[Dixielandjazz] Good Times Jazz Concerts Series UPDATE 5-28-03

[Kurt]

GOOD TIMES JAZZ CONCERTS SERIES...UPDATE: 

First, I'd like to thank all of those who attended last Saturday's (5-24-03)
Cakewalkin' Jass Band concert at the Adventureland Inn.  It was absolutely
great!  The Toledo Ohio band played high energy traditional jazz for four
hours that had the audience wanting more.  When not on the dance floor, the
crowd was on the edge of their seats most of the night.

___________

DON'T MISS THE NEXT GOOD TIMES JAZZ CONCERTS SERIES CONCERT!

Mark your calendar for THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2003 and plan to attend the next
GOOD TIMES JAZZ CONCERTS SERIES Concert: "A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND
MUSIC OF BIX BEIDERBECKE" BY THE NEW WOLVERINE JAZZ ORCHESTRA (from Sydney,
Australia)!

THIS IS TRULY A ONE-OF-A-KIND CONCERT NOT TO BE MISSED!  MUSIC STUDENTS AND
JAZZ FANS OF ALL AGES ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND TO HEAR THE JAZZ MUSIC OF BIX
BEIDERBECKE THAT STARTED IT ALL.  You will hear classic jazz arrangements
performed by world-class professional musicians.

ALL STUDENT MUSICIANS (with valid school ID) ATTENDING THIS CONCERT WILL
RECEIVE A SPECIAL MEMENTO courtesy of The Good Times Jazz Concerts Series.

$15 General Admission tickets ARE NOW ON SALE.  Please call (515) 251-7602
or (515) 265-7321,
ext. 360 (credit cards accepted at this number).   

LOCATION: Adventureland Inn & Resort Ballroom (Highway 65 and I-80) in
Altoona/Des Moines, Iowa.  

Rod Biensen will play in Adventureland Inn's Garden Restaurant for a
pre-show ragtime concert starting at 5:30 pm.  Space is limited, so call
251-7602 for dinner reservations.

The concert will start at 7:00 pm in Adventureland Inn's Ballroom.

This is a non-smoking venue.  There will be a dance floor and cash bar
during the concert.

Souvenirs will be available for purchase before the concert, at
intermission, and after the concert.

Central Iowans can receive Good Times Jazz Concerts Series updates on Jim
Bowermaster's "The Jazz Man Show", heard on 1350 AM KRNT Saturday mornings
after the news at 8:00 a.m.

Stay the night!  Adventureland Inn is offering a special "Jazz Rate" to
anyone wanting to spend the night (subject to availability).  Experience the
TWO indoor pools and all that this resort has to offer.  Call (515) 251-7602
for reservations.  Make sure you ask for the special "Jazz Rate"!

ABOUT BIX BEIDERBECKE:
Beiderbecke's originality made him one of the first white jazz musicians to
be admired by black performers; Louis Armstrong recognized in him a kindred
spirit.

Leon Bix Beiderbecke, the legendary jazz cornetist and composer, was born in
Davenport, Iowa on March 10, 1903, and died in New York City on August 6,
1931.  He did more for jazz music in his short 28 years than most people do
in several lifetimes.

As a boy he had a few piano lessons, but was self-taught on cornet and
developed a unique technique by playing along with recordings.  His family
did not approve of his jazz music and sent him to the Lake Forest Academy in
Illinois in 1921.  His parents had no idea that they were actually giving
him the opportunity to sneak into nearby Chicago to hear the great jazz
bands of the day.

His frequent truancy eventually got him expelled and sent back to Davenport.
After working for his father for several months, he went back to Chicago to
begin his professional musical career, without his parents' approval.  

He soon became known through his playing and recordings with The Wolverines
in 1924.  In the same year he began his long association with band leader
Frankie Trumbauer, recording with him in New York.  After working with Jean
Goldkette's dance band in 1924, Bix joined Trumbauer in St. Louis through
1926.  

In 1926, Bix and Trumbauer joined Goldkette's band and became prominent
members until it disbanded in 1927.  They then joined Paul Whiteman's
Orchestra and made many influential jazz recordings.  They also recorded
with various groups under their own names too. 

Beiderbecke's alcoholism caused his health to deteriorate and he was
frequently unable to perform.  

He left Whiteman in 1929 with the hopes of rejoining the band after getting
his health back, which never happened.  Until his death in 1931, he worked
in New York in a radio series, with the  Dorsey Brothers, with the Casa Loma
Orchestra and with Benny Goodman.

Bix developed a beautiful and original style.  His distinctive, bell-like
tone (his friend Hoagy Carmichael described it as resembling a chime struck
by a mallet) achieved additional intensity through his unorthodox fingering,
which often led him to play his unique style.

Although he was largely unknown to the public at the time of his death, he
acquired an almost legendary aura among jazz musicians and enthusiasts.

Source: The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz

NOTE: There is an annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival held the
last full weekend in July in Bix's hometown of Davenport, Iowa.  This year
they are celebrating Bix' 100th birthday

ABOUT THE NEW WOLVERINE JAZZ ORCHESTRA (from Sydney, Australia):
"Bix might well feel that here is a group worthy of his genius...a very
adroit set of musicians playing with a remarkably clean sound to rank among
the very best re-creators of this genius"
- Winds International magazine, London, England

"The New Wolverine Jazz Orchestra is truly a unique phenomenon.  Unlike any
other group in the USA (or anywhere else in the world for that matter), they
accurately re-create the music that Bix Beiderbecke and the jazz age
orchestras once played."
- Rich Johnson, Music Director, Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Society and
Festival

On July 31, The New Wolverine Jazz Orchestra from Sydney, Australia will
make Des Moines, Iowa one of their tour stops on their sixth tour of USA. 

The band has won so many musical awards and honors from around the world
that they are too numerous to mention.

They have nine recordings, several of which will be available in Des Moines.


 THE BAND:
  Trevor Rippingale: Co-coordinator, Clarinet, 6 Saxophones (soprano, alto,
tenor, C-melody, 	baritone, and bass), Vocals and Arrangements
  Jim Elliot: Trombone, 6 Saxophones, Clarinet, Tuba and Arrangements
  Geoff Power: Cornet, Trombone, Tuba, Vocals and Arrangements
  Peter Locke: Piano and Arrangements
  Harry Harman: Tuba and String Bass
  Stewart Binsted: Guitar and Banjo
  Chauncey Macbeth, Drums and Vocals

_________________________
The Good Times Jazz Concerts Series is produced by Bowermaster Group in
order to promote, present and perpetuate America's original art form, jazz
(with an emphasis on traditional dixieland).

Other scheduled concerts include:
October 9, 2003 - The Barbary Coast Dixieland Band (from Minneapolis,
Minnesota)
February 14, 2004 - The New Red Onion Jazz Babies (from Kansas City,
Missouri)

Piano great Butch Thompson will perform on a date to be determined during
the second quarter of 2004.

Kurt Bowermaster
Bowermaster Group
Publishing - Entertainment - Events

1529 41st Street
Des Moines, IA  50311

Phone: (515) 251-7602
Fax: (515) 270-2763
E-Mail: bowermastergroup at qwest.net