ON JANUARY 17 UPTOWN LOWDOWN WILL STOMP OFF 2016!

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1 January 2016 Volume 41, Number 01 ON JANUARY 17 UPTOWN LOWDOWN WILL STOMP OFF 2016! By George Swinford The Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band needs little introduction to a PSTJS audience. After all, they ve been our January band for years and we ve long enjoyed their music at jazz events here and across the country. Perhaps, rather than an introduction, a bit of band history will be appropriate. Bert Barr formed his Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band in Since then it has been continuously active in the Northwest, across the country and even internationally. Thirty of the band s recordings are currently available, dating from 1985 and on. In my own collection I have at least four Uptown Lowdown LPs from the years before that. Many musicians have cycled through the band. Some have passed on, but quite a few are still active on the local scene. Think of Rollie Morehouse, Steven Joseph, Ed Krenz, Sal Smith and Gary Provonsha, all former members now gone. In the latter group are Dave Holo, Dave Loomis, Tom Jacobus, George Goldsberry, Dave Brown and several others. Remember that KPLU s jazz historian? Ken Wiley played trombone on the band s first two recordings. No doubt the most notable change in personnel came about when pianist Dr. Bob Dunn left the band. He was replaced by Rose Marie Sparks, who soon became Rose Marie Barr and who continues to be the band s everpopular pianist. Although the band has experienced many changes, this year s line-up duplicates the roster from last January s session. Bert Barr will lead on cornet, with Rose Marie Barr on piano. Andy Hall will play trombone and Paul Woltz will bring a variety of reeds, no doubt including that crowd-pleasing bass sax. Longtime banjoist Al LaTourette will be on the stand too, along with Art Horgan on tuba. We can expect vocals from Paul and Andy. Uptown Lowdown has amassed an extensive book of ragtime, classic jazz and pop tunes from the 1920s. Once again we ll hear Bert s selections from the danceable music of Joplin, Morton, King Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Turk Murphy and many others. Bring your friends and join us at the Ballard Elks on January 17th for a great afternoon of music and fun. WHERE: Ballard Elks Lodge 6411 Seaview Ave. NW, Seattle WHEN: 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. January 17 ADMISSION: $12 PSTJS members $15 non-members. Pay only at door. FURTHER INFO: Carol Rippey Or - website: Plenty of free parking; great view & dance floor, snacks, coffee, and other beverages available. Notes from the Prez Happy New Year everyone! 2016, wow, time sure flies by. We have been given tickets for two festivals. The Fresno festival dates are February 11-14, the Seaside dates are February We have two all-event tickets for each festival, to be sold separately. As always, the money we receive for the tickets goes to the Youth Scholarship Fund. We ll be auctioning off these four tickets during this month s raffle, so bring your checkbooks or cash, and get in on good pricing plus helping send music students to Jazz Camp. Be sure to look for this month s jazz memories letter, it ll bring back fond memories for all of you, I promise. And for those of you who haven t sent me memories, please do. Please send them in an so I can forward it to our Editor for publication in a future Soundings. Cheers, Judy

2 Jazz Soundings January 2016 Page 2 Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society Ocean Avenue Edmonds, WA UPCOMING EVENTS Elks Lodge, Ballard, 6411 Seaview Ave N.W., Seattle January 17 Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band February 21 Claire McKenna and Friends March 20 Gerry Green s Crescent City Shakers April 17 Ain t No Heaven Seven May 15 holotradband June 19 New Orleans Quintet PRESIDENT Judy Levy jazzdancer2@msn.com VICE PRESIDENT Jack Temp SECRETARY Cilla Trush paultrush@yahoo.com TREASURER Gloria Kristovich gkristo@live.com BOARD OF DIRECTORS Keith Baker kacybaker@comcast.net Verna Eriks Joanne Hargrave shorejo1@comcast.net John Heinz latitude47.8@comcast.net Edmunde Lewin George Peterson ggpeters99@gmail.com Carol Rippey trianglejazz@comcast.net George Swinford grs-pms@comcast.net MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR Carol Rippey trianglejazz@comcast.net EDITOR Anita LaFranchi jazzeditor@q.com WEBMASTER George Peterson ggpeters99@gmail.com JAZZ SOUNDINGS Published monthly except July and August by the Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society. Anita LaFranchi, Editor, jazzeditor@q.com Ads must be submitted in a jpeg or PDF format Payment in advance to: Gloria Kristovich, P.O. Box 373, Edmonds, WA Advertising Rates: Full page $ /2 wide by 9 1/2 tall Half Page $ /2 wide by 4 1/4 tall Quarter Page $ /8 Wide by 4 1/4 tall Deadline is the 10th of the month for the next month s issue Gigs for Local Bands BELLINGHAM TRADITIONAL JAZZ SOCIETY 1st Saturday, 2-5 pm VFW Hall 625 N. State St Jan. 2 Halleck Street Ramblers Feb. 6 Bob Storms All-Stars March 5 Clamdigger Jazz Band BOURBON STREET ALL STARS 1st Tuesday, 5-9pm at McCloud s Grillhouse 2901 Perry Ave, Bremerton, WA Res: DAVE HOLO TRIO Salty s on Alki 1936 Harbor Avenue. SW Seattle, WA Jan pm GREATER OLYMPIA DIXIELAND JAZZ SOCIETY 2nd Sundays 1-4:30pm Elks Lodge Fourth Ave., Olympia Jan. 10 Mardi Gras Jazz Band Feb. 14 Columbia Classic Jazz Band March 13 Uptown Lowdown Lite Apr. 10 Columbia Classic Jazz Band May 1 Hume Street June 12 Dukes of Swing PEARL DJANGO Jan 2-3 7:30pm Jazz Alley with Gail Pettis 2033 Sixth Ave., Seattle, WA ( Jan. 31 7:30pm WICA (in Langley) with singer Gail Pettis 565 Camano Ave, Langley, Washington RAY SKJELBRED & THE YETI CHASERS Jan :30pm Royal Room (Seattle, WA) For more info visit: UPTOWN LOWDOWN JAZZ BAND Jan :30pm Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society - Ballard Elks Jan pm Jubilee, Lacey - Trad Jazz Concert On Your Dial... Saturday 7-12 pm Swing Years and Beyond KUOW 94.9 FM Sunday 3-6 pm Art of Jazz, Ken Wiley, KPLU 88.5 FM

3 Jazz Soundings January 2016 Page 3 Presented by Lighthouse Jazz Society February 25-28, 2016 SEASIDE, OREGON Blue Street Bob Draga and Friends Cornet Chop Suey Grand Dominion High Sierra Ivory & Gold Mardi Gras Rudy s Revelers Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi Tom Rigney Uptown Lowdown Young Bucs BOB DRAGA, Guest Artist Five venues: Three at the Convention Center and one each at the Best Western Ocean View Resort, and Seaside Elks. Call for housing info. More information at or , Monday-Friday, 9 5 PM only. A portion of this project was made possible from a grant from the City of Seaside Tourism Advisory Committee, funded by room tax dollars.

4 Jazz Soundings January 2016 Page 4 ENTERTAINMENT: A FEW CLOSE CALLS By Ray Skjelbred Do you remember Joanne Worley? She was one of the stars of the manic comedy show Laugh-In from many years ago. During my time with Turk Murphy at the Fairmont Hotel we used to see famous people all the time, but an incident with Worley was my favorite. Bill Carroll (our wonderful tuba player) and I were sitting on a couch in the lobby during a break when she walked by. Suddenly she turned, pulled up Bill s socks and said, You know they make socks with elastic now so they stay up by themselves, and walked on, end of meeting. During the time I played trombone with the Red Garter band for the 49 ers games, we always had to accompany a guest star who sang the Star Spangled Banner. We would learn the appropriate key and rehearse some time before the game. One day the guest was Tennessee Ernie Ford, a folksy and natural sort of guy. After rehearsal he said, I have to take a leak. Could you fellers form a circle around me so I can have some privacy? Yes, and there we were, at the edge of the bleachers. At the Fairmont Hotel the Venetian Room with big name stars was next door to the New Orleans Room where we played. At one time the Mills Brothers appeared. Actually it was one Mills brother and, I believe, his nephew. I still was thrilled to see him. The Mills Brothers have always been favorites of mine. One night while wandering aimlessly in the hallway during a break, I saw Donald Mills doing the same. He said, How are things in your room tonight? and I realized at that moment that this legendary man just thought of us as two working musicians. He was a quiet fellow and I was happy to have a few words with him. The next night I brought him a record for him to sign. He did, but he wrote, Donald Mills, of the Mills Brothers. I have always felt that he added the title to just make sure I would know who he was. It was a sweet and humble gesture. I have never forgotten it. When I played at the last Earthquake McGoon s club that Turk had, the singer/ actress Martha Raye came in one night. She always played the part of a clown but I thought she was really a wonderful singer. I told her how much I dug her in a 1930 s Bing Crosby musical called Rhythm on the Range. She laughed, kissed me and said, You weren t even born yet when I made that picture. Of course that was true, although any film with Bing Crosby, Louis Prima, Frances Farmer, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers seems part of the time of my life, whatever that is. MY INTRODUCTION TO DIXIELAND JAZZ By Therese Berg It was July The TV evening news on KOMO featured The Island City Jazz Band, which played on Saturdays in a tavern in Friday Harbor. It was advertising a Jazz Festival to be held on the last Saturday in July in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. My husband, Norman Berg, was impressed. We decided to go. So on Saturday morning we got up very early and drove, along with my brother, Jerry Kyle and his wife June, up to Anacortes to board the ferry. The first band we heard was the Phoenix Jazzers, with Jim Armstrong on trombone and Roy Reynolds on reeds.the venues for the bands were in various restaurants and the Grange Hall. The bands which I recall were, besides The Phoenix Jazzers, the host band of course Island City Jazz Band, with Tom Scoogs on trumpet, the Bascombe brothers on piano and clarinet, Don Anderson on trombone, Gary Provonsha on drums and Linda Travis, vocalist. The others were Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band and Rainer Jazz Band. The Dixieland Express Jazz Band from Victoria, B. C. came in on a private sailing yacht. As the ship came slowly into the bay, the band was playing on deck in their white pants and red shirts. The crew in navy blue pants and white sweatshirts were up on the yard arms high-stepping to the music. What a spectacle! What a day! The Washington State Ferry System ran an extra late night ferry for all of us. And The Phoenix Jazzers were again on board. They set up on the upper deck and played. We had a sing-along. What a day! We vowed to return again the following year, and the next, and the next.

5 Jazz Soundings January 2016 Page 5 Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society Ocean Ave., Edmonds, WA Please (enroll) (renew) (me) (us) as a member or members Name Address City, State Zip Code Phone Check when renewing if your address label is correct Dues for 12 months: Single $25 Couple $40 Lifetime single $200 Lifetime Couple $350 Patron $500 (One or two lifetime membership) Please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to the performance and preservation of traditional jazz. Your membership and contributions are tax-deductible. Thank you. We re looking for new Members YOU can help with little effort and that s by bringing just one of your friends or family members into our club. If WE ALL do that, our membership will double. SUBSCRIBE TODAY News You Can Use About Traditional Jazz and Ragtime One Year: U.S.$28 -:- Canadian $52U.S. Funds* Two Years: U.S.$52 -:- Canadian $100U.S. Funds* (*) Includes Airmail Delivery Make check payable to: The American Rag Skyline Ranch Dr., Apple Valley, CA Phone/Fax: Name Address City State Phone Zip + 4 Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society

6 Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society Ocean Ave. Edmonds, WA Address service requested Non-profit Org U..S. Postage Paid Seattle, WA Permit 1375 Red X on your Jazz Soundings mailing address label with your name on it - means it s time to renew your membership. TWO red XX means last chance to Renew Now! BANDS, CONTACTS AIN T NO HEAVEN SEVEN Leader: Terry Rogers terryrrogers@comcast.net BOURBON STREET ALL STARS Leader: Jeff Winslow (360) drjwjazz@gmail.com COAL CREEK JAZZ BAND Leader: Judy Logen, Bookings: judy@coalcreekjazzband.com COMBO DE LUXE Bookings: Candace Brown jazzstrings@comcast.net CORNUCOPIA CONCERT BAND Leader: Allan Rustad DUKES OF DABOB Bookings: Mark Holman, , seaclar7@embarqmail.com. DUWAMISH JAZZ BAND Bookings: Carol Johnston carolanjo@yahoo.com EVERGREEN CLASSIC JAZZ BAND Leader: Tom Jacobus t.jacobus@comcast.net ph: or cell FIRST THURSDAY BAND Leader: Ray Skjelbred, Rayskjelbred@gmail.com FOGGY BOTTOM JAZZ BAND Leader: Bruce Cosacchi GRAND DOMINION JAZZ BAND Bookings: Bob Pelland bobpelland@gdjb.com holotradband Leader: Dave Holo dave@daveholo.com HOT CLUB SANDWICH Contact: James Schneider HUME STREET PRESERVATION JAZZ BAND Bookings: Karla West JAZZ UNLIMITED BAND Leader: Duane Wright duane.janw@frontier.com JAZZ STRINGS Bookings: Candace Brown jazzstrings@comcast.net LOUISIANA JOYMAKERS! Leader: Leigh Smith smithtunes@shaw.ca THE MARKET STREET DIXIELAND JASS BAND Ansgar Duemchen: Tim Sherman MIGHTY APHRODITE Co-leaders: Bria Skonberg, Claire McKenna mightyaphroditejazz@hotmail.com NEW ORLEANS QUINTET Jake Powel jake_powel@comcast.net RAINIER JAZZ BAND Manager: Randy Keller randolphscottkeller@gmail.com RAY SKJELBRED Rayskjelbred@gmail.com RONNIE PIERCE JAZZ ENSEMBLE ronniepiercemusic@yahoo.com, UPTOWN LOWDOWN JAZZ BAND Leader: Bert Barr uljb@yahoo.com WILD CARDS JAZZ Leader: Randy Keller randolphscottkeller@gmail.com