Swing Dixie Jazz Band
lunch at the
Grafton Inn, September 27, 2008
Note: We lost Bud Trow March 2008.
| The Swing Dixie Jazz Band played at The Grafton Inn, at the center of beautiful, historic Grafton,
Massachusetts for a fine lunch and some great Swing, Dixie, and
Blues on September 27, 2007.
You'll recognize the
musicians, they've been playing in New England for some time: Wes
 Trow-tenor sax and clarinet, Jim Coulter-trumpet,
Bud Trow-trombone, the ladies Esther Trow-keyboard, and Alice Caldwell-string bass,
Tom Fee and Allen Padwa-banjo. Many vocalists.
Deep-set into swing of the 20s and 30s, Alice Caldwell explained that they
spend a good deal of time searching for the verses and play them
often because "They enhance the music". These elite
musicians convey the essence of that era.
They immediately jumped into swing with After You've Gone,
starting with excellent
ensemble, then solos on clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and piano. Pennies From Heaven. Mean To Me.
Tom Fee was featured
vocalist on Staying Out Of Mischief Now - which
if you know Tom, is utterly impossible.
They picked up the tempo for a quality arrangement of Cole Porter's
1934 Anything Goes, the clarinet starting with the
verse, augmented by
the piano, and then coming together in a delightful duet.
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Allen Padwa and Tom Fee
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They lingered in the 1920s with Allen Padwa (left),
their music librarian, sound engineer, and fine rhythm player,
playing solo on the 1924 Why Do You Do Me Like You Do,
and the banjos taking the break at the choke chorus.
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Jim Coulter plays an imaginative and versatile trumpet, and took the vocal on Baby,
Won't You Please Come Home.
The ensemble played an excellent version of Birth Of The Blues,
beginning with a fine verse, Alice walking the bass. Bud Trow, leader of the Tuxedo Classic Jazz Band
that was very popular in the 1970's, plays weekly with various bands in this area. He took a heartwarming trombone
solo on I'm confessing, accompanied by his brother Wes, on
stirring tenor sax. They picked up the tempo again with Tom Fee's vocal on
Brown Eyes, Why Are You Blue, and
Who's Sorry Now. Mobile featured Bud again on
trombone and vocal.
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They progressed up to 1931 with All Of Me,
with Wes's expressive notes on gut wrenching tenor sax.
The band picked up Hoagie Carmichael's
Up a Lazy River, and then changed to the blues with a
splendid Dallas Blues.
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After a break, they
returned with some fine Dixieland, with the whole front line singing Won't You
Come Home, Bill Bailey? and Dukes' It Don't Mean a Thing.
Rose Room featured Wes on beautiful, low register, clarinet, then Bud
took the vocal on Last Night On The Back Porch.
| Coulter had the vocal on a nice, bouncy, Kansas City
Kitty, followed by another bouncy 1927 Me And My Shadow
complete with choke chorus, nice muted trumpet and great sax.
Two genteel banjo players, strumming at the rear of
the band. |
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Remember Radio?
This crowd grew up with it. Wes did the vocals on Radio and named all
our
favorite radio programs of the 30's and 40's. Then they lightened up a bit
with trumpet lead and clarinet flitting around him, Bud on nice tail gate
trombone on
Sunday. |
Alice gave Bud and Tom a duet on Yes Sir, That's
My Baby, with Alan playing solo on banjo. Tom wasn't sure what part he was supposed to sing
(he said), he
let Bud take the melodic lead and respectfully followed with some
nice harmony. Great fun! The ensemble returned on Angry with Wes
taking the vocal and Jim playing fine trumpet. Then they did their own
arrangement of Dinah, with Tom on vocal, that finished with a most
unusual ending that we won't even talk about - but they're going to
work on it and try it again.
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Irving Berlin's 1927 Blue Skies was a nice danceable tune, and
as always,
Hess was dancing with the ladies, this time with another Alice,
a fan of the band. It was September, and we had a full week of beautiful
sunshine, but it was great listening and dancing to September In The Rain.
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Alice brought a guessing game for the fans - the band played the
verse of a very well known tune, and coaxed us to name it. No
one could, and we kicked ourselves when the band slipped into the old
standard,
I
Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby. They closed with Dream
A Little Dream Of Me, asking folks "if they would like this jazz lunch to continue"
please return .......... These are fine musicians,
but they don't take themselves too seriously, and have a lot of fun.
They all belong to at least one other band, Tuxedo Classic, Dixie Diehards, High Society
(a ten piece
Orchestra,) We Three, Cranberry Jam, Blue Birds. Tom Fee is former
director of the Stone Street Strummers, and still plays with them and
the Amoskeag Strummers. Wes & Esther are the Blue Birds at
Bull Run Restaurant once a month and Twin Oaks in Sterling for
dancing to the music of the 50's.
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by Marce, 4/30/08
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