BRIA'S HOT FIVE

Oh, Happy Day! The Hot Five became Six today with the addition of Matthew Bowman on Trombone. His 'promotion' was deserved and the Band played with fire and finesse. Ron Thompson subbed for Josh Roberts on Bjo/Gtr and settled in o.k. Bria is playing all over the world these days. Japan, France,US etc. as a featured guest at festivals. The Band plans to do a CD shortly. The larger group, The Big Bang JB will be at the WRTJS minifest in June but before that there is the Chilliwack Jazz Fest in May. Heigh-Ho!

JAZZ AT CAMBRIAN HALL

So keen was I to laud the Stompin' Hot Jazz Band that I forgot my activities of the previous day! The Vancouver Dixieland Jazz Society has started a series of once a month dances at The Cambrian Hall. This hall was built by a bunch of Welshmen way back and has a nice stage and good acoustics. Anyway Saturday, February 14, it was the turn of The Hollyburn Ramblers to entertain and play for dancers. Good it was! The five piece band was led by Alan Matheson(Cnt/Fl), Rob Mackenzie(Tmb), Jim Lazenby(Bjo), Craig Scott(Dms) and Steve Toren(Tuba)(I think). The music owed a lot to the Bix Beiderbeck repertory and was nicely played. How nice to hear Alan do justice to his passion. The event is the brainchild of Joel & Louise Schwartz to provide a venue for the younger jazz fans who like to do 'Swing Dancing'. The Hall does not have a liquor licence but ...
(Earlier in the day I had attended a Golf Expo at BC Place where I found an Adams Insight Driver for $40.00. This is compatible with my current set of clubs so I'm all set.) Lots to do and so little time! Heigh Ho!

STOMPIN' HOT JAZZ BAND

This photo of The Dixie Nine was taken a couple of years ago at the Dixie Fest presented by the Vancouver Dixieland Jazz Society. The musicians were from Chilliwack High School where they have a dixieland jazz option in their music programme. This was the alma mater of Bria Skonberg. The promise they showed then was amply justified at their recent gig at the White Rock Traditional Jazz Society regular Sunday afternoon dance. Now calling themselves the Stompin' Hot Jazz Band they have reduced to a six member band with a couple of personnel changes. Their performance was excellent. Musicianship superb, arrangements minimal but effective, repertoire and style well within the New Orleans tradition. They had a large Valentines Day crowd crowding the dance floor all afternoon. I was particularly impressed by the trombone of Matthew Bowman which was precise and a propos. Bonnie Northgraves, trumpet, demonstrated a fine command of the instrument with a bravura style. The rest of the band were up to the task - Adam Van Loon, clarinet and a rhythm section of Tristan Martin,Brittany Waslen and Mitch Foster. The verve of the playing and jazz sensibility makes them a joy to listen to. They have a CD available titled 'No Grey Area' which speaks to their attitude of loyalty to the early jazz tradition.
Next Sunday WRTJS presents Bria's Hot Five - could life be better than this!

ALESTARS AT THE HERITAGE GRILL

The photo shows the New Orleans Ale Stars at Granville Island on Canada Day 2008. Last night I caught the band at the Heritage Grill in New Westminster where they play irregularly. The band includes Simon Stribling(Tpt&Saxes), Gerry Green(Clt&Tenor sax), Laurie Lister(Dms), Georgia Korba(Bass) and Josh Roberts(Bjo). They were in their usual good form entertaining a full house with verve and adventurousness. In preparation for a European Tour in May they were trying out some new material including early Satchmo like Stomp Off and Jubilee. Among the highlights were Georgia Cabin(Bechet) and a reckless version of Body and Soul. Hearing the band live and at close quarters one is constantly amazed at the cohesion of the rhythm section and its ability to use the full dynamic range leading to surges of excitement. One knows when things are getting really hot because Georgia smiles! Unlike many bands playing the early jazz repertory the Ale Stars make their music with a freshness that makes it seem like a new discovery.
Heigh-Ho.

White Rock Traditional Jazz Society

The WRTJS was started in 1990 by Rice Honeywell, pianist and trumpeter, to promote jazz of the New Orleans tradition. His band - Red Beans and Rice - was featured. Quite soon there were regular sessions at the Pacific Inn. Now the Society has weekly sessions from September to June, Sundays 3.00 to 6.00 at the Crescent Beach Legion. Red Beans and Rice are still the house band playing the first Sunday of each month. Other bands occupy the other dates. These include The New Orleans Ale Stars, Louisiana Joymakers, The Big Bang JB, Bria's Hot Five, Maple Leaf JB, Phoenix Jazzers, 49th Parallel JB, 3 Generations JB, Black Stick, Uptown-Lowdown etc. There are 200 or so members of all ages who enjoy dancing, listening and a drink. The Society also holds a Mini Fest each June usually at the Austria Vancouver Club. The Society has non-profit status and encourages students to play early jazz in particular by sending three or four talented youngsters to a jazz camp each year. Attendance each week varies from 80 to 110 and members enjoy a meat draw and a 50/50 lottery. I was honored last year to be elected to the Board as Membership Registrar a role that includes distributing the thrice yearly newsletter.
I have to say that the standard of performance by the bands is extremely high as is the level of enthusiasm. Dance lessons are offered and younger members delight with high quality 'Swing' dancing. More information can be found at the website - www.whiterocktradjazz.com
Also we have The Vancouver Dixieland Jazz Society which offers an annual mini-fest, a three day festival in the Fall, and currently, monthly Saturday afternoon dances with live jazz. A plethora of opportunities for the avid early jazz fan. www.vcn.bc.ca/vdjs

GOLF IS GREAT!

Golf was an invention of Scots gillies who enjoyed hitting sheep droppings into rabbit holes on the dunes of St. Andrews. It hasn't changed much. Being Scots they followed their walks with a dram or two of Scotch. This tradition has also been maintained. Golf is the only 'sport' in which smoking and drinking occur during the game. It is no surprise therefore that I am an afficionado. Although the game has become the sport of Presidents, kings, and CEOs and therefore both expensive and elitist, it is possible for the less well off to participate at moderate cost. As a marshall at the Mylora Course in Richmond I get to play free! Last year I achieved a Hole-In-One - more by accident than design but.... The job of marshall involves keeping the play moving, finding(and keeping)lost balls, removing the more obnoxious drunks, driving a buggy to a secluded spot and napping. One can learn many important life skills on the golf course. For instance how to cheat without discovery, how to lie to golfers about their skill, how to be polite and appear to mean it, how to hit a small ball with a long stick while inebriated etc. Weather is a factor but here on the West coast the season is all year. I played my last round in 2008 on December 5 and my first game of 2009 on January 20. Heigh Ho!

NEW YORKER

Where would we be without New York! Xmas gift of the New York Times Xword Calendar is much appreciated-I am up to June already. How time does fly. Also received the Winter Fiction edition of the The New Yorker. I love this zine. One can dream of visiting the Big Apple and catching some jazz, a show or two, wander through a museum or gallery and squander one's assets on a meal at Prune or JoeDoe. The layout is traditional which is a great relief from the montage layout of most zines. Flipping through the pages to find the cartoons one also finds ads for jewelry items like gold toad pins with diamond eyes, tam o'shanters, poplin raincoats,etc.(If I was writing a column in said zine I would have replaced the etc., with a complete list!) Also one can imagine visiting Country Inns, Carribean Islands, and distant Spas. Perfect, except I can't even afford to go to New York!