[Dixielandjazz] Side Street Strutters

[Stephen G Barbone]

This group is arguably one of the most successful OKOM Bands in the  
world. Note the reason they formed in 1982. <grin>

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband


Dixieland band struts its stuff at Furman Park
By John Farrell, Special to the Press-Telegram
Long Beach Press Telegram
Article Launched:08/04/2008 06:09:08 PM PDT
It is the middle of hurricane season.

Nonetheless, you could head down to New Orleans right now, and with a  
little luck, avoid anything like Katrina.

More to the point, it is August, hottest month of the year on the  
Bayou, and in the Big Easy the air is drinking humidity from the  
Mississippi like a thirsty man drinks a Sazerac. Things are hot in New  
Orleans come August, and it isn't because of the all-night partying in  
the French Quarter.

You could head down to Louisiana and ignore the heat and have a great  
time. Or, if the idea of travel in the heat is too exhausting, you  
could head to Downey Wednesday evening, find a parking place not far  
from leafy Furman Park, settle down in the cool shade and enjoy some  
really hot New Orleans music, courtesy of the Side Street Strutters.

Let the band members do all the necessary sweating.

The seven-member band, which will perform at 7 p.m., has been playing  
the sweet, hot music of New Orleans for more than a quarter-century in  
concert halls and outdoor arenas, in New Orleans (of course), across  
Europe and Mexico and, since 1985, in regular concerts at Disneyland,  
where they have become a highly popular tradition.

The Side Street Strutters (they chose the name from the side streets  
of New Orleans) are one of the most successful of Dixieland bands, but  
they began performing together more or less by accident, according to  
Vince Verdi, clarinetist for the group and one of its original  
members. (Five of the seven current members have been with the group  
since it began.)

Verdi, calling from Disneyland, where the group plays five days every  
week, put it this way: "It was a total fluke."

Verdi, his brothers and other band members were all students at  
Arizona State University back in 1982, and "We were looking for a way  
to make a little money for school," he said. "My brother Rob had the  
idea 'Let's play a little jazz.' It was a lot of fun and a success so  
we kept doing it.

"In 1982, we entered a national competition on a fluke and won. That  
gave us a lot of jobs, and we played on television and around the  
country. We decided this was a lot of fun, and we kept doing it."

The Strutters draw their repertory from big band, swing and Dixieland  
music, and over the decades have developed a big repertoire.

"Even after all these years it stays fresh," Verdi said. "The thing  
about jazz is that it is improvisational. You can play it again and  
again and every time it is fresh and new. It has kept us together all  
these years, because it is just fun to play."

That "fun" music has carried the Strutters not only through regular  
performances at Disneyland, but around the country and the world. The  
Strutters' touring season begins in September, and, as Verdi put it,  
they will be performing all over the United States,

"from New Hampshire to Florida, and everywhere else."

In addition to their regular live performances, and seven recordings  
made over the years, they have expanded their performances to include  
pops concerts with local orchestras, including a recent performance  
with the Long Beach Symphony.

Wednesday's free concert will include music chosen from the great hits  
of Dixieland and swing, including "Basin Street Blues," "Just a Little  
Walk with Thee" and the Benny Goodman hit "Swing, Swing, Swing."

BACK TO BOURBON STREET

What: Concert by New Orleans-style jazz band the Side Street Strutters.

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Furman Park, 10419 Rives Ave., Downey.

Admission: Free.

Information: (562) 904-7238.