[Dixielandjazz] Black Derby Jazz Band

[Dan Augustine]

Folks--
      Had a great time last week down in San Antonio, and it seemed
like something that might interest the DJML.
      John Bradshaw, who plays trombone and lives in San Antonio (and
sometimes sits in with bands in New Orleans), had been at some
dixieland-camps in San Diego and invited a number of musicians he met
there to San Antonio to play OKOM and help organize a new jazz-club
(currently San Antonio does not have any traditional-jazz society).
He was able to get the following players to come:

Vicki Cox:       trumpet; Eugene, Oregon; leader of Calamity Jazz Band
Jay Rice:        cornet; San Clemente, California
Tom Duncan:      clarinet; Teaneck, New Jersey; leader of
                      Dr. Dubious and the Agnostics
Jack May:        clarinet, soprano sax; Sun Lakes, Arizona
Jim Goodwin:     banjo; Chula Vista, California
Meg Graf:        bass sax, piano; Eugene, Oregon
George Harbaugh: drums; San Diego, California (who actually started the
                      adult dixieland-camps in San Diego)

      But Meg wasn't enthralled with the idea of entrusting her bass
sax (Big George) to the not-so-tender mercies of the airline-industry
on the flight down to San Antonio, and she wasn't sure she could
borrow one down in Texas, so she asked if i could play tuba with the
group (even though i haven't been to any dixieland-camps); i said i'd
be glad to.  (Later, she was able to borrow one, but graciously
allowed me to tag along on tuba anyhow.)

      Most of us arrived on Monday (April 19th) and John got us great
seats on the Riverwalk to see the floating parade on Monday night
(part of the week-long San Antonio Fiesta celebrations).  On Tuesday
through Friday we rehearsed at his church from 10 am to noon, 1 to 3
pm, and 7 to 10 pm.  A number of us brought arrangements to play, but
frequently we (well, they) played without music (i had my head stuck
in David Littlefield's Dixieland Fake Book most of the time).

      John had contacted Jim Cullum and many other San Antonio
musicians about our group (which is called the Black Derby Jazz
Band), and Mr. Cullum was nice enough to invite us to play at the
Landing on Thursday night, where we were going to see his show.  We
played four tunes on his stage and received some nice applause from
the audience.

      On Saturday, we got on a flatbed trailer and played in a parade
in the King William section of the city, followed by an hour's
concert downtown at the Buckhorn Hall of Horns (picture playing OKOM
under the glazed gazes of hundreds of stuffed animal-heads on the
walls; probably not too different from playing at a political
fund-raiser).

      On Sunday we played an hour's concert at the church, which was
well received, followed by a jam session including musicians from the
central Texas area: Larmon Maddox (trumpet, Old Waterloo Jazz Band,
Austin); Doug Franz (tuba, Alamo City Jazz Band, San Antonio); Scott
Bailey (trombone, Phil Armstrong's Crystal River Jazz Band, San
Antonio); and Ed Torres, former drummer in the Jim Cullum Jazz Band.

      I was impressed (but stirred, not shaken--well, maybe a little)
with the high ability of all the players in the BDJB, their knowledge
of the music and style, their improvisatory skills, their good humor,
and their professionalism.  Some players brought their spouses, who
had a good time touring central Texas, and John and his wife had a
lovely dinner for us at his house.  Several folks recorded the
sessions and concerts and took pictures, and these may be available
later.  It was a great idea for John to come up with, and he did a
lot of hard work on our behalf. We all had a marvelous time.

      If anyone in the central Texas area is interested in joining the
new Black Derby Jazz Club, they can telephone John Bradshaw at (210)
341-8506 or email him at JANDJBRADSHAW at webtv.net.

     Dan
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**  Dan Augustine     Austin, Texas    ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu   **
**    "Thought is a thread of melody running through the succession   **
**     of our sensations." -- Charles S. Peirce (1839-1914)           **
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