Jeff Hughes trumpet, John Clark clarinet/alto sax, Dan Gabel trombone, Herb Gardner keyboard/trombone, Al Bernard tuba, Steve Taddeo drums

We have so many marvelous Jazz Musicians here in New England, unknown to the rest of the world.  The Jazz Jesters are a primary example.  All except Jeff have made music their livelihood. They love what they’re doing, as does Jeff.  But  Jeffrey Hughes, Ph.D. lectures in Biological Sciences at Wellesley College to support that precious Jazz habit.

 

 

Jeff’s trumpet tonight is a 1946 Olds Super trumpet that he found in original condition at a second-hand store and picked up for peanuts.

 

 

The Jazz Jesters capture the style of music of the 20’s and 30’s that our mentor, Ray Smith featured in his Jazz Decades.  They kicked it off with a Jimmy Mazzy vocal on Lucky Day, their theme song.  (We are the lucky ones!!)  They continued with Copenhagen, a tune the bands of the 20’s loved to play – named not for the city, but for chewing tobacco.  John Clark arrangement.

Dr. John meticulously researches the original arrangements and gives them his added touch.   Jeff Hughes said “a good arrangement gives the musicians plenty of room to improvise.”   These musicians have astonishing improvisational skills!

Violinist Stuff Smith contributed to the song “It’s Wonderful” (1938) often performed by Louis Armstrong. That was in an interesting time.  Bobby Hackett and Jack Teagarden also played it.  Jeff gave it a zesty delivery on flugelhorn, Jimmy vocal;  Steve swirling brushes on snare drum.

 

Steve Taddeo is proud of his 1939 Slingerland Radio King drumset with one cymbal sent to him by Ray MacKinley.  The remaining cymbals are from Buddy Schutz who played with Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey.
He swirls brushes on the snare drum, uses cowbells, woodblocks and rim shots to maintain the beat.

 

 

 

Herb Gardner has become the pianist of choice here at Primavera on Thursday nights.  Herb’s solos are intelligent and heartfelt, and he offers just the right chords behind soloists.

 

 

 

 

 

Gently pushing the band, Al Bernard maintains the harmonic structure with a steady, rhythmic pulsation.

 

 

 

 

 

One of Al Jolson’s most famous tunes was California Here I Come; this band prefers the sequel,  Golden Gate.  We liked Jeff’s vocal!

 

Dan was featured on Margie.  Craig ball is usually here on reeds, but he’s nurturing a broken left hand that will be in a cast for a while.  Dan Gabel filled in for him on trombone, playing  off of Craig Ball’s saxophone chart.

He also did the vocal. Fabulous – he’s a natural.  At 26, he holds the future of our music in his hands.

 

 

Bix’s Birthdate was March 10th. They celebrated him with the last tune he ever recorded, Deep Down South.

In 1929, after suffering a nervous breakdown Bix Beiderbecke went back to his hometown of Davenport, Iowa, to recover at his parent’s home. He returned to New York in 1930 and made his last recording sessions in September of that year, with the Dorsey Brothers, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Joe Venuti and others.  He was 28 years old when he died.

The band also played Davenport Blues, a tune Bix Beiderbecke wrote about his home town.

 

Interesting  interlude with the band
playing and John Clark handling a fast,
challenging  vocal on a tune Fats Waller
recorded in 1935 – Zonky. 
This was a first for us!

 

 

Herb Gardner joined Dan on trombone with I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me, with  exciting, rhythmic improvisations.

We had just celebrated St. Patrick’s Day two days ago, so an Irish tune was called for – great head arrangement of Wearing of the Green with neat segue into Deep Henderson.  Later they added Irish Black Bottom in 1920’s style.

Kansas City was the germination center of Jazz in the 20’s and 30’s.  Benny Moten’s tune, Jones Law Blues, was a precursor to the Count Basie Band.  Smooth number, nice dance tune.

 

Jimmy Mazzy was featured on a Louis Armstrong tune, in his own inimitable style, Mighty River.  Great arrangement, with clarinet and tuba trading fours.  Jimmy also had the vocal on a stock arrangement from the 20’s to the 50’s of River, Stay Away From My Door. (Appropriate with four feet of snow slowly melting into our local rivers.)

 

.Another tune that was hot in the 20’s and 30’s ‘Leven Thirty Saturday Night,  by Archie Blyer, an American song writer, arranger, and record executive, and music director for Arthur Godfrey.   (John Clark wasn’t born yet, but he has become an expert on Blyer.)  The Jesters used the stock arrangement made famous by vocalist Julius LaRosa on the Godfrey Show, with Jeff singing the vocal.

Change of mood, a high-spirited arrangement of Paducah, composed by Don Redman in 1928 that was played by McKinney’s Cotton Pickers.  Many of the music leaders were familiar with Paducah as a river port.  In the late 1920s, jazz made its way up the Mississippi from New Orleans to points north and east as small bands and orchestras provided entertainment on river boats.

Coming to a close, Jeff Hughes and the Jazz Jesters sent us home with fun memories, Black Mariah (paddy wagon)  then segue to Good Old Days, the theme song for Our Gang, the Little Rascals.

These virtuosic New England musicians achieve the marvelous sound of Jazz from the 20’s and 30’s, but give it their own twist.  It’s still happy, toe-tapping music.  We’re very happy and contented to have them here, but wouldn’t mind sharing them with the rest of the world!  Are you ready, World?

Marce