Dan Gabel and The High Society Jazz Orchestra
The High Society Jazz Orchestra played to a small but appreciative audience at Primavera Ristorante on Thursday. Sounding way beyond their numbers, the 11-piece band reached deep down and created beautiful music that enlivened our spirits.
Leader, Dan Gabel
They led with their theme song Whispering, and continued with arrangements by Dan Gabel and John Clark, revoicing tunes from the 20’s and 30’s. They kept this memorable music flowing, giving the musicians a chance to show off their fine solos as well as ensemble.
The weathermen scared people away, but with a smaller crowd the atmosphere was more intimate, with the members of the band exchanging banter with the audience and taking requests.
Trumpets: Mike Peipman, lead: Adam Mejaour
Saxes Tyler Burchfield on tenor, John Clark on bari, Richard Garcia on alto,
The energetic instrumentals made the band feel twice its size, rekindling this enduring music associated with a bygone era. This is as good as it gets! They practiced new arrangements swinging so hard you’d never know it was the first time they saw the chart.
Elise Roth sings Irving Berlin’s refrains for the first time.
Vocalist Elise Roth’s warm sweet voice seemed effortless. She even sang three refrains using Irving Berlin’s original 1927 lyrics of Am I Blue, made famous in the 20’s by vocalist Annette Henshaw.
Mike Peipman
Mike Peipman was on trumpet for their inventive reimagining of the Artie Shaw theme Nightmare.
Herb Gardner plays Earl ‘Fatha’ Hynes’ Cavernism
We had our own ‘Fatha’ Hines in Herb Gardner, playing his1933 Cavernism.
(He and daughters Abbie and Sarah are performing at the Bickford Theatre in Morristown New Jersey on Groundhog Day, February 2nd.)
There was a new arrangement of Stormy Weather, appropriate for the Nor’Easter that just left us with three feet of snow. One of our favorites was John Clark’s arrangement of Chicago Rhythm.
The Rhythm Boys, Herb Gardner, Bill Reynolds, Bill Doyl, Rick MacWilliams
Dan had an arrangement of Rogers and Hart’s Thou Swell, with Clark playing solo on baritone sax and Elise singing Lorenz Hart’s beautiful lyrics.
Bill Doyle moves to 1928 banjo
Bill took out a 1928 banjo for Fats Waller’s St. Louis Shuffle, with the ensemble playing a rarely heard verse, and drummer Reynolds playing the breaks on choke cymbal. Bill regularly plays Benedetto guitar.
Tubist Rick MacWilliams had a chance to show his stuff on a solo on You Belong To Me – a request from Tom James in the audience, with Dan taking the vocal.
There were two altos and a tenor sax on King Oliver’s Mule Face Blues. We heard Duke’s Cotton Club Stomp, Who’s Sorry Now vocal by Dan Gabel. One tune we never heard before, Maori, (A Samoan dance) was arranged by John Clark, composed in 1919 by William H. Tyres and Henry S. Creamer.
They closed with Elise singing Dan’s arrangement of There’ll Be Some Changes Made, with new strains we’ve never heard before. It was an exhilarating evening of melliflous music. We were glad that we ignored the weathermen!
Members of the band were:
Trumpets: Mike Peipman, Adam Mejaour
Saxes: Tyler Burchfield on tenor, John Clark on bari, Richard Garcia on alto, and all played clarinet.
Trombone and leader: Dan Gabel.
Keyboard: Herb Gardner
Guitar and banjo: Bill Doyle, band manager
Tuba: Rick MacWilliams
Drums: Bill Reynolds
Vocals: Elise Roth
The High Society Jazz Orchestra will be at the Feast of Music After Party at the Oval Room of the Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston February 21 for NEC’s scholarship fundraiser. March 7 they will be at the WGBH studio for An Evening Inspired by Downtown Abbey, and at Sculler’s March 26 for the HOT release of their CD, Business in “F”, recorded at PBS Studios by Peter Kontrimas with cover and drawings by Elise Ross. Elise’s recital of classical vocals at NEC is March 29th 4:00pm at Williams Hall, and is free and open to the public.