Jeff Hughes' Jazz Jesters

at the Sherborn Inn, November 27, 2012

Jeff Hughes trumpet/flugel horn,leader, Craig Ball John Clark reeds, Ross Petot piano, Jimmy Mazzy banjo, Steve Taddeo drums, special guest Dan Gabel on cornet.

You never know what that extraordinary mind of Jeff Hughes will conjure up.  With the Jazz Jesters, it's a few steps back in time, quit a few, reminiscing in the Jazz Decades of the 20’s and 30’s, digging up some marvelous obscure tunes that none of us had ever heard before.

 “Oh boy, I'm lucky, I'll say I'm lucky, This is my lucky day”.  With these fine improvisational musicians playing multiple instruments, it sure was ours!

Rudy Valley may have had a hand in writing many tunes, or lent his name to it, as musicians were won’t to do at the time.  The next tune was one of them.

The dynamic duo of reeds started out with Craig taking advantage of the tenor sax's rich lower register and John's clarinet playing high counterpoint to the melody on Coquette. 

Jeff first heard the next tune on a Bobby Hackett's 1930 Commodore recording by Isham Jones, What’s The Use.  Craig Ball was featured with ‘the rhythm boys’ on Three Little Words.  Jeff says “Benny Goodman would eat this for breakfast.”

Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, an old frat tune, totally morphed into a sweet melody, almost a love song, by the inimitable Jimmy Mazzy. Two clarinets went WILD on Song of India that must have had Rimsky Korsakov turning in his grave!

Jeff said that Moon Song makes an impression on depression. He was back on flugelhorn with Craig clarinet, John Clark on alto sax.  Can't get depressed listening to this band!

Jimmy has an extensive repertoire of tunes stored in his head - we've never seen him pick up a chart.  We're familiar with Joyce Kilmer's Trees but Jimmy has his own unique interpretation.

A tune Jimmy taught the others,  Sam The Accordian Man, had Al on a great tuba solo.

In 1929, bands would introduced new tunes into the ones they were playing.  Delving back into that period, they interpolated  Broadway Melody into the middle of an incredibly fast Breakaway. 

Wang Wang Blues with Craig on fantastic on tenor sax, tuba trading 4’s with each of the front line. 

They closed with a popular tune of that day, a Fats Waller tune, Zonkey, with Ross playing powerful stride piano.

Nobody left here depressed.  Many of these fine musicians will be here improvising on December 16th for Ellen McDonald's Holiday Spectacular - see you there!! 

And check the calendar for anything coming up before then.