[Dixielandjazz] The 51st Eight

[Steve Barbone]

How were they formed? Because of the work of an activist clarinet player who
just went out and did it. :-) VBG

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


Dixieland jazz helps Nanoose Place

Photo of the band was included with this header

The music may be more than 60 years older than any of the band members, but
that doesn't stop the 51st Eight from bringing to life dixieland jazz. They
play Nanoose Place Sept. 22.

Sep 05 2006 Namaino Bulletin  (B.C. Canada)

To find out how a group of eight teenage musicians began playing music more
than sixty years older than themselves, you must go back to Chilliwack in
1998. 

That's where the first incarnation of the 51st Eight was formed.

In 1998, new music teacher Gary Raddysh added the dixieland band to his
teaching roster. 

Colin Farquhar, a young clarinet player, found that there was no room for
clarinet in his school's jazz band.

After transfering to Chiliwack secondary school, Farquhar took the
initiative among his fellow musicians and, with his music teachers, was able
to establish Chilliwack's Dixieland Combo.

They played whatever they could get their hands on and gradually learned
more about the early forms of jazz.

Their big break came after trumpeter Bria Skonberg joined the band, straight
off a trip to the Mammoth Lakes Jazz Camp. From there, the band was asked to
audition for the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee and became the first Canadian youth
band to perform at the festival. That's also when they adopted their name,
the 51st Eight. 

Since those early years the band has continued to grow musically by making
inroads into the professional dixieland circuit around the northwest.

The 51st Eight performs at Nanoose Place Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are
$18 and available at Mulberry Bookstores, Red Gap Video or by calling Bob
Voshall at 468-1654. The concert is a benefit to raise money for Nanoose
Place, 2925 Northwest Bay Rd.