[Dixielandjazz] RE: Cubs Band Article

[Shortuba at aol.com]

John -

Thanks for the link to the article about Ted Butterman's band at Wrigley.  In 
the period from 1982-86, Mike Walbridge was the tubist in the band, and if he 
couldn't make it, he would call me in Evanston, and I would ride the EL down 
to the ball park (better than paying for parking, but I felt a little self - 
conscious with a sousaphone on the train.  Nobody really noticed).

It was alway an experience playing at Wrigley - and when you got out to the 
bleachers, you KNEW there was a party going on!  And I know about cold - 
opening day in either '84 or '85 had us sitting officially in the front row in the 
bleachers, but there had been a foot of snow the night before, and they just 
pushed the snow where our feet were supposed to go!

Somebody told me once that Ted had learned all his tunes playing with 
recordings on a record player that was not quite playing at the right speed, so all 
his fingerings were wrong.  Conn made a B cornet for him so that he could play 
with the rest of us.  I didn't quite believe that until I started watching his 
fingerings, and sure enough, he was in a different key (mentally) than we 
were.  A charity Cubs gig we played confirmed this - when Ted got to the gig, his 
cornet was not in the trunk of his car.  Mike Bezin of the West End Jazz Band 
was with us that night, with his own band playing somewhere else later.  He 
lent his B flat horn to Ted, who warned us that we were in for a wild ride.  
Tom Fisher on clarinet, Mike and Leah Bezin (on banjo) and myself on tuba found 
that we had to play "Saints" in F sharp.  I'd always wanted to do something 
like that, but to do it for an entire three hours...!!!

Anyway, glad to see that Ted is still kicking (haven't seen him since I left 
town in 1986), and that my buddy Tom Bartlett (the best trombonist I know!) is 
still there, too.

Mike Short
Des Moines, IA