A Valentine from Jimmy, Carrie, & Friends
at the Winsor House, Duxbury, MA
Valentine's Day 2009
by Larry Swain
| Jimmy and Carrie Mazzy and four talented friends treated us to a delightful Dixieland traditional jazz Valentine at the Winsor House in Duxbury, MA on (when else?) February 14th.
Jimmy (banjo) was joined by Duxbury residents Pete Collins (reeds) of the Jazz
Band Ball, and Fred Clifford (tuba), as well as Stan Vincent (trombone) of the New Black Eagles and Jeff Hughes (cornet), who seems to be showing up everywhere.
When Jimmy or Pete were not vocalizing, Carrie was.
Jeff shared the MC spot with Jimmy.
Many of the tunes were well-suited to Valentine's day; a few were most decidedly not.
The first tune, introduced by Jimmy as "Nobody's Sweatshirt Now", was one we all recognized (try "Sweetheart"). The ensemble began with the brass muted, then wide open for solos and finale.
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Next was (appropriate?) "How Can You Leave Me?”, a Fats Waller tune, with the vocal by Jimmy.
The band was having a really good time, which lifted our spirits; this continued all night.
Another Waller tune was "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling", with vocal by Jimmy.
Right on the money: "I Can't Give You Anything But Love".
Then "Mandy, Make up Your Mind" (Jimmy told us the alternate title was "Woman with a Clicker in Her Hand").
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Jeff played the classic solo introduction to
"Stardust"
(it's Valentine's day -- remember?), with Jimmy doing the
vocal.
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Pete did a vocal on "Bye, Bye Blackbird" to get started, and, not to be outdone, Jimmy did another after solos by Jeff and Stan.
Jimmy soloed the intro to "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans". After Jeff's solo, Jimmy's vocal was backed up first by Stan & Fred, then Jeff and Pete. Pete's solo was energetic for a slow tune, and he took it out after Stan's solo. |
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| Jimmy vocalized the intro to a seldom-heard number at a Dixieland concert: "Buene Sera". Jimmy's spirited scat vocal closed it out, with apologies to Louis Prima.
Intermission followed a wild "Who's Sorry Now", which ended with a stop chorus, followed by the ensemble playing quietly with the rhythm section quiet, then a blistering finale.
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To begin the second half, we heard from -- at
last!-- Carrie, doing "My Funny Valentine", backed up by Pete and an
unexpected guest (see her photo). |
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Lots more tunes followed: "Everybody Loves
Somebody Sometime" (some said the surprise guest smiled), "Doctor
Jazz", Carrie sang "Come On Over to My House -- There's Nobody Home
But Me", "Hindustan", from 1918, "Tin Roof Blues", "Charleston",
"Ugly Child", with Pete doing REALLY mean version (appropriate for
this date? Uh-uh!). "The Curse of an Aching Heart", with Jimmy doing
the vocal twice, the second time using alternative lyrics ("...an
Aching …art..."), "Sweet Georgia Brown", "Sin to Tell a Lie", with
Jimmy doing the lyrics a la Fats Waller ("...If you break my heart
I'll break your jaw, and then..."), "Everybody Loves My Baby", with
Jimmy shouting his first vocal, Pete playing 8 bars in the lowest
register, bringing forth spirited applause, ending with Jimmy's wild
scat vocal. Carrie gave us a smooth "Red Sails in the Sunset",
"L-O-V-E", "That's A-Plenty", and, far into overtime, the band did
an upbeat blues riff, with Jimmy doing his high-volume scat vocal,
and all the soloists DRIVEN. Jeff brought the evening to a close
with a screaming solo. |
Fred Clifford |
Stan Vincent |
| Did we get our money's worth?
If the standing ovation the group received at the end is any indication, everyone believed so!
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| Review &
Pictures by Larry Swain, February 14, 2009 |
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