Jimmy Mazzy Trio & Friends
at the Winsor House, 19 February 2011
 
Mark Endresen, Jeff Hughes, Pete Collins,
Jimmy Mazzy, Stan Vincent,
Fred Clifford |
| Charming old New
England tavern, just a stone's throw from Duxbury Bay, fine
weather, capacity crowd of discriminating fans, great music -
everything sparked! What a
way to spend an evening!!
Once a month, Jimmy Mazzy
joins a couple of local musicians, Fred Clifford and Pete Collins,
playing Classic Jazz at the historic Winsor House Inn, 390 Washington
Street in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Built sometime in the
1800's, with its low ceilings, the Winsor House is a perfect venue
for our kind of jazz. Cape Cod musicians sometimes join them -
Jeff Hughes, cornet and Stan Vincent, trombone from Falmouth, and
Stan's nephew Mark Andreson of Duxbury on guitar. Stan Vincent
and Fred
Clifford spent
summers here as boys, and have many
memories of the Winsor House.
The evening began with the Trio, Jimmy on banjo/vocals, Fred
Clifford tuba, Pete Collins clarinet for I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling,
and You're Nobody's Sweetheart Now. Jeff Hughes strolls in,
cornet in hand, also Stan Vincent trombone, and Mark Endreson on
guitar. Jimmy's passionate vocal on I can't Give You
Anything But Love is nicely backed by by trombone, clarinet, and
guitar. |
|
Carrie Mazzy had three fine vocals, the first If I Could Be With You
backed by Jeff Hughes on cornet.
Later she returned with a heartfelt Irving
Berlin melody, How Deep is the Ocean, with only the rhythm
section for back-up. Nice. |
 |
| Jimmy has memorized thousands of 1920's and 30's tunes - never needs
notes. His vocals on
Oh Pappy! recalls vocals sung on Southern plantations. His
inimitable banjo solo was nicely backed by
Fred's vibrant tuba. With no drums, his tuba is the sole
foundation for the band. A patron made a request for every classic musicians' nightmare. Pete
said THAT
tune would cost him $20. But the band obliged and put everything they had
into The Saints anyway, with the audience enthusiastically
participating.
Enough of that - Jeff's cornet quickly slipped into Memories Of You, allowing another fine vocal by Jimmy.
Carrie's next tune was appropriate to the very cold weather
that had slipped in as soon as the sun set, Button Up Your Overcoat,
with Jeff's soft, wa-wa muted cornet, and Fred and Jimmy
softly in the background.
|
 |
The newest member
of the band, Mark Endresen, learned classical music at the Longy School of Music in
Cambridge, and also studied with the late Charlie Banacos.
He's had one of Boston's best bands for 25 years, Calypso Hurricane, playing music of the Islands, Bermuda, Trinidad,
also R & B,
Louis Prima, even Sinatra, Glenn Miller, and swing.
A boldly creative musician, he stayed laid-back all
evening, respectfully letting Jimmy take the lead, then using his
solo to blow everybody away in his own dynamic, animated style. |
| That's a Plenty
had wild New Orleans polyphony, followed by Jimmy's unique
scatting sounds. The clarinet introduced St. James Infirmary,
with Pete playing stunning high, sustained, notes. Moving
right along, musical soul-mates Pete and Jeff traded 4's on I Would Do Most Anything
For You. |
| As a change of
pace, Jeff started in a Blues tempo, leaving the rest of the band
wondering what tune they were playing. There was some
consternation as he continued the blues, and nobody recognized
it - not even Jimmy. That's because Jeff was creating it in
the moment! Eventually, one by one they joined in, harmonically crafting a new
melody that Jeff then named "Winsor House Blues". Approaching the end
of the evening we were treated to a tender vocal by Jeff
with Back Home Again in Indiana. It's always a pleasure
to hear Jeff sing. |
 |
| Closing this fine evening, Pete resurrected his best 'Louis' voice for
It's a Wonderful World.
And it is a wonderful world here in Duxbury.
Stan and Fred formed their first Dixie band, The Water Street Five, in 1953-4 modeled after the Williams College Spring Street Stompers'
very first LP …and they were quite busy. Fred and Barbara Clifford have turned his
parents' summer home overlooking Duxbury Bay into a permanent
residence. Stan remembers courting his wife Carol by bringing her to the Winsor
House.
The Jimmy Mazzy Trio and Friends will return to the Winsor
House Inn on March
26th and April 16th at 8:30pm.
Also of interest, The Williams Reunion
Jazz Band, founded by Fred Clifford and classmates in the
1950's, will be playing Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, May
27 at the Duxbury Bay Maritime School Opening of the Bay celebration, Saturday evening, May 28th at the Winsor House and Sunday morning, May 29 at the First Parish Church in Duxbury,
MA.
Meantime, the WRJB has released a new album, No No
Don't Go! that
may be of interested to you. Check out the CD page
for details.
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| By Marce,
Updated Feb. 21, 2011 |
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