Lee Childs has been playing reeds somewhere in and around Cape Cod
since he started playing at Sweeney's Gay 90's in Rowley, MA in 1967.
We first met him around 1969 at Bob Silver's Mail Coach Grill in Acton,
Massachusetts, playing clarinet in Bill Batten's Riverside Jazz Band with Jimmy
Mazzy, Bob Connors, Scott Philbrick, and Ray Smith. Ray
Smith was advertising the band on WKOX in Framingham at the time.
We're off. As
the Viking heads for the Railroad Bridge, the first bridge on the canal
out of Onset,
the Trio plays Old Cape Cod, of course, and my favorite, Limehouse Blues.
Thank you Lee!
They played an old Traditional Jazz standard, Yellow Dog Blues, by W.C.
Handy. ("Yellow Dog" was the nick-name of a Railroad in
Mississippi in the mid-1800's.) There were many requests, not
necessarily Trad or Dixieland. This is a tourist attraction -
people on board are from all over the world. One request was for Louis's
I Double Dare You.
Originally a waltz, they turned When I Grow Too Old to Dream into
a fine, swinging tune. On the next tune, Lee played the verse and we tried to
guess what he was playing; it turned out to be Ice Cream,
You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream.
As we moved by the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and its
training ship, the Kennedy, the band went into a rousing Bill
Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home. There was a request for
The Entertainer, from the Sting, a 1975 movie with Paul Newman and
Robert Redford. That's tough for a 3-piece band, but Lee has
complete control of the soprano saxophone, not an easy instrument to
play, and carried it well.
Michel introduced Hello Dolly, with Lee adding a medley of
Cabaret and other tunes, as we steadily progressed up the canal,
New Orleans
Shuffle - WOW - grab a railing and hang on! Lee did many vocals, including the 1941 Jimmy Dorsey,
I'm Stepping Out With Memory Tonight.
We reached the end of the
Canal and turned around in Cape Cod Bay. If we kept going, we could go
whale-watching by Provincetown. But we turned around and headed back
towards the Sagamore bridge. People bicycling and jogging on the trail
along the canal shared the Muskrat Ramble with us.
The band took a short break. Break time,
folks moved to the lower deck, where there's a full bar and snacks.
But you are allowed to bring your own lunch and beverage if you
wish, anything except liquor.
Michel Lavigniac has been with Lee since 1973 when they played
with Marie Marcus' band at the Sheraton Regal in Hyannis. Composed and
steadfast, he played an exciting solo on The World Is Waiting For
the Sunrise. Tubas generally accentuate the beat and are
lucky to play even one melody in a set. With only three
members in the band, Rick gets to display his showmanship by
not only carrying the beat, but playing almost every melody on the
tuba. That's a lot of tuba-playing!
As the Jazz Boat navigated toward Onset Harbor, the band started into
The Saints,
when Lee quickly shifted to Mama Don't Allow No Tuba Playing in
Here,
(interpolating a
little bit of Mardi Gras) as he introduced the band, then
segued
back into the Saints, with the fans clapping loudly along with the
beat; and the Jazz Boat docked at Onset Pier for the last time this
season. What a fantastic way to spend a Sunday
afternoon!! See more pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/MarceFlu/JazzBoat2010# .
September 12th, Lee Childs moves
to the Prudential Center Sundays 1-5pm, with
Kurt Wenzel at the piano.
