[Dixielandjazz] A Night at Nick's

[Stephen G Barbone]

> "Marek Boym" <marekboym at gmail.com> wrote
>
> Hello listmates,
> If you have not yet heard the programme, better hurry - it's
> excellent, and will enable you to hear Steve Barbone reminiscing about
> Nick's.

Thanks Marek.

But more importantly, you'll hear Johnny Varro and others reminiscing  
and you'll hear some mighty good music from Jim Cullum's Band with  
Kenny Davern, Ken Peplowski and others. Plus some wonderful clarinet  
by Sidney Bechet, circa 1940.  Bechet was a regular at Nick's early on  
appearing there with a conventional trio, and then later with his  
quartet which included 2 electric guitars.  (early 1940's I think)  
Quite a modern set-up for those days.

There is a neat story on the show about Teagarden showing up one night  
that Bechet was there with his trio. Teagarden and a gal, sat  
listening for a few minutes, then Tea went and got his horn from the  
car. He then proceeded to play a one hour duet with Bechet from his  
table.

That little blurb of mine about Tony Sbarbaro was fun and you can  
imagine how exciting it was for me to meet,  talk with, and get to  
know a guy who was there with the ODJB at the very beginning of  
recorded jazz.

The drummer in the band I played with back then, (Dick Sherman) took  
some lessons from Sbarbaro. Tony, who was always interested in helping  
young musicians, did not charge him. He told Dick who lived 50 miles  
away on Long Island, from Tony's pad in NYC:

"Just buy the train tickets (Long Island RR) for me and my wife. Meet  
me at your train station. Your wife can make tea and crumpets for them  
while you and I fool around on your drums."

And so it was. Sbarbaro & wife would travel to Dick's cottage in  
Bayshore, overlooking the Great South Bay, late Saturday mornings, and  
then back to NYC in the late afternoon to make his Nick's gig. It was  
a nice outing for his wife who enjoyed the repartee and some time in  
the countryside of the South Shore.

He gave Dick about 10 lessons and then said: "Well, you've absorbed  
all I can teach you and you keep good time. There is no sense  
continuing lessons with me".

Tony Sbarbaro (Spargo) a wonderful drummer and a wonderful man. Full  
of life and full of humor.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

www.barbonestreet.com
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband