OREGON`S “BLACK SWAN CLASSIC JAZZ BAND” ADDS BRASS

October 2012
Volume 37, Number 08
OREGON’S “BLACK SWAN CLASSIC JAZZ BAND” ADDS
BRASS STARS BARR AND LOOMIS PLUS
MARILYN KELLER FOR OCTOBER 21 DATE.
By Rod Belcher
The combo known as the “Black Swan Classic Jazz
Band” has been described as the top “trad” group to come
out of the state of Oregon, and few would argue the validity
of that claim.
We of PSTJS get to enjoy the musical output of Black
Swan for the second straight year in our concert of Sunday,
October 21st. Leader-tubaist Kit Johnson has enhanced the
band by booking local area brass players Bert Barr (cornet)
and Dave Loomis (trombone) to man its solid front-line. Additionally, Black Swan will feature its marvelous
vocalist, Marilyn Keller, who dazzles with both her lyrical and
her gritty styles, depending on the type of tune to be sung. The band for many years has played at festivals, cruises,
commercial events and on recordings, with enthusiastic
audience approval. It’s booked for the late November
much-lauded festival in San Diego, an indicator of top
recognition by the jazz world.
In addition to Johnson, Barr, Loomis and Keller,
Black Swan’s players include Steve Matthes, clarinet;
John Bennett, piano; Ron Leach, drums; and Alan Phillips,
banjo--all multi-year veterans of offering differing styles of
jazz. They provide their own variety of the music most of
us have followed for years or even decades. Come to the
pre-Halloween concert and hear their “take” on trad jazz. Above: Kit Johnson, tuba & leader, Marilyn Keller, vocal, Bert
Barr, cornet, Dave Loomis, trombone, Steve Matthes, clarinet,
John Bennett, piano, Ron Leach, drums, Alan Phillips, banjo
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 21, 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Ballard Elks Lodge, 6411 Seaview Ave.NW (Seattle)
ADMISSION: $12 - PSTJS members; $15 - non-member guests.
Pay only at door.
MORE INFO: 425-776-5072 or website: www.pstjs.org
Snacks, coffee, other beverages available.
Lots of free parking, great view!
Jazz Soundings
October 2012
Puget Sound
Traditional Jazz Society
19031 Ocean Avenue
Edmonds, WA 98020-2344
425-776-5072 www.pstjs.org
Page 2
Gigs for Local Bands
BELLINGHAM TRADITIONAL JAZZ SOCIETY
1st Saturday 2 - 5 pm VFW Hall 625 N. State St
UPCOMING EVENTS
FIRST THURSDAY BAND
1st Thurs of the month, 7 - 10 p.m., New Orleans Restaurant, 114 1st Ave S., Seattle, WA
Oct 21 Black Swan
Nov 18 Evergreen Classic
Dec 16 Ray Skjelbred’s First Thursday Band
GLENN CRYTZER’s SYNCOPATORS
1st Sunday and 3rd Wednesday of the Month 9:30-12:30 Century Ballroom 915 East Pine Seattle, WA,
206-324-7263
Elks Lodge, Ballard, 6411 Seaview Ave N.W., Seattle
PRESIDENT: Judy Levy
jazzdancer2@msn.com
425-890-6605
VICE PRESIDENT: George Swinford
grs-pms@comcast.net
425-869-2780
SECRETARY: Cilla Trush
paultrush@yahoo.com
206-363-9174
TREASURER: Gloria Kristovich
gkristo@live.com
425-776-7816
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Joanne Hargrave shorejo1@comcast.net
Leroy Johnson: moldyfig33@yahoo.com Jan Lemmon
djlemmon@msn.com
Edmund Lewin: Gary Lydum:
glydumup@hotmail.com George Oelrich: goelrich@comcast.net
Carol Rippey: trianglejazz@comcast.net Jack Temp
MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR
Carol Rippey: trianglejazz@comcast.net EDITOR
Anita LaFranchi: jazzeditor@q.com 206-550-4664
206-772-4378
425-776-9763
360-297-6633
206-719-3955
360-793-0836
425-776-5072
425-242-0683
425-776-5072
206-522-7691
JAZZ SOUNDINGS
Published monthly except July and August by the Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society.
GRAND DOMINION JAZZ BAND
October 4 - 7 “Glacier Jazz Stampede” - Kalispell, MT
www.glacierjazzstampede.com
holotradband
Tuesdays, 7 - 10 p.m., New Orleans Restaurant, 114 1st Ave S., Seattle, WA
NEW ORLEANS QUINTET
Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 pm New Orleans Restaurant, 114 1st Ave S., Seattle, WA
GREATER OLYMPIA DIXIELAND JAZZ SOCIETY
2rd Sunday at the Olympia Elks, Times are 1pm till 4:30pm
PEARL DJANGO
Oct. 7, 7pm
Bake’s Place Bellevue. Joining us will be Greta Matassa
155 108th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004: phone: (425) 454-2776
Oct. 13, TBA - Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival 221 N Lincoln St, downtown Port Angeles, WA
Oct. 13, 7pm Castle Key Restaurant at Manresa Castle Reservations
7th & Sheridan, Port Townsend, WA 98368; (360)385-5750
Oct. 27, 6:30pm A Benefit for Queen Anne Helpline - Joining us will be Greta Matassa
- RSVP no later than October 16th in Online at www.queenannehelpline.org or Call 206.282.1540 Fisher
Pavilion at Seattle Center, Seattle, WA
Anita LaFranchi, Editor, jazzeditor@q.com
Ads must be submitted in a jpeg or PDF format
Payment in advance to: Gloria Kristovich, P.O. Box 373, Edmonds, WA
98020-0373
Advertising Rates:
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Half Page $60. 7 1/2” wide by 4 1/4 “ tall
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Deadline is the 10th of the month for the next month’s issue
Saturday
7 - 12 p.m. Sunday
3 -6 p.m.
On Your Dial........
Swing Years and Beyond KUOW 94.9 FM
Art of Jazz, Ken Wiley, KPLU 88.5 FM
Jazz Soundings
October 2012
Page 3
Gaye Anderson, Patron Saint of Seattle Jazz Musicians
By Dave Holo
I was first introduced to Gaye
Anderson and her New Orleans Creole
Restaurant the Friday evening of Mardi
Gras weekend, 1986. The New Orleans
had opened the previous year and was
about to participate in its first Mardi Gras
celebration. Gaye and her partner Jimmy
Allen decided to bring in some live New
Orleans jazz to spice things up.
On somewhat short notice, they hired a
pickup trio led by Bob Jackson on trumpet.
Mike Duffy was on bass. I had the great
good fortune to own a banjo and be available
when the call came in. The music went over
well, we had a good time, and Gaye and
Jimmy enjoyed the added ambiance of the
music. Only a few weeks later the Bob Jackson
Trio with Mike Duffy and Skip McDaniel - a real
guitar and banjo player - became the first regular
music at the restaurant, playing every Monday,
6:30-9:30. The New
Orleans Quintet still
occupies the same
time slot today. In
less than a year, the
New Orleans was
featuring live music
every night. There was
jazz Monday through
Thursday, and blues on
Friday and Saturday,
with Sundays a mixed
bag. Looking back on
it, Gaye and Jimmy’s
initial decision to
bring in Mardi Gras
music permanently
rearranged the jazz
and blues landscape
in Seattle.
In those early
years, Gaye was
always working to get
things just the way
that she wanted them.
By the time I started
working regularly at
Gaye’s restaurant in
June of 1988 when
Jackson left the
group, the Monday night band had already
become a quartet. George Goldsberry had
been added on reeds a few months before
my arrival. A few months after my arrival,
Bob Gilman came down and sat in on
piano one night. Gaye liked the sound of
that group and decided we should become a
quintet. Musically, she liked it. She wanted
that sound in her club. She just did it. If it
seemed right, you just do it. Gaye didn’t
put much faith in can’t.
During the late 80’s and 90’s, the New
Orleans was always hopping. There was
music there every night. Every local jazz
musician in Seattle was either playing
there or trying to get on the calendar. Every
blues band in Seattle and on the West Coast
wanted to play Gaye’s club. I don’t think I
know a musician who hasn’t played at the
New Orleans. Gaye hired them, welcomed
their friends and fans as though they were
family, and created an atmosphere that was
unique, comfortable, and a very important
part of Seattle’s music scene. Musician
friends from all over the world are crazy
about the place and are very verbal about
how lucky Seattle is to have such a place.
Gaye was also kind of a mover and
shaker in the Pioneer Square Business
Association and had a big input on the
Fat Tuesday tradition, the joint cover,
and a lot of other things that made
Pioneer Square a destination for music
lovers. In the early years, Gaye would
gather up all the musicians who could
play while mobile, she’d herd us up at
Victor Steinbrueck Park behind Pike
Place Market, and we’d parade from
there down Post Alley all the way to
Occidental Park in Pioneer Square with
revelers and second liners following
us. We’d then play a short concert in
Occidental Square and they’d kick off
the Mardi Gras festivities. It was crazy,
but fun.
There are people who don’t realize
that throughout the 1990’s and well into
the first decade of the 2000’s, almost every
out-of-area traditional jazz band which
played PSTJS also played the New Orleans
under Gaye’s sponsorship. Gaye’s cosponsorship helped PSTJS get some out-ofarea bands to Seattle which just wouldn’t
have been here otherwise. Gaye would hire
them to play Saturday afternoon before her
regular Saturday night blues bands. On the
days she did that, she paid two bands. It
didn’t always work out economically, but
she believed in the music and wanted to
help keep it alive.
Gaye’s general formula was to hire
good local musicians and let them fill
the place. Even so, during the heydays a
number of big names played there. One
night Gaye somewhat apologetically told
the Monday night guys that she had to
take us off the calendar for a week. Dizzy
Gillespie would only appear at her club if
he could have a Thursday through Monday.
Continued on page 4
Jazz Soundings
Gaye Anderson cont. From page 3
Are you kidding me? To this day, that’s
still one of my best musician stories. I
once lost a gig to Dizzy Gillespie. To be
perfectly honest, it was a proud moment
for me. But even though Gaye was
excited to have Dizzy come play at the
club, she truly felt guilty for taking us
off the calendar for one night.
Gaye was like that. She had respect,
appreciation, and loyalty for “her musicians”.
I’m sure I played at least a dozen celebrations
of life for people who belonged to her New
Orleans Restaurant family. When someone
you cared about passed on, you gave them a
party. That was Gaye’s way. I doubt that it’s a
club owners’ custom.
Floyd Standifer, arguably one of
the biggest names in Seattle jazz during
the last 40 years, played at Gaye’s club
every Wednesday night for 20 years. On
Floyd’s passing, Clarence Acox took over
leadership of that group, and it’s still there
every week on Wednesdays. Ham Carson’s
Quintet has been there for 20 - 25 years
most Thursdays. Ray Skjelbred has been
there on First Thursdays for five years.
Holotradband has been there on Tuesdays
for 9 years. Before that, File Gumbo
Zydeco band was there for almost 15 years
on Tuesdays. The New Orleans Quintet descended from the Bob Jackson Trio - is
still there every Monday, now in its 28th
year. Gaye had a loyalty to her musicians
October 2012
that’s hard to fathom in today’s world. In
like fashion, Gaye’s musicians understood
that and had the same sense of loyalty to
her. We called her the patron saint of Seattle
jazz musicians.
Sometimes Gaye and I would sit
and chat after the music was over. It
was usually about the restaurant, or the
musicians she’d known or hired, or about
the music. Sometimes it was people we
knew in common. Sometimes it was just
history. I knew she’d been in the restaurant
business a long time. I learned she’d gone
to Foster High School where she’d been
a gymnast and played the clarinet. I’d
met her three brothers and her mom. She
knew my family. My dad and my siblings
came into the restaurant frequently. My
sister brought her kids when they were
just little. They still come in. Every time
Gaye would see my family walk through
the door, she’d seat them, serve them, and
unless it was crazy busy, she’d sit down
and chat with them for a few minutes. My
dad doesn’t get around much these days,
but Gaye would ask about him and then
say “Well tell him I said ‘hi’, and that he
needs to get his rear-end up here and watch
you play.” Gaye was like that with a lot of
people. She came to a band party or two
for the Quintet and friends, but I always got
the impression she was most comfortable
in her own environment, i.e., the restaurant
and jazz joint she’d created. It was what it
Page 4
was because she made it that way. It was
much more than a job, a business, or even a
livelihood to her. It was a way of life.
The New Orleans Creole Restaurant
has been a mainstay of traditional jazz in
Seattle for more than 27 years. Even so,
I know there are PSTJS members who
always intended to get down there but
never made it. They never met Gaye or
saw her vision of New Orleans jazz in
Seattle. I’m sorry about that for Gaye,
and for the all the folks who shared her
love of the music yet never got around to
meeting her or seeing her club.
August 21st, 2012 was the last time
I saw Gaye. As usual, I was the last
musician to leave after the Tuesday night
gig. I was headed for the door, and as I had
hundreds of times before, I yelled up to her
office “Good night, Gaye. I’m outta here.
Have a good week. See you Monday.” She
yelled back, as she, too, had so many times
before, “OK, love. Drive carefully. Thank
you so much.”
It’s hard for me to grasp that she’s gone.
Her hand is all over the New Orleans. All
the paintings and photographs on the wall
… that’s her. The vintage jazz instruments
on the wall … that’s her, too. All the Mardi
Gras decorations … yup, it’s all Gaye.
From the vibe in the room to the outdoor
deck she fought city hall to be able to build
… that’s all Gaye. She’s still there; I don’t
see her leaving anytime soon.
From the Prez!
Update on former Jazz Camp
students: I received a letter from Marissa
Carrington this summer telling about the
trip she and her twin brother Alex made
to New York City, and I wanted to share
it with you, so you will see the results that
your raffle tickets make possible. “Alex and I had an unforgettable
experience for our senior year being
able to perform in Carnegie Hall. Our
main piece, ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ sounded
fantastic with our school’s talented
musicians and Carnegie’s famous
acoustics. The gilded walls, the red
plush seats, and the heavenly sounds of
Carnegie Hall will always be in our most
treasured memories. New York City
was amazing. Alex and I were able to
visit Birdland Jazz Club, and we loved
hearing Jazz in the Big Apple. Thank
you so much for providing us with the
experience and practice at Camp Heebie
Jeebies! We would have never made it to
Carnegie Hall without you guys. Camp
Heebie Jeebies has and always will be
the best music camp Alex and I have
ever attended.”
Marissa will attend the University
of Washington this fall and Alex will
attend Western Washington University. Alex attended Jazz Camp Heebie Jeebies
three times, Marissa was there twice.
In other news, when the Bob Schulz
Frisco Jazz Band was beginning their
final set this past Sunday I asked the SRO
audience if they’d like to plan on having
Bob and the band back again next year. The resounding applause said a big YES,
so I suggested they start saving their
pennies now so there won’t be a big last
minute fund raising effort in the spring. I’m passing that idea along to all of you,
and we’ll be talking more about it after the
first of the year. Cheers, Judy
Jazz Soundings
October 2012
Page 5
Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society
19031 Ocean Ave., Edmonds, WA 98020-2344
Please (enroll) (renew) (me) (us) as a member or members
Name
Address
City, State
Zip Code
Phone
E-Mail
Check when renewing if your address label is correct
Dues for 12 months: Single $25 Couple $40 Lifetime single $200 Lifetime Couple $350
Patron $500 (One or two lifetime membership)
Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
The Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to the performance
and preservation of traditional jazz. Your membership and contributions are tax-deductible. Thank you.
Jazz Jubilees and Jamboriees in October!
OCT 12-14: MEDFORD, OR.
24th Annual Medford Jazz Jubilee.
Headquarters: Red Lion Hotel. Featured Guest Artists: Bob Draga, Lena
Prima Band. Featured Bands: Blue
Street/Renditions, Cornet Chop Suey,
Gator Beat, High Sierra J.B., High
Street J.B., Midiri Brothers Sextet, Oregon Coast Lab Band, Sister
Swing, Stompy Jones, Tom Rigney
& Flambeau, Young Bucs, Vince Bartels’ Best of Swing Quintet w/Jennifer Leitham & John Cocuzzi. A.E.
Badges:$65 until 4/30 then $70 until
9/30 then $75. Daily badges available. A.E. Youth Badges: 12 thru 23,
$20. Under 12 FREE. Contact Info:
Medford Jazz Jubilee, 221 N. Central Ave., PMB 201, Medford, OR
97501-5927. 800-599-0039 or 541770-6972. Email: info@medfordjazz.
org Website: www.medfordjazz.org
Lodging: Medford Visitors & Convention Bureau, 800-469-6307 or
www.visitmedford.org
OCT 17-21: SUN VALLEY, ID.
23rd Annual Sun Valley Jazz Jamboree. Headquarters: Sun Valley
Lodge. Guest Artists: Yve Evans,
Rob Verdi, Bob Draga, John Cocuzzi. Featured Bands: Big Bang
J.B., Bill Allred’s Classic J.B., Bill
& Shelley, Blue Street J.B., Cornet
Chop Suey, Glenn Crytzer & His
Syncopators, High Street, Ivory &
Gold, Meschiya Lake & Dem ‘Lil
Big Horns, Midiri Brothers Sextet,
Night Blooming Jazzmen, Pearl
Django, Pieter Meijer’s Quartet w/
Brady McKay, Sherri Colby’s Racketmakers & Friends, Steve Lucky &
the Rhumba Bums, U.S. Coast Guard
Dixie Band, Titan Hot Seven, Tom
Hook, Tom Rigney & Flambeau,
We Three, The Yale Whiffenpoofs,
Blue Renditions, Boise Straight
Ahead, Bruce Innes Trio, Morrell
& Pennay, Forever Plaid (Musical
Comedy), Jerry Krahn Quartet, Jim
Fryer & the Usual Suspects, Joe Fos
Trio, Kings of Swing, Paul Tillotson Trio, P.B.J., Wood River High
Wolverine J.B. Van Paepeghem
Quartet. Dance Instructors: Josh &
Emily McLaughlin, Bethany Powell & Stefan Durham, Joel Plys &
Jenna Applegarth. Amateur Dance
Competition with prizes. Early Bird
$115+tax until 7/31, then $130+tax
until 10/9, then $148 at the door.
Daily and Student badges available.
Elegant Afterglow Dinner/Dance:
Sunday evening 10/21, 7:30-9:45
pm $44. Contact Info: Sun Valley
Jazz Jamboree, PO Box 2745, Sun
Valley, ID 83353-2745. 877-4785277. Email: Directors@sunvalleyjazz.com Website: www.SunValleyJazz.com, FaceBook, Twitter.
Lodging: Sun Valley Lodge, 10 Sun
Valley Rd., PO Box 10, Sun Valley,
ID 83353-0010. 800-786-8259. For
additional lodging see their website: www.sunvalley.com
Puget Sound
Traditional Jazz Society
Non-profit Org
U..S. Postage
Paid
Seattle, WA
Permit 1375
19031 Ocean Ave.
Edmonds, WA 98020-2344
Address service requested
You and your friends are cordially
invited to hear sizzling-hot jazz
as a guest of Elks Club Jazz Society
member Colin Dearing.
Admission is payable at the door.
B A N D S , C O N TA C T S
AIN’T NO HEAVEN SEVEN Leader: Terry Rogers
terryrrogers@comcast.net 206-465-6601
COAL CREEK JAZZ BAND Leader: Judy Logen, 425-6411692 Bookings: judy@coalcreekjazzband.com
COMBO DE LUXE Bookings: Candace Brown
www.combodeluxe.net jazzstrings@comcast.net 253-752-6525
CORNUCOPIA CONCERT BAND Leader: Allan Rustad
www.comband.org 425-744-4575
DUKES OF DABOB Bookings: Mark Holman, 360-779-6357,
seaclar7@embarqmail.com.
DUWAMISH JAZZ BAND Bookings: Carol Johnston
carolanjo@yahoo.com 206-932-7632
FIRST THURSDAY BAND Leader: Ray Skjelbred,
Rayskjelbred@gmail.com 206-420-8535
FOGGY BOTTOM JAZZ BAND Leader: Bruce Cosacchi
360-638-2074
GRAND DOMINION JAZZ BAND Bookings: Bob Pelland
bobpelland@gdjb.com 360-387-2500
holotradband Leader: Dave Holo email: dave@daveholo.com
www.holotradband.com
HOT CLUB SANDWICH Contact: James Schneider
www.hotclubsandwich.com 206-561-1137
HUME STREET PRESERVATION JAZZ BAND
Bookings: Karla West 406-862-3814
JAZZ UNLIMITED BAND Leader: Duane Wright
duane.janw@verizon.net 866-337-2111
JAZZ STRINGS Bookings: Candace Brown
jazzstrings@comcast.net 253-752-6525
LOUISIANA JOYMAKERS! Leader: Leigh Smith
smithtunes@shaw.ca 604-294-9464
THE MARKET STREET DIXIELAND JASS BAND
Ansgar Duemchen: 425-286-5703 Tim Sherman 206-547-1772
www.marketstreetdixielandjass.com
MIGHTY APHRODITE Co-leaders: Bria Skonberg, Claire
McKenna mightyaphroditejazz@hotmail.com 405-613-0568
NEW ORLEANS QUINTET Leader: Dave Holo
www.neworleansquintet.com email: dave@daveholo.com
RAINIER JAZZ BAND Manager: Randy Keller
randykeller@msn.com 206-437-1568
RAY SKJELBRED
Rayskjelbred@gmail.com 206-420-8535
RONNIE PIERCE JAZZ ENSEMBLE
ronniepiercemusic@yahoo.com, 206-467-9365
UPTOWN LOWDOWN JAZZ BAND Leader: Bert Barr
uljb@yahoo.com 425-898-4288
WILD CARDS JAZZ Leader: Randy Keller
randykeller@msn.com 206-437-1568