The Sherborn Inn had a double-header Mardi Gras celebration, beginning with the Wolverine Jazz Quartet, with Dave Whitney trumpet, Rick MacWilliams tuba, Jimmy Mazzy banjo, and John Clark clarinet/bass clarinet.
The 3-course luncheon was a choice of special Mardi Gras Shrimp Jambalaya or Bourbon Chicken. The band renamed Sunset Cafe Stomp with The Sherborn Inn Stomp.
In keeping with the New Orleans’ theme, a group of Red Hatters from Walpole (sans chapeau) livened up the afternoon with colorful costumes, complete with tiara and boa.
Donna Monteiro, Lee Normandin, Donna Kearney, Olga Cox, and Michelle Merriam enjoyed the Dave’s trumpet on Louis Armstrong’s Someday You’ll Be Sorry and Mable’s Dream.
When I Grow Too Old To Dream, Jimmy vocal; While We Danced At The Mardi Gras, he slipped in a touch of Ciri Biri Bin on his banjo. New Orleans was a natural, with Whitney ending in an impressive trumpet coda.
Instead of dipping into his vast collection of 20-s and 30’s songs, Jimmy chose Blues Before Sunrise for one vocal, done by B.B. King and Eric Clapton, and Dean Martin’s All I Do Is Dream of You.
Jimmy is self-taught, his playing is exceptionally unique. Every banjo player who tries to imitate him ends up saying “How does he do that???”
But he’s never boring, always adding something new, as in single-string picking of lower chords on his banjo solo of Louisian-I-A.
Adding another instrument to his arsenal, Clark brought in a bass clarinet to supplement his usual clarinet. (Only two instruments, no baritone sax.) None necessary – Clark’s expertise on reeds and Whitney’s trumpet carried the afternoon!
Louis Armstrong Hot 5’s Struttin’ With Some Barbecue was incredible on bass clarinet!
Rick MacWilliams’ tuba took the intro to the Burns and Allen theme song, Love Nest.
That’s a Plenty was WILD, with Jimmy scatting through his chorus.
They closed the afternoon at 2pm with Stuff Smith’s You Showed Me The Way.
The second half of the Sherborn Inn’s Mardi Gras was at 7pm. with Stan McDonald’s Blue Horizon Jazz Band, with Berklee Professor Jeff Stout on cornet.
The full Wolverine Jazz Band will be back at the Sherborn Inn on February 28th, 7 to 9:30pm.