[Dixielandjazz] Harlem Blues & Jazz Band

[Steve Barbone]

Hello Marek: (who asked about this band)

Saw this blurb on the web. This is essentially the same band I saw a few
years ago. It was a great experience then. This is BLACK SWING JAZZ even
though Pring and Blowers are/were white. If you are interested in the
"Roots" of swing, blues, etc., they are worth a listen.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

Promotional Blurb about a JUNE 16, 2005 Concert they were to perform.

The Harlem Blues & Jazz Band is the world¹s most authentic swing band. It
stars veteran jazz and blues musicians whose roots reach to the classic
period of the 20¹s and 30¹s. Many have been together since 1973, the
³originals² actually ³jumped² at the Woodside, and ³stomped² the Savoy with
Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, ³Fats² Waller,
Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and other jazz greats like Billy Eckstine.
These are the artists who created a new genre of music for America. The
Harlem Blues & Jazz Band, touring since 1976, has been called ³a national
treasure², and has been enthusiastically embraced by audiences around the
world.


EMME KEMP Piano, Vocalist
Ms. Emme Kemp knows how to form a melody from her success writing the lyric
for the title song BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR (she also acted a lead role) and was
Mama in the national tour of RAISIN. Ms. Kemp also wrote and presented,
³SOMEONE TO SING TO²,²GOSPEL FEELIN'² and ³EUBIE BLAKE IS GREAT!² as musical
theater. In 1999 she received the ³Outstanding Pioneer Award² from AUDELCO.

JOHNNY BLOWERS (93) who was unable to attend last year¹s event due to a mild
heart attack will play his drum solo arrangement of ³Caravan². Johnny spent
11 years touring with Frank Sinatra after a stint with Louis Armstrong.
Drummer Shelton Gary will also guest because of his impeccable swing time in
the tradition of Joe Jones. (STEVE'S NOTE: He also played with EVERY OKOM
band in NYC during the 1920s and 1930s. Had Krupa not been on the scene,
Blowers would be the drummer everyone raves about. I played with him a few
times and it was wonderful. He passed away in August 2006 and was the last
of the great Swing Era drummers)

FRED STATON Tenor Sax
Fred Staton has performed with vocalist bandleader Billy Eckstine, Howard
³Sticks² McGee, drummer Art Blakey, pianist Errol Garner, the Harlem dance
troupe Mama Lu Parks and Her Savoy Lindy Hoppers and with his diva sister
Dakota Staton. (STEVE's NOTE - He is a blues oriented player. Don't let the
Blakey gigs fool you. Think Lindy Hoppers)

JOEY MORANT Trumpet
CD ³Better Late Than Never² demonstrates his all around talent at Showman's
on West 125th Street every Thursday for the tap jam featuring his vocals and
two trumpet acrobatics.

BOBBY PRING Trombone
An original member of Loren Schoenberg¹s PBS Benny Goodman Band and Bobby
Short¹s Café Caryle Band. (STEVE'S NOTE: I worked with Bobby Pring in the
1990's. He is superb, not a wrong note in his horn and he swung his ass off.
Also a NYC studio musician and pit band member for Broadway Shows.)
 
MICHAEL ³MAX² FLEMING String Bass
Max Fleming has performed with pianist Mary Lou Williams and dancer
entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon, Clifford
Jackson, trumpeter Chet Baker and Billy Eckstine.

GUESTS 
Dan Kassell, a Swing Jazz clarinet stylist, has performed with Al Casey, Red
Richards, John Williams, Jr, Johnny Blowers, Jackie Williams, and in San
Francisco with ragtime pianist Burt Bales, trumpeter Robin Hodes and
trombonist Mal Sharpe.