One of life's
great pleasures for the last forty plus years has been, and still is,
listening to Jimmy Mazzy sing and play banjo. (Eat your heart
out, Europe!) What a pleasure it was to have Jimmy and the Last
Minute Men return April 1st to the Colonial Inn on Wednesdays
after a brief alternative playing at individual homes. (Thanks
folks!)
April 22nd we were there at the Forge Room of the
100-year-old Colonial Inn, appropriate for Jimmy, whose mind is a
repository of hundreds of gems from the early 1900's.
The band is called The Last
Minute Men because you never know how many musicians will
appear at the last minute. We started this evening with five,
Jimmy on banjo and vocals, Gid Loring cornet, Dave Rich on
clarinet, Dave First on washtub bass, and Derek Lane-Smith on concertina. Fred Wilkie arrives with
his trumpet. Now we have six, with both a trumpet and cornet.
Anticipating the arrival of spring, they began with nice ensemble
on Keep Your Sunny Side up. Moishe Feldman, the
brilliant Russian pianist arrives, apologizing for being late, and
beaming with pride at the recent birth of his second son, born on
Passover. Now we have seven. He sits at the old beat up Baldwin, tinkering with the keys, backing Gid's melodious cornet and Jimmy's vocal on Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.
Then from the depths of Jimmy's reservoir, Flo, The Gal That Never Says
'No'. Moishe has been here for over 21 years, but he's
never heard this one before. After hearing one verse, he joins in.
The Forge Room is crowded, Concord has just celebrated Patriot's
Day with a re-creation of the American Revolution and the Shot Heard
Round The World on the nearby Concord Bridge. Several English
visitors lagged behind, as they do every year, to hear Jimmy one
more time before they go home. (I can never understand what
draws the British to this scene.) It's a good crowd, in spite
of the usual New England April rains. Jack Martin squeezes in
the back door with his trombone. Now there are eight.
Carrie steps up
to the mike, with heart and soul, sings Come Rain or Come Shine.
She brings our total up to nine.
During 25 years of marriage, she's learned many of Jimmy's oldies but goodies,
and gave us a fine rendition of Bessie Smith's You Just Don't
Understand. Jimmy joined her, scatting, and they finished
in a captivating duet.
Henry Platt
meanders in
(that's ten) and adds his guitar to Corrina, Corrina -
lending a hand with the superb ensemble. Nine solos.
He takes pride in his guitar, a 1933 Ephone
Broadway, with a very low serial number. Made in America, of solid
American Walnut. He says "All American guitars were made of
American Walnut from 1932-1939."
Darktown Strutters Ball is wild, prompting Jimmy's
infamous shriek. Love it! There's a banjo-guitar duet on A
Kiss to Build a Dream On, and Moishe adds a bold piano touch.
One of the English friends requests Mr.Woo, and Jimmy obliges with
this tune with very many interesting choruses. Sunny Side of the
Street has the band swinging, now Moishe is playing
lightly with the tips of his fingers, barely touching the piano.
The
end of the evening is approaching, the band sizzles with a
real barn burner, Sitting On Top of the World. It's 9:15pm,
but never too late for Craig Ball to pop in the back door and
immediately jump in, his powerful, high
register clarinet egging on Moishe, who is in full stride. Wow!
(Craig lives in Cambridge and is leader of the White Heat Swing
Orchestra who played every Wednesday last summer on the Blues Barge
at the Boston Harbor Hotel.)
Slowing things down a bit, Jimmy does the vocal on a plaintive
She's Gone. Someone has a request for Dave on guitar for
Please. We're approaching the end, they are searching for an
upbeat tune to send everyone shuffling home. The banjo
begins Limehouse Blues, tenor saxophone picks it up, joined
by concertina, trumpet, cornet, guitar. Craig's
clarinet is wailing up and down the register, Pulsating
trombone, driving piano,
Dave First pounding out the tempo on his washtub bass.
Fabulous! Hearts are thumping, feet are jumping to an exuberating
ending of a fine evening of great
jazz.
People begin to leave, when the unpredictable Jimmy begins
slowly, sensitively plucking away at the banjo strings with I'll
See You In My Dreams. ......We'll see you in our dreams, Jimmy!!
Epilogue: There were
more visiting musicians at the Colonial Inn later on May 13th.
Cornetist/guitarist Scott Philbrick is part of a group called the
"Coronet Conspiracy", consisting of brass instrument makers,
restorers, collectors, and professional musicians who have a
passion for brass and music. They had a meeting at the Inn
that week and on Wednesday descended on Jimmy in the Forge Room.
They included some fine players, including Lew Green of the Salty
Dogs, and some from Florida and Syracuse. In the audience were
folks from New York, New Jersey,
California and Alaska. There also was a special visitor all the
way from Russia, Moshe's uncle Emile. It was another fine
evening of Traditional Jazz for Jimmy Mazzy and The Last Minute Men.
The
end of the evening is approaching, the band sizzles with a
real barn burner, Sitting On Top of the World. It's 9:15pm,
but never too late for Craig Ball to pop in the back door and
immediately jump in, his powerful, high
register clarinet egging on Moishe, who is in full stride. Wow!
(Craig lives in Cambridge and is leader of the White Heat Swing
Orchestra who played every Wednesday last summer on the Blues Barge
at the Boston Harbor Hotel.)
$20/year would help keep this site on line