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

[Don Ingle]

Well, Dan, as did Rosie, you are pasing the torch, somethng that Rosie was
so dedicated to doing.
I was given so much help and encouragement myself from so many players from
that golden age of traditional jazz and big band music, and have tried to
pay it back by working with younger players, though I admit here in North
Michigan they are few and far between. Had a good and willing torch catcher
in Dave Jellema, who caught the Bix fever early. Tom Pletcher and I worked
with him when he was a teen -- Tom in Bixian ideas, and I in passing on the
breath and lip control exercizes that I had recveived from Red Nichols.
Matty Matlock mentored and tutored me in arranging, and Nichols took it a
step farther and hired me to write charts for him.  And of course Rosie gave
me this wonderful infection called "Digging out the Oldies!" His interest in
making young players aware of more than the usual Muskrat Ramble, Saints,
Jazz Band Ball play list  might be one of his best lessons of all when he
passed them on.
So I am delighted to hear that you are givig this young man an opportunity
to progress.
I still remember sitting in with Rosie at the old Sterling's
in Santa Monica and meeting a very young and eager Dan Levenson two decades
ago. You have come a long way, Dan, and I am sure that somewhere Rosis is
very proud of you. I can almost hear him and Red, his old Weems band mate
saying..."you know, that kid is not too bad."
Keep the faith -- from one of the oldest "Sons of Rosie"
around. After all, and you know the story, if it hadn't been for Rosie
subbing for my dad the night I was born, I might not have been born. As he
often kidded me -- "no way Eddie was going to have the baby unless Red was
there." That baby is now 72.
Don Ingle

essage ----- 
From: <SonsofRosy at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 3:45 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] "In the Morn and Liquid Dew of Youth..."


> 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
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