[Dixielandjazz] Sit- Ins

[Stephen G Barbone]

Had fun doing a quartet 4th of July American Songbook Concert this  
afternoon, poolside at the posh Society Hill Towers in Philadelphia.  
We allowed two sit-ins which brought to mind the recent threads about  
the dangers of sit ins. The first one was a guy we knew slightly, Jazz  
drummer Billy Jones, originally from Philadelphia, now living in  
Salinas California. He sat in on a cardboard 5 gallon Ice Cream tub  
with a couple of knives as drumsticks. He did a great job and got a  
hand from the crowd as he traded fours with us. Kind of like this  
youtube scene with him this past May when visiting Philly on his  
birthday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmYlcTWPhPY


Then, a lovely, young (44) black woman came up to sit in as a singer.  
Her name is Iris Fairfax. She had called me the night before asking if  
she could sing with us. She was, she said, a Lyric Coloratura Soprano,  
and going to be there as an invited guest. We agreed on a couple of  
Patriotic Songs, plus maybe some Gershwin and Kern. She knew the keys  
she wanted so I figured what the hell, she sounds professional.

Well, she was unbelievable!!! Sang (in the original keys) outstanding  
versions of Embraceable You, The Man I Love, All The Things You Are,  
God Bless America and America The Beautiful.

She got rousing ovations from both the band and the audience. Little  
wonder, here is part of her bio:

"Recent operatic mainstage credits for the Philadelphia native  
include: Mabel, Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance,  
OperaDelaware, Lucy/Treemonisha cover, Scott Joplin's Treemonisha with  
the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, First Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflote  
with OperaDelaware, Euridice in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld  
at the Trinity Center for Urban Life (Philadelphia, PA), and Violetta  
in Verdi's La Traviata with the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia. She  
also added the role of Susan in Stephen Sondheim's Company to her  
music theater resume (Trinity Center). Miss Fairfax has appeared as a  
featured soloist at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in Wilmington, DE  
(Duke Ellington Sacred Concerts) for the past five summers."

What great fun to play with sit-ins Billy and Iris. In future, I hope  
to add Iris to our band for some concerts and wedding gigs, budgets  
permitting.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband