Riverboat Stompers entertained a full
house at the Sherborn Inn bi-monthly Jazz Luncheon, with Larry Baxter on
70-year-old King Silver Flare
trumpet, Steve Strauss soprano sax and clarinet, Frank Batchelor
trombone, Jimmy Mazzy banjo and vocals, Pierre Lemieux tuba, Phil Hower
piano, and Rich Malcolm drums. They entertained one large crowd of
senior citizens, bussed in from all over Eastern Massachusetts.
The powerful front line of trumpet, soprano sax and
trombone set the tone for this afternoon with a pleasant two-beat After
You've Gone, that soon soared into a fiery barn-burner!
Ever the crowd pleasers, Larry promised a CD to whoever
could name the next tune. This was Thelma Peases' first exposure
to this zany band, but she knew the tune, Limehouse Blues, (with
the front line all on kazoo) and
won the great Riverboat Stompers CD. Later, during a sing-a-long of
I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover, Toot Toot Tootsie, Larry
gave her the mike and she sang a wonderful chorus of Ain't She
Sweet. She was, and they invited her to sing with the band,
but she deferred. So they played her request for Up A Lazy River
that is on the CD. She'll definitely be back!
Steve played fine low-register clarinet for seldom
played tune (except
by the Paris Washboard) Up Jumped You With Love. Special
guest, and our favorite, Jimmy Mazzy, had many great vocals, including
Blueberry Hill,
When You're Smiling, Sheik of Araby, and many more, with his scatting on
Putting On The Ritz.
