[Dixielandjazz] Jazzticots (and the Reedwarmers) / Elkhart Jazz Fest

[Kathleen Cavera]

Hi Everyone - 
I just got back from Indiana.  I was in the Midwest
for a week visiting my family and then playing at the
Elkhart Jazz Festival this past weekend. ( I was there
with the Mighty Aphrodite Jazz Band.)  When I was
growing up in Indiana I had a hard time finding live
traditional jazz and I can't tell you how happy I am
that they have such a well run little festival there
every summer.  They do a very nice job of bringing in
a mix of different groups and all-stars, and different
styles of jazz.  And the largest stage/venue is an
open air venue in the middle of downtown which is free
to the public.  The only thing I didn't really see was
a venue with a dance floor (which didn't seem to deter
people that really wanted to dance).  Anyway I had a
great time and if we have listmates in the Midwest who
haven't been to it yet I hope you'll give it a try.  I
know the ticket prices are a little steep compared to
other festivals but I think you get a lot of value for
your money and you can always check out the free venue
and/or get a day badge if you'd like to give it a
look.

Also since I've been email free for a week I'm
catching up on my mailing list and I wanted chime in
about the Jazzticots and Reedwarmers.  I had the
pleasure of meeting and playing with Stéphane Gillot
and Aurélie Tropez while I was in Paris.  The are the
front people in the Reedwarmers which is a Jimmie Noon
style band. Stéphane does all the arrangements and
Aurélie plays all the Jimmie Noon stuff.  They do a
really great job of it and you can hear them on their
website and YouTube and they've done a couple CDs for
Stomp Off.  

The Jazzticots is a family band of sorts.  Aurélie's
dad plays tuba in the band, and her younger sister
Deborah is the percussionist.  (They also have two
younger sisters (twins) that haven't started playing
anything yet but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw
them in the band in the future!) Unfortunately I
didn't get a chance to play with Deborah but I did
meet her as well.  And she explained the band name to
me which I was curious about.  "Asticot" means 'worm'
in French and so "Jazzticot" is a play on words.  (I
asked her if they played 'Snake Rag'...)  Anyway they
don't have a website but they have some very nice
videos on YouTube including one where Deborah really
tears up the washboard.  If I get back to Paris I hope
I have a chance to play with her as well as Stéphane
and Aurélie again.  I really wish there were some sort
of musicians exchange program so we could bring people
like this to the states to play.  I know they'd go
over well and it would be a great musical/cultural
exchange as well.  I also know that sometimes it's
hard enough to get the Canadians across the border to
play with us so I can't even imagine how much red tape
would be involved in getting the French musicians over
here.  Maybe Gary Kaiser can enlighten me!
- Katie Cavera
http://www.katiecavera.net/
http://www.youtube.com/kcavera