[Dixielandjazz] Review of Tex Wyndham's Red Lion Jazz Band

[Steve barbone]

Publicity helps keep the music alive in the here and now. Below is an
article from the leading Wilmington DE newspaper of the Red Lion Jazz Band.
Several pictures were also included.

Articles such as these are not difficult to get published as many would find
out if they contacted their local newspaper Arts & Entertainment editor.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone



Local band keeps Dixieland music alive

By KAREN MURTHA JAMES Special to The Wilmington News Journal 04/06/2006

It's often been called "old-time music," or "music to tap your feet to." It
may also conjure up visions of Bourbon Street and Fat Tuesday.

It's Dixieland music, and a local band is hoping that maybe -- just maybe --
it will make a comeback someday.

The Red Lion Jazz Band, led by nationally-renowned jazz musician Tex
Wyndham, has been playing gigs in the Delaware Valley for more than four
decades. The six-member ensemble comprises Wyndham, bandleader and cornet
player; Steve Barbone, clarinetist; David Kee, bass sax; Pat Meitzler,
banjo; John Tatum, trombone; and Jon Williams, piano.

The band plays a cross-section of American popular music from 1895 into the
1930s, including pop tunes, blues, jazz numbers, marches and ragtime. The
most recognizable songs on their play list include the "war horse" songs,
according to Barbone -- such as "Sweet Georgia Brown," "Lady Be Good" and
"Bill Bailey."

"It's happy music -- the kind that gets your toes tappin' and gets people to
dance," said Barbone.

The Red Lions may best be known for their seven-year run at the Green Room
of the Hotel DuPont and a 13-year history headlining the summer concert
series sponsored by the Rehoboth Beach Delaware Art League. Their first gig
was in July 1964 at a DuPont Co. picnic. Wyndham, has been there from the
beginning. He is the founder of the band and the creator of its name.

"Many revivalist Dixieland bands take their names from where they play," he
said. "Before our first gig, I opened up a map of New Castle County and the
words 'Red Lion' jumped out at me."

The name stuck for good. And the band members have stuck around, too.
Wyndham is not just the bandleader, he's the cornerstone of why the other
members have been drawn to the group.

"Tex and I have known each other since we were 6," said Meitzler, who has
been with the Red Lions about 30 years. "In high school [P.S. du Pont], he
had a Dixieland band, and we would play in his living room," she said. At
the time, Meitzler played the ukulele.

Fast-forward 20 years. "When my youngest son was going to school full time,"
Meitzler said, "I called Tex and asked him 'if I learned to play the banjo,
could I play in his band?' He said 'yes.' "

For some of the other band members, the roots may not be as deep, but the
commitment is.

Barbone, who'd been playing on and off for 55 years, joined the band in
1988.

"I had heard about the band and I called Tex and asked if he needed a
clarinet player," he said. "He's the one responsible for getting me back in
shape to play. After a 28-year layoff [from music], it was actually Tex that
got me to form my own band."

A retired division manager for an auto parts company, Barbone now plays
about five gigs a year with the Red Lions, in addition to the 100-plus gigs
with his own band, The Barbone Street Jazz Band.

Trombone player Jon Tatum met Wyndham at a Dixieland parade, while for
pianist Kee, it was the diversity of the music that drew him to play for the
Red Lions.

"I enjoy the spontaneity of the music," said Kee. "It takes real teamwork to
sound like we do because you have really have to listen to each other."

They must do a pretty good job of working together, because Wyndham admits
that even though the band practices every Tuesday night at his home in
Mendenhall, Pa., they practice for the fun of it. "We do it for our
amusement -- we are very good."

The crowd at the Iron Hill Brewery at the Wilmington Riverfront would second
that notion. The Red Lions played there on Fat Tuesday this year.

Mark Salmons of Wilmington had never heard of the band before, but he was
familiar with the type of music being played.

"I have been to New Orleans," said Salmons, "and this music is reminiscent
of Bourbon Street. It's upbeat and festive."

It's reactions like that which give hope to Meitzler.

"Dixieland is not the most popular type of music," she said. "But I can
remember a time when country and western music wasn't that popular either,
and now look at it. You never know if Dixieland music will make a comeback
someday."