[Dixielandjazz] "In the Morn and Liquid Dew of Youth..."

[SonsofRosy at aol.com]

Hello DJML Members,

I have read the recent postings concerning Brett Boyd and his connection with 
me and my "Sons of Rosy" band.  I would like you all to know that I have met 
Brett several times and found him to be a charming individual and a very 
gifted young trumpet player.  He also plays banjo and sings well.  He is 17 years 
old and lives about an hour north of New York City.  

I heard about him through banjoist Jim Jones (who had only corresponded with 
him) about a year ago, and then met him at a concert I did in New Jersey last 
February.  Brett sent me his CD of the New Celebration Jazz Band, and, 
realizing his potential, I invited him to sit in with Vince Giordano's Nighthawks at 
the Cajun.  He came down one night about three or four months ago and played 
very well.

My "Sons of Rosy" band has been invited to play the Hot Steamed Jazz Festival 
in Essex, Connecticut next June, but unfortunately the festival's budget is 
not sufficient to fly the entire band east, so I have made the band smaller and 
hired local musicians to play the scaled down arrangements written by Rosy 
McHargue and myself.  I have a great band, with John Gill on drums, Brian 
Nalepka (of the Manhattan Rhythm Kings) on bass, Tom Roberts on piano, and Rosy's 
trombonist and right-hand man Keith Elliott on trombone and C-melody saxophone 
(Keith is also on the "Eleven Sons of Rosy" CD issued last year).  25-year-old 
Pete Martinez, who plays with my Jimmie Noone tribute band, will round out the 
reed section, so we can play the arrangements I wrote for three C-melody 
saxophones.

Rosy's arrangements call for a barbershop quartet within the band, and I 
needed someone who could sing the high tenor parts, which go up to a "G."  Before 
I invited Brett to perform with my band, I asked him what the highest note he 
could sing was.  He said "G."  I knew then he was the right man for the job.

The genre we call OKOM is starving for young talent and I make a constant 
effort to seek out young players and encourage them.  18 years ago, when I 
started playing, many of the musicians I met tried to avoid me because I did not 
have the technique of the professionals, and it was not "cool" to associate with 
players who were not "awesome."

But a few special people--such as Rosy McHargue, Dan Barrett and Eddy 
Davis--judged me based on my enthusiasm rather than my technique, and offered me the 
chance to sit in and play with the professionals.  I owe my success in the 
music world to those people, because if it hadn't been for their encouragement, I 
would have given up very early on.

For those of you Northeasterners interested in hearing Brett perform at the 
Hot Steamed Jazz Festival on June 27 or the concert on June 28 in Morristown, 
New Jersey, you can go to my website, danlevinson.com, for more information.  I 
have just updated the calendar, and it now contains every one of my public 
performances through next September.

Please pardon me for using this opportunity to advertise my website and 
upcoming performances, but... (click "delete" now if you don't care to know)

One of the highlights of my upcoming performances is a spectacular recreation 
of the famous Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall jazz concert from 1938, which will 
take place in Bridgewater, New Jersey on January 17--66 years and one day from 
the date of the original concert--which will feature the fabulous 14-piece 
Stan Rubin Orchestra.

The all star lineup will include Mark Shane in the small group (the Teddy 
Wilson role), Herb Gardner in the big band (the Jess Stacy role), and Randy 
Reinhart and John Eckert sharing the trumpet duties (as did Harry James and Ziggy 
Elman).  The talented young vocalist Molly Ryan will sing the numbers Martha 
Tilton sang in the original concert.  I will also be featuring another young 
player, 16-year-old vibraphone virtuoso Matt Hoffman, a protege of Mark Shane's.  

There will be an additional matinee performance beginning at 2:00 with just 
the quartet, featuring Shane, Hoffman, drummer Kevin Dorn (now with the Jim 
Cullum band), and myself, in which we will salute the Benny Goodman Quartet.  
Then at 8:00 we will bring on the full orchestra.  Information can also be found 
on my website.

Here's to Rosy McHargue, BG, and young BB--may he keep OKOM alive long after 
we're all gone.

Dan Levinson