Eli’s Hot Six celebrate his 75th Birthday at Scullers

Ali with tuba and big smile

Eli Newberger

 

Eli & The Hot 6  celebrated Eli’s upcoming 75th Birthday with style at Sculler’s Jazz Club on December 17, 2015.  The 8pm show sold out in no time and they had to add another at 10pm.  The music at Scullers was up to their best,

The Boston Globe published an article December 29th by Bella English: “Tuba in hand, acclaimed physician Dr. Eli Newberger delights in his first passion.” 

 

© Photos by Eric Antoniou  www.ericantoniou.com/

The Hot Six feature some of Boston’s finest, legendary musicians: Eli Newberger on tuba, Bob Winter on piano, Herb Gardner on trombone, Bo Winiker on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ted Casher on clarinet, soprano and tenor saxes, Jimmy Mazzy on banjo and vocals, Carolyn Newberger on washboard, Jeff Guthery on drums, Rebecca Sullivan vocals.

6-pc trad jazz band and vocalist

Eli and The Hot Six with Rebecca Sullivan

Eli & The Hot Six’s approach honors the New Orleans tradition of ensemble improvising while featuring the solo brilliance of its distinctive, contemporary musical personalities.

Videos of Eli and The Hot Six with Rebecca Sullivan at Sculler’s Jazz Club are on Eli Newberger’s You Tube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/EliNewberger.

Eli wrote:
“The music is stunningly beautiful and swings like mad.  Everyone is both at ease and acutely tuned in, projecting emotional pinpoints and delivering  delightful surprises.

Rebecca’s treatment of Ira Gershwin’s verses is unbelievably touching.  Bob is like an Impressionist painter, deploying the whole piano as his palette, mixing stunning new colors and inventing heavenly harmonic washes in his solos.  Herb’s punchy singing of “You Cares” sounds like he’s channeling Henry “Red” Allen, especially in his ironic take on Ira’s immortal line, “Who cares if banks are failing in Yonkers, when it’s your kiss that conquers?”

Ted, Jimmy, and Bo are so focused the ensemble — and vice versa–  that even their brilliant solos (and there are too many to count) weave new threads into the gorgeous fabric of improvising:

Ted, for example, quotes Count Basie’s “Lil’ Darling” and Bob tosses it all over 3 choruses later in his pianistic evocation of the whole Basie band, even as Jeff does his best Jo Jones. Bo performs  2 “stop choruses” that ignite lightening storms — with flashes of instrumental accents through the remaining portions of those songs.

Jimmy shouts 3 fantastic final choruses on “St. Louis Blues,” (ending with an exalting Mazzy scream of “I love that gal like a schoolboy loves his pie, like a Kentucky colonel loves his rock and rye!” that Frank Cunningham was obliged to compress — because Jimmy almost lifted the track off the mixing board).  This makes Ted into a Texas tenor and transforms Herb into a tailgate tiger. (Programming note: I included this W.C. Handy song both because he so influenced Gershwin, but because the “Summertime” melody uncannily resembles Handy’s second, minor, strain.  And  in real time at Scullers, I asked Rebecca to sing “Summertime” next (and did she ever!), but I refrained from pointing this out, so as not to shatter the mood.”

Ted Casher, Bo Winiker, Herb Gardner

Ted Casher, Bo Winiker, Herb Gardner

 

Rebecca in strapless black gown singing

Rebecca Sullivan

 

 

 

Jazz singer Rebecca Sullivan added an additional instrumental voice to the ensemble, in addition to her own deeply-felt interpretations of iconic vocal masterpieces.

 

 

 

Eli tuba, Jimmy singing, Jeff in back on drums

Jimmy Mazzy and Eli Newberger have been together for years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob smiling at piano

Bob Winter, master improviser

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caroline playing old washboard around her neck with spoons

Carolyn Newberger

 

 

 

Washboard Artist Carolyn Newberger Strikes Up The Band on washboard.

 

 

 

 

Carolyn and Rebecca chortling after Bob Winter’s and Carolyn’s humorous piano-washboard “conversation” on “Strike Up the Band!”  It was one of the high points of the first set at Scullers!

Carolyn and Rebecca laughing in front of band

Bo, eyes closed, playing trumpet

Bo Winiker

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ted Casher on tenor sax

Ted Casher

 

 

 

 

 

 

Herb on trombone

Herb Gardner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff on drums with sticks flying

Jeff Guthery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eli joined Bob for 4-hand piano on “St. Louis Blues.”

Eli and Bob playing four-handed piano

Bob shares piano with Eli

Eli and The Hot Six forthcoming public performances are all at Ristorante Primavera, 20 Pleasant St. Millis, MA 7 to 9:30 as always.
January 14
March 19
April 14

 

Professional Photographer Eric Antoniou caught beautiful photos despite the low light. Frank Cunningham’s preliminary CD cuts are nearly all top notch, so a Hot Six Gershwin CD is going to happen, soon!  Stay tuned.

Eli and The Hot Six, with Rebecca Sullivan and Butch Thompson, by Rich Bizier

7 pc Trad Jazz Band & Rebecca

Eli and The Hot Six with Butch Thompson and Rebecca Sullivan at Sculler’s Jazz Club –         Photos by Marce

Christopher Lydon

WGBH’s Christopher Lydon was at Yale with Eli and Carolyn

 

 

 

The occasion was a benefit for Kids For Harmony at Scullers Jazz Club hosted by WBUR’s Christopher Lydon and the packed house was treated to a terrific evening of music by Eli and the Hot Six with special guest Rebecca Sullivan.

The Hot Six is a relatively new combo from tubist Eli Newberger, drawing from some of the best players on the traditional jazz scene. This performance featured a surprise appearance from Butch Thompson sitting in on piano and clarinet.  Regular Hot Six pianist Bob Winter had a prior commitment that evening with the Boston Pops.

Eli sprinkled informative and entertaining commentary between songs, and directed the soloists from this fine band throughout the evening.

Rebecca Sullivan singing

Rebecca Sullivan

 

Rebecca Sullivan took the spotlight occasionally during the set, a welcome presence from a lovely singer who showcased songs from an all-Gershwin show the Hot Six will be performing at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield this coming June.  Ted Casher, an excellent clarinetist, really shined with his turns on tenor sax.

Bo on trumpet with handkerchief like Louis

Bo Winiker sings and plays Hello Dolly

 

A surprise highlight was Bo Winiker channeling Armstrong with a pitch perfect rendition of Hello Dolly on top of Jimmy Mazzy’s banjo, Bo going out with a ringing trumpet solo.

Jimmy lent his voice to a long and languid version of the classic St. James Infirmary that included plenty of solo space for the band.

Jimmy and Eli

Jimmy sings

Butch Thompson at piano

Butch Thompson from Minneapolis

 

 

Butch Thompson delivered exquisite solo piano renditions of Willie the Lion Smith and Jelly Roll Morton numbers.

 

 

 

 

The piano chair was also occupied by Eli during a trio performance with Butch on clarinet, and later trombonist Herb Gardner tickled the keys while Thompson joined the horn section.

Eli on piano, Butch clarinet

Eli takes over piano

Rounding out the evening was a delightful washboard performance by Carolyn Newberger and a brush solo on I Got Rhythm from drummer Jeff Guthery.

Eli & The Hot Six with Rebecca Sullivan will be Swingin’ Gershwin at the Barrington Stage Company’s Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield, MA on Monday, June 22nd, and the Hot Six will return to Primavera Ristorante, 20 Pleasant St. Millis MA on Thursday, June 25th.