Bob Sundstrom's This Side of Dixie

at the Central Library, Warwick, Rhode Island

videos by Eric Devine

Jeff Hughes cornet, Noel Kaletsky clarinet, alto and soprano sax, Justin Meyer string bass, Bob Sundstrom banjo/vocals, Bill Reynolds drums. They are part of a fraternal group all across the country that plays great jazz tunes from the 20’s and 30’s, and prefer no amplification except voice mic.

It was kind of a reunion, dating back to the days when Jeff Hughes was working on his Doctorate  in Oceanography at U.R.I. some years ago.  The music in him was exploding. He met banjoist Bob Sundstrom, of the Original Salty Dogs and said “I’m going crazy, we have to play somewhere!!”  They found the Canopy Club somewhere in Wickford R.I.  That was the beginning. 

Now Jeff has put together numerous bands playing Traditional, Dixieland Jazz, and Swing.  He's in John Clark's Wolverine Jazz Band that plays many Bix tunes, and is first call from many other local bands. 

This music started with the early New Orleans school of Jazz.  They opened with one of those tunes, Bogalusa Strut. "> Bob's banjo did fine work on Come Back Sweet Papa from Louis’s Hot Five, with Bill's sensitive, smooth brush work on cymbal and snare drum, maintaining the Traditional Jazz Beat, as he does with the New Black Eagle Jazz Band.

There were a couple of Sticky Wicket people in the audience, but most of the them had never heard this exciting Traditional Jazz before, but they quickly learned to participate, giving each musician some feedback. 

Sundstrom is a fine singer, and natural story teller.  Porter’s Love Song to a Chambermaid - in the multiple choruses of this poem written by a Porter to a Chambermaid Bob's phrasing comes straight from the heart.

Bob just found one tune recently, and has never played it before. All Alone, lovely tune written by Irving Berlin in 1924.  He did a banjo intro, Noel on alto sax playing smooth, romantic, tone, Justin Meyer playing the melody on bass.

Another Irving Berlin tune, When I Leave the World Behind has a sentimental message for all of us, with warm and vibrant tone by multi-instrumentalist Noel on clarinet.

San was barn burner with Noel on HOT soprano sax! Justin bowing, with a full and rich tone.  Bill let go on a fabulous drum solo, ending in his infamous drum roll, that really got a reaction from the audience  They should have played this first! 

Lee Wiley was a vocalist in the 30’s. One of her tunes was a very depressing song about Love, but it’s a nice tune, so Bob sang it anyway – Down With Love.  Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand, and many others have sung it. They even made a movie about it!  

"Down with love the flowers and rice and shoes, Down with love the root of all midnight blues, Down with things that give you that well known pain, Take that moon wrap it in cellophane. Down with love, let's liquidate all its friends, Moon and June and roses and rainbow's ends. Down with songs that moan about night and day; Down with love, yes take it away, away. Take it away, take it away, Give it back to the birds and bees and the Viennese."

End of depression!! 

Jeff resurrected the spirit of Bix Beiderbecke on his 1963 Conn Connstellation cornet with Singing The Blues, in fine slow-tempo swinging jazz. 

Unfortunately, this was only an hour program.  They closed with a rabble rouser, High Society.  A former New Orleans marching song, it was done in the 1920's in Brass Band Tradition.   This six piece band conveyed the exciting sound, making it fresh, with Noel nailing Alphonse Picou’s obligato three times, backing Jeff in the beginning, in his solo, and again at the end!  Delectable hot jazz!!

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This 'meeting room 101" in the Warwick Central Library was ideal for our kind of music. Wil Gregersen, Community Services Librarian, features old movies, Poetry Writing Roundtables, Book Readings,  and other diverse functions at the Library.  Many thanks, Wil, for making LIVE Traditional Jazz one of them.  We hope there will be much more!

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 The Sundstrom Trio (or quartet)  plays before all the local Boston Celtic’s games, 1 ½ hour before and ¾ hour after – you can go listen in the long hallway upstairs at the MBTA’s TD Garden escalator with all the folks waiting to go to the game – you don’t have to go to the game!!  Sometimes with Noel Kaletsky, or John Clark, Russ Whitman, or many other prominent N.E. musicians.

 Also catch the Commonwealth Jazz Band summertime at Post Office Park in Boston. Free.

 Bob Sundstrum is also a fine graphic artist.   The album cover for the Wolverine Jazzband's On The Mall is an oil painting of band instruments by Bob. His rendition has an incredible realism, a photographic quality, but it is an oil painting!  The mall of the title, and the title tune of that album is not a local shopping mall, but rather The Mall in Central Park, NYC, dedicated in 1922, and commemorated in this march tune by concert bandmaster Edwin Franko Goldman.