Bands - May 4

Chris Clifton

The members of this band included Chris Clifton on trumpet, Fred Lonzo on trombone, Tom Fischer on clarinet, Lars Edegran on piano, Ed Wise on bass and Bungy Johnson on drums. The set included Exactly Like You, I Found a New Baby, That's My Home, Clarinet Marmalade, Petit Fleur, Billy Boy, When the Saints Go Marching in and What a Wonderful World.

The Pfister Sisters

The Pfister Sisters do a re-creation of the Boswell Sisters act. The Boswells were natives of New Orleans who were the first close harmony group (and the inspiration for the Andrews Sisters). Connie, Martha and Vet Boswell were all instrumentalists as well as singers, and they wrote their own arrangements. They started performing professionally in the twenties, and in the thirties recorded with The Dorsey Brothers, Red Nichols and Don Redman. The Pfister Sisters do a good job of performing the Boswell Sisters's material, and also do some of their own. The performers included Holley Bendsten and Yvette Voelker on vocal, Debbie Davis on vocal and ukulele, Matt Rhody on violin and trumpet, Jim Hartway on bass, Matt Johnson on guitar, Ellis (someone) on piano and Matt Perrine (Debbie Davis' husband) on sousaphone. The set included When I Take My Sugar to Tea, Everybody Loves My Baby, If It Ain't Love, Keep on Puttin' It on, Sentimental Gentleman from Georgia, Hand Me Down My Walking Cane, River Stay 'Way from My Door, Down at the Jazzfest in New Orleans, Take Me Back to Old Yazoo, Laissez Faire and Put the Sun Back in the Sky.

William Smith's Tribute to Kid Sheik

This set was a tribute to George Colar, also known as Kid Sheik. He was a trumpeter who studied under Joe Nichols and who performed with the Olympia and Eureka brass bands as well as with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The performers included Kid Simmons (a friend on Kid Sheik) on trumpet and percussion, William Smith on trumpet, Ralph Johnson on clarinet, Doc Watson on tenor sax, Fred Lonzo on trombone, Marie Watanabe on piano, Dwey Sampson on bass, Gerald French on drums and Seva Venet on banjo. The set included Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet, Kiss Me Once (It's Been a Long, Long Time), Ting-a-Ling, After Hours, Yes Sir, That's My Baby, Crying Time Again and The Sheik of Araby (Without No Pants on).

George French

George French is the brother of Bob French (see two sets below). I get the feeling that George and Bob had some sort of falling out years ago (during Bob French's set he said something about his brother "betraying" him). George dedicated the set to John Brunious and Edgar Smith - two New Orleans jazz musicians who had recently died. The band members included George French on electric bass and vocal, Mark Braud on trumpet, Fred Lonzo on trombone and vocal, Tom Fischer on clarinet and tenor sax, Larry Siebert on piano and Gerald French (George's son) on drums). The set included That's A-Plenty, Weary Blues, Tin Roof Blues, Oh, Didn't He Ramble, Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans, St. Louis Blues, Twelfth Street Rag, After You've Gone and Over in the Glory Land.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

This is the most famous traditional jazz band in the world. Preservation Hall was originally created in the sixties to keep the sound of traditional New Orleans jazz alive. The hall itself - in a tiny storefront in the French Quarter - has few amenities. There are only a few chairs - the rest of the audience has to either stand or sit on pillows on the floor. The sound is not amplified, which is actually a good thing - most people are so used to hearing music filtered through electronics that they don't know how good it sounds when no microphones are involved.

Unfortunately, in my opinion Preservation Hall has lost its focus. There has been a change in leadership and personnel, and their sound is no longer strictly traditional. They're now as much a funk band as a traditional jazz band. I'm not a purist - I don't see anything wrong with musicians mixing elements of traditional jazz with other styles. But the purpose of Preservation Hall was to keep the old style alive. By getting away from that, they become just another band.

The band members included Ricky Mooney (?) on piano, Walter Payton on bass, Carl le Blanc on banjo, Elliot (someone) and Doc Watson on tenor sax, Mark Braud on trumpet, Darrell Adams (?) on alto sax, Fred Lonzo on trombone, Joe (someone) on drums and Ben Jaffe on sousaphone and bass. The set included Basin Street Blues, Over in the Glory Land, St. Louis Blues, Bourbon Street Parade, I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate, Tiger Rag, You Are My Sunshine, Ice Cream, You Scream (We All Scream for Ice Cream) and Go to the Mardi Gras.

Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band

Bob French is part of a musical family in New Orleans - his brother George is a bass player, and his nephew Gerald is a drummer (see George French's set above). His appearances at Jazzfest often feature invited singers. This year's band included Bob French on drums, Leon "Kid Chocolate" Brown on trumpet, Fred Lonzo on trombone, Charlie Gabriel on tenor sax, Seva Vanet on guitar, Henry Butler on piano, David (someone) on bass, Bruce Blackman on clarinet, and Ellen Smith and Yolanda Windsay (?) on vocal. At some point they brought a young blind alto sax player on stage, but I didn't catch his name. The set included When It's Sleepy Time Down South, Royal Garden Blues, Bougaloosa Strut, Besame Mucho, Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans, Petit Fleur, Fever, My Funny Valentine, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Mercy Mercy and Do What You Wanna.