[Dixielandjazz] Trombone / Tenor Sax Jazz - Redux

[Steve Barbone]

Besides all the old stuff on records with tenor sax players like Bud
Freeman, Eddie Miller et al., playing with trombones in 4 man front lines,
interested list mates might enjoy listening to The current Bobcats group led
by list mate Ed Metz. They use a tenor/trombone combo often in a 4 man front
line. 

I believe they have at least 8 CDs with Tenor/Trombone combinations going
back a decade or more to to the time when Tenor man Bobby (LIps) Levine led
the group. Bobby was a fine tenor player, locally famous, and he knew how to
blend his wonderful tenor sound with trumpet, trombone and clarinet in a
four man front line. Saw him once with Randy Reinhart, who played soprano
sax on one tune, alongside Bobby's Tenor.

When I started to woodshed again in 1988, one of my first gigs was with
Bobby on Tenor, and Alex Watkins on trombone. We had no charts, and no
trumpet on the gig so he played lead and that was wonderful too.

His advice on that gig? Listen, Improvise, Play.

I also remember playing a gig with Bill Barnes on trumpet, Skip Strong on
trombone, me on clarinet and Coleman Hawkins on tenor when I was with the
Southampton Dixie Racing and Clambake Society Jazz Band in 1959 or so. This
was an Uptown New Orleans style band back then and Hawkins knew exactly how
to blend in. We played both The Chant and The Pearls as I recall, along with
the usual George Lewis type stuff.

Yep, the SDRCS. You may remember that they started the Bix Festival in
Davenport Iowa. (after I quit playing and took a 30 year sabbatical)

Cheers,
Steve Barbone