordinary music last Sunday night as 2011 took hold. I had the privilege of watching individual creative impulses coalesce into something larger, something casually magnificent — all only a few feet from my camera.
If this seems overstatement, a kind of “witness to history” pronouncement appropriate only to breaking news, the music will explain my feelings. I’m delighted to present some of the evening’s many highlights.
The EarRegulars, for the first set, were a quartet of friends: Jon-Erik Kellso, trumpet; Nicki Parrott, bass; John Allred, trombone; Matt Munisteri, guitar.
They began with OH, BABY! — a song beloved of Jazz Age Chicagoans and of Eddie Condon and friends. Because of the season, this performance was full of sly references to wintry / holiday tunes, causing Matt to say it should have been called OH, BROTHER! But now that I am safe from FROSTY THE SNOWMAN for another eleven months, I didn’t mind. See if you can catch all the in-and-out jokes. And see if you can keep from laughing at the musical frolics:
Another good old good one, AT THE JAZZ BAND BALL, reminiscent of Bix as well, could easily have been the title for this posting. Enjoy the conversational games played so well by these four brilliant improvisers:
To cool things off a bit, Jon-Erik asked John to choose one with a trombone lead, and John suggested the timeless “rhythm ballad” THESE FOOLISH THINGS, a performance full of quiet feeling:
Early on in the evening, there were intimations of a jam session to come. I had spotted trombonist Emily Asher sitting at one table, then saxophonist Lisa Parrott, then trumpeter Bria Skonberg. To my right appeared (like a belated holiday gift) the cornetist Dan Tobias, who was invited to join the festivities for a romping FROM MONDAY ON:
When the first set had ended, even more musicians came in, among them the ever-faithful Dan Block, clarinet at the ready. I chatted with another clarinet wizard, Pete Martinez, about the Albert system, Johnny Windhurst, Eddie Condon in the 1950s, Skeets Tolbert and his Gentlemen of Swing, and TISHOMINGO BLUES. Where else but at The Ear Inn?
Later, Howard Alden came in — first to listen — and I eventually noticed the broad back of someone I didn’t recognize, but when he began to play wire brushes on the paper-covered table, I knew that he knew: it was Chuck Redd!
(In the break, the actor James Gandolfini had come in, had a drink or two, and decided not to stay — a grave mistake. When Jeremy Irons had visited The Ear Inn some years back, he had the good sense to stick around for The EarRegulars!)
The second set was masterfully orchestrated by Maestro Kellso, who invited these friends up one at a time. It swelled into a thirteen-piece ensemble for AFTER YOU’VE GONE (which — if you’re keeping score — began with the last eight bars — more accurately, the last sixteen played double-time, says Jon-Erik). And please note how each jam-session performance levitates itself on a flying carpet of Kellso-driven riffs, some from Basie, some from Louis, all in the grand tradition:
Then, a more moderate approach to WHEN I GROW TOO OLD TO DREAM, an unlikely prospect for both players and audience. In F, please:
Seeing the three trombones, Jon-Erik suggested TIGER RAG — an ecstatic romp presented here in two parts, because I couldn’t bear to lose even the final thirty-five seconds:
The last little bit (good to the last drop!):
Writing about this experience two days later, I don’t think that this music — simultaneously ecstatic and expert — needs much explication. But more was going on at The Ear Inn than musicians stopping by to play a chorus or two.
It was the creation of an inspired, mutually supportive community, nothing less.
Jon-Erik, Matt, Victor Villar-Hauser (behind the bar but so much more than a mere pourer of libations), and the owners of The Ear Inn have all worked without calling attention to themselves to make 326 Spring Street on Sunday nights a remarkable place.
It’s that rare spot where jazz musicians know they will be allowed and encouraged to play their own music with their peers. Those of us who value such an unusual occurrence come to the Ear as if on a pilgrimage — and the musicians feel the same way. (In the audience but not playing were Chuck Wilson, Barbara Dreiwitz, and many others.)
And there’s more.
In our time, where texting offers itself as equal to experience, the creation of such a community is both beautiful and special. The sense of separateness that underlies much of our daily life disappears while the music is playing.
“Here we are!” say the musicians. “Come with us!” The smiles of the players and the observers light the dark room. And a singular cohesiveness blossoms, a solace we seek all through our waking hours without knowing it.
As the new year begins, may we all embody our work as beautifully as these musicians do. May we all wear our accomplishments with such easy grace.
And while writing these words, I felt for a moment, “I have witnessed something that will never come again,” but who knows? There’s always next Sunday at The Ear Inn, which is hopeful and uplifting.
Eight o’clock (really seven-thirty or earlier if you like sitting).
You come, too.
Bring your appreciative self and something for the tip jar. The EarRegulars will supply the joy.
Here’s a delightful performance of SHOE SHINE BOY by the Copenhagen Washboard Five:
They have the right spirit, don’t they? (Almost as if Louis and Sidney had gotten together in 1940 to record a relaxed version of this pretty Cahn-Chaplin song.) And the vocal needs no translation.
The Five are Mikael Zuschlag (cornet); Erik Spiermann (soprano saxophone); Jonas Winding (banjo /vocal); Hans Kofoed-Nielsen (sousaphone); Knud Andersen (washboard and vocal). The performance was recorded on November 7, 2009, in the John F. Kennedy Pub & Jazzlounge, Torvet 4, Hillerød, Denmark.
And Mikael’s YouTube channel is “lic62,” where he’s posted more than one hundred and fifty jazz performances by a variety of bands. The most recent set brings together the Jelly Roll Morton-inspired pianist Bob Greene and the Peruna Jazzmen, with Bob playing TIGER RAG on a Roland keyboard with the band.
The song is THE GIRL WITH THE LIGHT BLUE HAIR — I assume a play on THE MAID WITH THE FLAXEN HAIR — performed by Rollini, vibes and tubular bells (on which he demonstrates great dexterity), Allan Hanlon, guitar; George Hnida, bass. It comes to us through the courtesy of “lindyhoppers” on YouTube, who is indebted to the late Tom Faber, Dutch discographer of Rollini.
Musically, I admit it wouldn’t be my first choice — Rollini on bass sax in 1934 is impressive although brief, and I’d rather have seen him in a hotter context. But this will have to do until more of the real thing surfaces!
JAZZ LIVES 