Saturday, December 19, 2015

Jazz Performance Saturday! - "Under the Double Eagle"- Devil Mountain Jazz Band

For today's jazz performance I present the Devil Mountain Jazz Band out of Oakley, California playing Under the Double Eagle.

From jazz nut.com.
The Devil Mountain Jazz Band was founded in 1982 and have appeared in several hundred jazz festivals since then. They specialize in playing music from the 1800s to the 1940s. They play many different types of music, the blues, dixieland, ragtime, even gospel and novelty tunes.

Interestingly the tune they play in this performance is an 1893 march written by Josef Franz Wagner (1856-1908) the Austrian composer. John Philip Sousa would popularize the tune in America recording it several times starting in 1896.

Featured in this performance recorded on February 15, 2015 at the 31st Annual Sounds of Mardi Gras in Fresno, California, we have leader Ken Keller on banjo; Tom Barnebey on piano; Pete Main on clarinet; Noel Weidkamp and Tom Belmessieri both on cornet; Glenn Calkins on the trombone; Keith Baltz on tuba; and Allan Grissette on drums.



Here are some more videos from the same event...


Ray and His Little Chevrolet composed by Bernie Grossman,
Jack Stanley and Billy Baskette from about 1924.


King of the Zulus

East St. Louis Toodle-Oo composed by Duke Ellington
and Bubber Miley around 1926.


Custom House Up and Down

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Jazz Performance Saturday! Jerry Rothschild - Plays Jelly Roll Morton

The first Saturday of the month has been reserved for piano players! So this month lets take a look at Jerry Rothschild and his half hour session playing the music of Jelly Roll Morton.

Master jazz piano player, composer and band leader Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941) was a colorful character. He composed many famous tunes still played to this day.

Rothschild's performance was recorded at the South Bay New Orleans Jazz Club on April, 12, 2015 at Redondo Beach, California.