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Dave Whitney - trumpet and leader, Ted Casher - reeds, Jon Wheatley - Guitar, Peter Kontrimas - bass, Reid Jorgenson - drums. It was an unforgettable afternoon. They played ‘all the old good ones’, interspersed with some of Ted’s stories. Sleepy Time Down South, Back Home Again in Indiana, the tunes that Louis opened with. Dave began with the early years, when Louis revolutionized music and Jazz, and gave us a sneak preview of how it all started, playing many tunes from Armstrong's All Star Bands, Basin St. Blues, Bucket’s Got a Hole In It, Struttin’ With Some Barbecue.
Ted plays a relatively new Bliss clarinet. It’s made out of carbon fiber, a material that hasn’t been used before in the industry, and made by the Morrie Backun Studio in Vancouver. It has a loud bell and he plays it beautifully.
He has a million stories. One about the Frolics at Salisbury Beach, when Louis Armstrong performed with Joe Darensbourg, a slap tonguing clarinetist. Joe was late for the show, so Louis asked Ted to fill in. Imagine sitting in with Louis??? Then Joe returned. He had been playing Skee-Ball, winning gifts for his grandkids and he lost track of the time. One of his favorite vocals - I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You – powerful tune with trumpet and soprano sax. Ted Casher tells a story about clarinetist Barney Bigard and Rose Room.He's a band unto himself.
He was featured with string bass and guitar on No One Else but You, by Don Redman, recorded by Louis and his Hot 5 in 1928. Louis must have been listening, because you could feel his spirit in the room!
Dave said when the new tune Hello Dolly came out on Broadway from musical of the same name, Louis recorded it on a 45, that had just come out at the time, then forgot about it. Everywhere he went people requested it. He sent for the 45 to refresh his memory – and ended up with 6 encores.
Harold requested Back o’ Town Blues, a really bluesy blues.
In 1967 Louis recorded a song that gets bigger every year, Wonderful World. Dave lead on trumpet, Ted comping on very soft soprano sax. Extraordinary! These are our All Stars! Of course, we have to have the ubiquitous Saints. Wild! with the fans all clapping - some actually in time. They closed with the tune they opened with, Louis’s theme, Sleepy Time Down South. The spectacular Dave Whitney Big Band will be playing here at the Sherborn Inn on May 7th - Mark your calendars!
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