Saturday, June 20 - Chicago SummerDance

OK, its time to get back into the swing of this! I've been lazy about posting the minutia of all our gigs. So I hereby declare us 'back in the saddle', with notes from our performance on opening weekend of the City of Chicago's SummerDance Series. 

This has to be the coolest gig on our yearly calendar. Astute readers of these notes might recall that last year's performance at Navy Pier was prematurely cancelled because of some wicked bad storms that passed thru. We were sorely disappointed. 

This year, the wicked bad storms blew thru on Friday night. Saturday was about as perfect as perfect can be. Clear, blue skies, no humidity, nothing but sunshine and the backdrop this great city of ours. The only drawback was the travel situation. Not only was there a Puerto Rican Day Parade going on downtown, but Soldier Field was hosting The Eagles and the Dixie Chicks less than a mile away.

While our favorite dance instructors, Riley and Margot, gave a one hour jitterbug lesson, we followed tradition and made our way across the street to Kitty O'Shea's for some preshow imbibing. By the time we got rolling at 7:30pm, the park was packed with dancers of all ages.

How will this gig be remembered ten years from now? Probably by describing the hectic moments during our introduction. As our host Carlos Tortelerro from the City of Chicago Dept of Cultural Affiars is introducing us, our lovely Megan starts waving that her piano is dead. Just like that. 10 seconds to downbeat and we have no piano. Now Megan, being the professional that she is, actually brought a spare piano to the gig because, in her words, "the FP-8 was acting funny the other night". In moves right out of a Nascar pitstop, we had those pianos swapped out with the absolute minimum of stalling from Carlos.

The Chicago Tribune posted some great pictures on their Metromix site. See them here.

SET 1

I Can't Stop Loving You, Let The Good Times Roll, L-O-V-E, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Beyond the Sea, Choo Choo Ch' Boogie, The Very Thought of You, Main Stem, Why Don’t You Do Right, Blues in Frankie's Flat, Lady Is A Tramp, More, Mack the Knife

SET 2

Everyday I Have The Blues, Boogie Blues, Undecided, And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine, Corner Pocket, American Patrol, Ain't That A Kick In The Head, Straighten Up and Fly Right, Sway, Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby, It Should've Been Me, Caldonia 

 

Monday, Feb 2, 2010 Hackneys

Great couple of sets tonight, and another full house of listeners. Again, we spent the practice polishing up stuff we've already introduced. Oh, and there seems to be trumpet..... ah never mind.

Set 1
Artistry in Boogie, Satin Doll, That’s My Style, Caribbean Clipper, The Man I Love, Things Ain't What They Used To Be, Pick Yourself Up, Undecided, Only You, Please Don’t Talk About Me,

Mack the Knife

Set 2

Basie, Straight Ahead, Corner Pocket, A-Tisket A-Tasket, Tenor Madness, Drum Boogie, Boogie Blues, Stolen Moments, Cheek to Cheek, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, Alright OK

Monday, January 11, 2010 Hackneys

Sometimes its just a smokin band, and a smokin set, and a happy, appreciative audience. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. Technically we played no new charts, but we went thru to start polishing up the ones we've introduced this year.

Set 1
C Jam Blues, Shiny Stockings, Opus One, That Old Black Magic, Makin Whoopie, Cottontail, Travelin Light, 720 In the Books, It Had To Be You, Nice n Easy, Every Day I Have The Blues

Set 2

Salt Peanuts, Let The Good Times Roll, Main Stem, Almost Like Being in Love, Stella By Starlight

Come Rain Or Come Shine, Flight of the Foo Bird, You're Nobody Till Somebody, On The Street, Eager Beaver, Do Nothin Till you Hear From Me.

Dec 7, 2009 - Hackney's Swing Session

We had a great band in the house tonight, and the Christmas Spirit is slowly creeping into our bells. Talk about your serious trumpet sections, we not only had Terry Connell, but Kirk Garrison as well. Mercy. As promised in last month's post, Filthy McNasty made a comeback and was resplendent in its groovieness.

Gina Knight sat in as 1st Drum call extraordinairre, and swang hard, baby. Vince, Ed and Claudia got to pull out their once a year vocal trio, Santa Claus, Baby.

Set 1

O Christmas Tree, Down For Double, I'm Beginning To See The Ligh, '720' in the Books, Christmas Time Is Here, Bei Mir Bist Du Schon, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Sway, Perdido, Nice n Easy, More

Set 2
Jingle Bell Jazz, Santa Claus Baby, Boogie Blues, 9:20 Special, Just In Time, Jersey Bounce, Filthy McNasty, Why Don’t You Do Right, Our Love Is Here To Stay, Choo Choo Ch Boogie, Roseland Shuffle

Nov 5, 2009 - Hackney's Swing Session

To our great amusement, things got off to a rocky start tonight. While the band opened with a nice deep swingin Splanky, our guitarist Rob decided to start his night with A Train, which didn't really work too well. A Train changes over a Splanky intro sounds "all messed up and stuff". We all got a good laugh and moved on to the aforementioned A Train, where pianist Meg promptly played the old Nestico arrangment instead of the new and improved one. So instead of the nice piano intro everyone knows and loves, we got a thundering whole note. I tell the guys to turn in old charts when we replace them, but no one listens. Time to clean the books out. And while I'm at it, what the hell is it with Filthy McNasty? We've tried to play this chart every month for half the year, but it keeps changing numbers and disappearing from books. Its like some evil force is saying "oh no you don't'. As God is my witness, this chart will be performed in December.

The joint was jumpin and all tables were filled, which is always nice. The group from Arlington Heights made another drive out to hear us, God bless 'em, and OJDrummer #2 Gina Knight even came out for the hang. She brought with her a young man visiting from Germany. She sat in for a few numbers, and really sounded great on Cottontail.

Set 1
Splanky, A Train, Orange Colored Sky, Rockabye Basie, Come Rain Or Come Shine, Shortstop, Sophisticated Lady, Pick Yourself Up, You Don’t Know Me, Please Don’t Talk About Me, On The Street

Set 2
I Can't Stop Loving You, Every Day I Have The Blues, Sing Sing, Cottontail, The Very Thought of You, I Could Write A Book, Come Fly With Me, Big Spender

October 9 , 2009 - Ritz Carlton Chicago

The Ritz Carlton is a wonderfully run venue, with a great, attentive staff who work hard to make the experience a pleasant one. That being said, it is still the absolute worst load in ever. We complain every time we come here, but it is what is. This time around, the equipment transportation/load-in/set-up responsibilities fell to Vince and John because Chris went to Disney.

V & J, being the rock solid dependable folk that they are, left at 4:15pm, hoping to get there at 5:30, after telling the catering staff they'd be there at 5:45, and contracting for a 6:30pm arrival. Get all that? Traffic and rain made travel just brutal, so we got there at 6:45. Thats right, 2 and a half hours to get from Orland to downtown. After a frantic set up, following 4 trips thru the bowels of the Ritz (video here), Vince & John retired to the employee locker room, where John enjoyed a refreshing shower before returning to the ballroom.

As always, the Cystic Fibrosis people put on a great event. WGN's Jackie Bange was the mistress with the mostest, and was a charming emcee. This year's crowd was very lively and hung out all the way thru midnight. Gina Knight rocked the house on drums, Chris Gorcik brought in a beautiful wooden electric upright bass, and the bone section featured the tandem sub duo of Rich and April. We were on, chart after chart, no fillers - relentless swing baby, and the crowd loved it. I will say this, this sort of gig tells me that the Monday night rehearsals are worth it.

So, back to the equipment truck. Vince took a calculated risk and left the truck parked down in the loading area of the Ritz. It was tucked away in an inconspicuous spot, but illegally parked nonetheless. No worries, we came down and found the truck where we left it.

We should have left well enough alone. But no. So we finished loading out at around 1am. Vince, John and Ed decide it had been awhile since a visit to our old haunt, the South Loop Club. We had several delicious beverages and a nice order of cheese fries. Vince played some Little Feat on the jukebox, and then we left.

The truck is gone.

Hilarity ensues as John and Vince realize that the truck, and all the equipment, is gone, and start yelling for Ed, who has walked off the other way. One thing about Outcasts, we are a silver lining lot, so instead bemoaning the fact that we'd been towed, we looked on the bright side and talked about how thankful we were that the truck wasn't stolen. Thanks to Ed for driving us to 17th and Western. Here we see Vince at 2:20am, asking for the '1st Tow Free' special. The clerk was not amused. Talk about a buzz killer.

October 5, 2009 - Hackney's Swing Session

Its good to be back, people! Good to be back! We only took the month of September off, but it seemed much longer. Very nice to have young Ms Knight back in the Monday night fold, however temporary it may be. Our thoughts go out to her worthy constituent, Steve Hawk, who underwent back surgery last week.

We played some really challenging material tonight, most notably 'Tickle Toe' and 'Perdido'. Tickle Toe has a wicked, wicked sax soli that we're going to nail eventually. It'll make a great opener. Basie's Down for Double worked out very well, although the bass part was missing a measure or two. And Perdido, well we got to open up on Perdido. Rob Zetl brought home a serious couple of choruses on guitar, and was matched by Terry Connell and Bruce Gibson on trumpet and tenor sax respectively.

Near the end of the night, the pretty waitresses were left in charge of the building, at which point they became convinced that there was a knife wielding intruder hiding in the back of the kitchen, because they kept hearing noises. We left, so I hope that turned out ok for them.

Set 1

Artistry in Boogie, Shiny Stockings, Why Don’t You Do Right, 9:20 Special, I'm Beginning To See The Light, Meditation, I Only Have Eyes For You, Down For Double, Best Is Yet To Come, I Get A Kick Out Of You, More, Moten Swing

Set 2

Tickle Toe, Almost Like Being in Love, Perdido, Boogie Blues, Sway, Lean Baby, Cheek to Cheek, Alright OK

Sept 5, 2009 - River East Arts Center

This one had us a bit worried. The River East Arts Center is a beautiful facility right on the River Walk in downtown Chicago, however the main room is filled with marble and glass, and there's two levels but no ceiling between them - so it's just a big open space. We were certain the sound would be bouncing all over the place.

The evening started at 4:30p as Chris and Vince arrived with the equipment. There is a combo for the cocktails and dinner. Dinner and dancing will be downstairs, cocktails will be upstairs and out on the patio overlooking the river. To accommodate the multiple locations for cocktails, Vince and Chris had to run a speaker up one level, down a short hallway and out a window. No sweat. Actually, a lot of sweat, but it was a humid day. We got the small group up and running just in time, and Bruce Gibson played a wicked sax.

The first dance was sung by the bride's good friend. She did a karaoke version of 'At Last', and she did a pretty good job for karaoke. The 18 of us just smiled and looked good while she sang.

Gina vs the Drum Book: I know this has been brought up before, but Gina has some sort of

aversion to putting her music back in order. Its like pulling teeth. Usually her Ma Lu-Lu does it, but

with Ma not makin' the scene, what's a girl to do? So here we are, breaking down at the end of the night, and I look over to see an obviously inebriated gentleman rifling thru a music folio. For a moment I think I am witnessing some sort of weird robbery, or a drunk's quest for a souvenir, but then it occurs to me: HE'S PUTTING MUSIC AWAY, NOT TAKING IT! And he's unsteady with a Heineken at his side. So I'm on it. "Really, Gina? Really?" She laughs and shrugs. GA! GK, it's really not that hard! If we play number 49 in the book, it needs to be put back between numbers 48 and 50. Seriously, c'mon! I've never seen a wedding guest called into action in that manner before. Look at the picture. You know he's thinking to himself, "How the hell did i get talked into this?". And look at the look on the waiter's face. He's thinking the exact same thing. All in all, though, it was a good gig in a good facility with a great staff.

August 30, 2009 - Frankfort Concert on the Green

Not much to say about this little shin dig. We've been closing the Frankfort Concert Series for 22 years now, and its always an adventure. The sound up on stage was horrendous (outdoor performances are the worst!), but apparently it sounded great from the crowd side. People raved and, as Vince said during the show, we brought out our 'A' game for the people of Frankfort.

After defending himself the night before by stating he'd 'only been late to the Frankfort show once in 22 years', Peter McCormack was late. Flat tire coming from the Mother-in-Law's. Yup. And to top it off, he specifically requested that we perform Count Basie's

'Queen Bee' for his daughter Brigid, who is his Queen Bee. He arrived as we were playing it. D'oh!

John Ruf and Joey Rossi showed up in street clothes, so while the rest of us were resplendent in

our classic blacks, they looked silly. And three quarters of the trumpet section showed up, like, 3 minutes before downbeat. What the hell is up with that?

It was nice to have Stacy Williams-Jackson playing bass with us again. She's the Music Dept chair at Lincoln-Way Central, so she's a local fave. Now her kids can totally make fun of her for playing old people music.

Vince's youngest son, Keegan, decided to join his dad on stage for the last number, 'Late In the Evening', and had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand as he waved and smiled from his dad's arms while Dad sang.

1 Big Set
Kick In The Head, Jumpin at the Woodside, The Queen Bee, LOVE. Intermission Riff, The Very Thought of You, String of Pearls, Fly Me To the Moon, Is You Is, Mack the Knife, Almost Like Being In Love, Pennsylvania 6500, Straighten Up and Fly Right, And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine, One Mint Julep, This Can't Be Love, Choo Choo 'Ch Boogie, It Should've Been Me, American Patrol, Big Noise From Winnetka, The Lady Is A Tramp, Moondance, Late in the Evening

August 26, 2009 - Wednesday Night SMACK DOWN!

Mercy, that was fun! It was the annual no holds barred, bare knuckle, knock down, drag out battle of the big bands, as we traded swinging sets all night with the venerable Brass Trax Big Band. Tom Fox's merry bunch of blowers plays at Hackney's every Wednesday night, along with special guests (us tonight).

Dan Gorski in the house, but he refuses to have anything more than three beers. Nancy.

Another OJBAlum crawls out of the woodwork - Daniel Deacy, tenor Sax from WAY back - now sporting a cool old fashioned Irish moustache and a penchant for Guinness, me thinks.

Brass Trax blew serious chops all night - most notably a Gordon Goodwin chart called (Something) IV. Gotta find that one. Kudos to Steve Hawk and Keith Brady, who both pulled double duty in the rhythm section, on drum and bass respectively. I suppose if we had to chose a highlight, it would be the reemergence of 'Late In The Evening', a chart that has fallen by the wayside as we work thru rhythm section personnel changes. Here's hoping that one stays - we nailed it pretty good.

Rumor has it Phil Enns and Keith Bauman closed the place down around 2a. OJB likes that. Thumbs up! And god bless those sassy waitresses. They are fun and attentive to our needs as a band with an unquenchable thirst.

Set 1

Let The Good Times Roll, Don’t Be That Way, And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine, American Patrol, Travelin Light, Main Stem, I Only Have Eyes For You, Come Fly With Me, Caledonia

Set 2

Every Day I Have The Blues, Intermission Riff, Route 66, The Very Thought Of You, Big Noise From Winnetka, Lady Is A Tramp, Is You Is My Baby, Late In The Evening

August 3, 2009 - Hackney's Swing Session

Maybe it was a full moon? Certainly not the Blue Moons! We've had better sessions, but that's kind of the point. Sometimes the charts just don't work (Blue Monk), sometimes its best to let them fade off and disappear (Bizet Has His Day), and sometimes they play themselves like butter (Everyday I Have The Blues).

Claudia's 'Pick Yourself Up' sounded much better the second time around. And Tisket Tasket also seems to have found its groove. Finally!

There was a little tension in the rhythm section tonight, and tempos

fluctuated as the battle played itself out. Also, we had 5, count 'em 5, trumpets in the house, which left Terry Connell on the sidelines for parts of the first set, and that just ain't right!

Special note to Alex Blomarz - chicks dig bald heads. So now that the chemo treatments are done, you might want to consider making this an everyday look.

Drink of the night was Blue Moon. Hackney's waitresses are the best!

Set 1
St Louis Blues March, 9:20 Special. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon, Little Brown Jug, Pick Yourself Up, Bizet Has His Day, Lady Is A Tramp, Blue Monk, Come Fly With Me, Just In Time, Mack The Knife

Set 2

Every Day I Have The Blues, Big Noise From Winnetka, A Tisket A Tasket, Shorty George, Sun Valley Jump, Route 66 Vox, Hot Toddy, I Only Have Eyes For You, I Could Write A Book, Let The Good Times Roll

July 13, 2009 - Hackney's Swing Session

There was something in the air that night, oh lord, oh lord. Can't quite put my finger on it, but there was a certain electricity. The house was as close to full as it has ever been, and the people were geniunely excitied - coming up and talking, dropping names and compliments. Vince was just back from Mexico, Rob was complaining about being a 13 year sub, Chuck Clarke reappeard with his two daughters in tow, MaryBeth Clark and Bonnie Blomarz were in the house, things were simply popping.

Rich Clark sat in for the second set on lead trombone and, in continuing our tradition of throwing OJBkids into the frying pan, Chuck Clarke's 13 year old daughter Robyn sat in on trumpet for the second set openner, Leap Frog.

Drink of the night was Blue Moon.

Set 1

Artistry in Boogie, Lean Baby, That’s My Style, Meditation, Pick Yourself Up, Sun Valley Jump, Tampico, Mambo #5, Nice n Easy, Please Don’t Talk About Me, Beyond the Sea, Moten Swing

Set 2

Leapfrog, Salt Peanuts, Boogie Blues, Who Me?, Sway, Caribbean Clipper, And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine, You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You, Let The Good Times Roll, Mercy Mercy Mercy

June 27, 2009 - The Carlisle in Lomard

Well, we had ample material for an amusing blog post by the time load-in and set-up was complete, so take that for what its worth! I don't even know where to start with this one, so let's begin with some back story. Last August, we received a fully executed contract and deposit check from a bride I spoke with for no more that 30 seconds on the phone, and the deal was done. The months passed, and soon their big day was just around the corner. We had no contact or phone number, no idea what (if anything) we'd need to play for special dances and such, but we knew the date was good because the fine folks at The Carlisle had their poopy together and called me to talk about load in a few weeks ago. Anyway, I get a somewhat flustered voice mail from the groom-to-be the night before, wanting to confirm that we are coming. I call back and get his voice mail. My only question, I say, is special dances. He leaves me another voice mail and says don't worry, there's a DJ, too, and he's doing all that stuff. Wunderbar. End of 'Back Story'.

Cut to load in. Phil and Vince are first on the scene with the equipment, and are greeted by a DJ who seemed a little perturbed, and was shooting some attitude our way. Vince, who is his normal charming and persuasive self, introduces himself as the band.

dj I didn't even know there was a band until about an hour ago.

vc Oh. Well, there are 18 of us, so we're going to need some of that stage.

dj Well, I'm set as tightly as I can get, so the rest is yours.

vc OK, we'll make do.

dj Who hired you? When did they hire you?

vc We were hired a year ago, and didn't hear from them again until last night.

dj What?? Last night? Well, what parts of the reception are you doing?

vc I have no idea. All I know is we're here from 5:30 to 8:30.

dj You don't know? You just talked to them last night? I've had multiple detail meetings with the couple and the bride's mother. They've programmed me down to every song I play and at what time.

vc Hmmm. Sucks to be you, I guess.

dj Well, we're professionals. We've been doing this for 15 yrs. (editor's note - this will come back to haunt him)

vc Well, we're playing until 8:30, and then we're leaving.

And it sort of went downhill from there, but in an amusing way. We essentially played our first set

behind a giant projection screen that the dj placed directly in front of the stage to "test", before he

disappeared. No one seemed to mind. After 45 minutes, we took a break and watched in the lobby as the dj spent 20 minutes trying to bring order to massive bridal party. When it was time for us to play again, he was still introducing, so we got a front row seat from the stage for the 1st Dance fiasco.

Enter DJ number 2, who crouched in the middle of the dance floor with a dry ice machine and a red coleman cooler, trying frantically to make fog roll thru the couple and their bridal party as they danced. Only the fog didn't cooperate, instead it dissipated. Immediately. So he's scooping dry ice with one gloved hand, and waving with his other.

The smoke failed miserably, but what he did manage to create was a giant puddle in the middle of the dancers. The massive bridal party did their best to step over or around the growing mess, but it was of no use. Here we see the two DJs (left and middle) looking intently at the coleman cooler, with a bus boy in the back starting the clean up with a big tablecloth. The song ended, there was an uncomfortable smattering of applause, and the bus boys rushed out with mops for the clean up. It will certainly be a nice addition to the wedding video keepsake. I hope they got the cooler in the shot.

So three sets turn into two, as we decided to just keep playing to 8:30. Only now, the screen has been moved from out in front of us to in front of the seriously spectacular sweets table (which included an honest to goodness pond), much to the Maître d's chagrin. He wanted it moved, obviously, because nobody could access or admire the table. But the DJ has disapearred again, and there's no way we're touching it.

We finish the set without further incident, and we're breaking down while the DJs bring the screen back to show the standard video montage of the couple's lives. Only the DVD keeps freezing, so there's more uncomfortable silence. It all worked out in the end, though, because they're professionals.

So who played? Well glory be, our old friend Dave Zaworski was on bass! All the way from Sweden, incidently, so that should be a pretty healthy mileage deduction, Dave. And our trumpets? Brass Trax's Tom Fox finally gets invited to a gig, Tom Tumino, and the long lost Bob Lewandowski join Mr Klinger in the back row. We welcomed Robin Lekas in on piano. She performed admirably and with a good sense of humor through a tough night. Meg - if you're reading this, your book was in horrible condition!

Drink of the night was water - in little tiny glasses.

June 6, 2009 - SFX SummerFest

St Francis Xavier SummerFest in Wilmette. Summer. June. SummerFest. 48 degrees does not a SummerFest make! Since no one brought a camera, here's a simulated view from the stage. Note the churning water and angry skies.

Kudos to Beth Curran Hadley for keeping her sanity and sense of humor as the rain and wind gave way to beautiful gray skies and a mere damp chill. The SFX committee treated us very well. We were under a tent, we had a real stage, there was a professional sound guy and lights, Beth and Greg kept a steady stream of pitchers coming to the bandstand - but it was still 48 degrees.

Herder's Bus-o-Fun carried Chris, Vince, Phil, JR and Byrnes. On the trip North, they were treated to an inpromptu fireworks display as they passed Cellular Field. Apparently, its the only run the Sox have scored in, like, a million innings, so the show caught us all off guard. The rain had just finished as we arrived on site, so Gary the soundman was soaked and chilled. He took care of us righteously, though. We got compliments for being so 'whatEVer' about mics and such. He was very glad not to have to mic each of the 12 horns individually.

Of course, the highlight of the evening was Dan-o and his U2 tribute band, who came on after us. He certainly looked like Bono, although I never realized Bono was..... not a tall fellow. So here's the surreal moment for the gig: We're playing 'And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine', I look to the side of the stage and there's Bono/Danno singing the song word for word. And not the band part, but the girl part ... and in character. He was bouncing around, twisting and gyrating like he was singing 'Vertigo', and he didn't miss a lyric. Even Claudia doesn't know the song with a cheat sheet, and here's Bono singing along like its his favorite song ever (next to 'Sunday, Bloody Sunday').

Sitting in on trumpet, the effervescent Mike Pavlic. On trombone, his excellency Rich Clark. Surprises in the crowd included Ed's brother and sis-in-law Paul and CarolAnn, as well as old band friend Angie.

Drink of the night was pitchers of Spatan, (and red wine in a plastic cup for GK). It was cold, but still a lot of fun. And what's with this whole Church Festival Mojo? Haven't we seen this before?

Set 1
Jumpin at the Woodside, American Patrol, L-O-V-E, Corner Pocket, Straighten Up And Fly Right, Intermission Riff, Opus One, Only You, Fly Me To The Moon, The Very Thought of You, Bandstand Boogie, Beyond The Sea, Is You Is Or Is You Aint…

Set 2
Ain't That A Kick In The Head, Pennsylvania 6-5000, This Cant Be Love, And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine, One Mint Julep, Boogie Blues, Big Noise From Winnetka, Choo Choo Ch' Boogie, It Should've Been Me, Caldonia, Sing, Sing, Sing

June 1, 2009 - Hackney's Swing Session

What the hell makes people think they can walk right up and engage us in lengthy conversations in the middle of a set!?? Last night featured a trumpet player hoping to sit in, a retired English teacher looking for former students in the band, and a sharp dressed older gentleman, all striking up conversations with various musicians in mid set - as if the rest of the crowd on the 'dance floor' and at thier tables weren't even there. All three should know better. There - it's off my chest. Man oh man thats annoying.

Where's the music?? The drum book has gone missing. Poor Steve Hawk had to play the night sans music. What a trooper! You'd hardly know he was winging it. Bassist Steve Hashimoto kept him on track with a continous narative of what was coming up. So where is the book? Last seen at the May rehearsal. The books are all scanned, so its not tragic or anything, but it'll be a pain recreating it, thats for sure! Have you seen it?

And look what the cat dragged in - long lost OJ trumpeteer Chuck Clarke. Chuck played with us in the mid to late 80's. He was, like all of us, in high school, and he had an amazing high register. There is a story that lives in OJLore about this prodigious upper register. It was a Mother's Day brunch at the now defunct 'Beverly House' at 103rd and Beverly Ave in Chicago. We were new at the whole big band thing, and therefore had a pretty thin book, so everything got played at least once. It didn't matter that it was a Mother's Day brunch at a nice restaurant, which is why we played the 'Theme to Rocky'. The whole place jumps in unison as we start the song - Chuck is playing the line an octave up - and some poor guy literally keels over clenching his chest. He's down. He's out. We keep playing. I digress. It was good to see Chuck after so many years.

Set 1
Shiny Stockings, Jada, This Can't Be Love, Main Stem, Drum Boogie, Undecided, Travelin Light, Soul Bossa Nova, Come Fly With Me, Cheek to Cheek, Choo Choo ch Boogie

Set 2
It Had To Be You, 9:20 Special, Opus One, A Night In Tunisia, Just In Time,, It Should've Been Me, Cottontail, I'm Beginning To See The Light, Don't Be That Way, Do Nothing (Till You Hear From Me)

May 4, 2009 - Hackney's

Best crowd yet for a Monday night swing session. We were graced by what we call our 'Tremendously Sexy' rhythm rotation tonight: (R to L) Gina Knight on drums, Stacy WIlliams-Jackson on standup and, of course, Megan Curran-Hurless on the ivories. They swung really hard, and I saw a big smile on Stacy's face whenever I glanced over to see how she was faring. It can be intimidating to come into this setting and site read! Poor Rob Zettl was odd man out on Guitar, but I don't think I heard him complaining.

There were a lot of new faces in the crowd tonight as word of the best entertainment bargain around continues to spread. Meg again had her loud and obnoxious relatives come south from Arlington Heights. Some old time Beverly folks popped in too, including the Hamilton Hechlers and the Barnabas Haws.

The worldwide panic over the swine flu pandemic adversely effected us in the first set. After taking prudent and cautionary measures, most of us found it hard to play proficiently. Some of us sounded better than we have in ages. It was decided, after several refreshments, that we should forgo our protection for the second set.

The evening's highlights included a first time reading of Basie's 'I Cant Stop Loving You', and a more than respectable read down of Ellington's Cottontail. Low light has to be Vince's surprise at discovering that the new version of Alright OK, while transcriptually accurate, was in a less than stellar key for a male. Can anyone say " that's a third up from normal - C!"?

Drink of the night was Blue Moon- see the monkey!

Set 1

I Can't Stop Loving You, Eager Beaver, The Very Thought of You, Moanin, Caribbean Clipper, Orange Colored Sky, Cottontail, Almost Like Being in Love, The Best Is Yet To Come, More (Darin), Alright OK,  Moten Swing

Set 2
Come By Me, A Train, Why Don’t You Do Right, Hot Toddy, Balboa Bash, Sway, Blue Trane, The Man I Love, Our Love Is Here To Stay, On The Street

May 2, 2009 - Hackney's (But For A Wedding)

Playing a wedding reception in the daylight hours is weird enough, but doing it at good old Hackney's was downright unsettling. We are vampires, and should only come out to play at night or, at the very least, dusk. Performing in our normal spot with sunlight streaming thru the windows caused very strange behavior. Vince initially drank Coke, John emcee'd with style and panache, and I think Keith Baumann turned to ash from the exposure to sunlight. He got better.

The happy loving couple actually married in Louisiana, and traveled up to celebrate after the fact with the bride's side. The bride, incidently, trains retired movie and television monkies for a living. I'm not sure why retired monkies need training, or why there are multiple show biz monkies in existance (really, isn't one or two plenty?), but I'm convinced I heard her right.   Anyway, they were a very nice, very very casual, couple. Things kept popping up and popping out all day, and we handled it our usual lack of style and grace. Hackney's put out a tremendous spread for the event. They get the OJB stamp of approval for parties, receptions, funerals and get togethers!

Our good friend Daniel Gorski flew in from LA for the weekend, and joined us in the trumpet section.  He and his lovely Jackie hosted a Lou Malnati's party for all us old friends and family folk later in the evening. It was all good. 

And the best part of all? Hackney's main man, Mr Mike Masterson, allowed us to keep everything set up for our regular Monday gig. How sweet was that? Very.

April 6, 2009 - Hackney's

A big welcome back to wayward percussionist Gina Knight, who answered a last minute call to arms from flu stricken drummer Steve Hawk. Claudia and Meg arrived early enough to enjoy a Guiness or two in honor of Claudia's big four-oh.

Guitarist Keith Baumann made rare Hackney's appearance, as he celebrated spring break from his teaching gig at Chicago's Old Town School of Music. Terry Connell and Tom Tumino again sat in on trumpet. What happenned to Ed Klinger? He disappeared after the first set! Didn't he see that the Cub's openner was on over the bar?

More great additions to the book tonight - especially Carribean Clipper, which is a poppin gem you don't hear every day.

Drink of the night - Stella Artois


Set 1
Funtime, Bandstand Boogie, Route 66, Caribbean Clipper, Bei Mir Bist Du Schon, St Louis Blues March, Sway, Stolen Moments, It Had To Be You, Nice n Easy, My Baby Just Cares For Me, Things Ain't What They Used To Be

Set 2
Intermission Riff, Straighten Up and Fly Right, String Of Pearl, And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine, Lean Baby, Big Spender, Filthy McNasty, I Could Write A Book, I Get A Kick Out Of You, Caledonia

March 14, 2009 - Crystal Lake Holiday Inn

Third year in a row for the Marian Central Alumni Dinner and Auction. Crystal Lake is a hike and a half for most of us. Thankfully Peter McCormack took all the equipment after the last Hackney's gig and took care of set up hisself. Admirably done, sir.

We've been blessed in the past few months by having our merry group of weekend warriors augmented by some of the most talented musicians in Chicago. Last night was no exception. Mike Bazin sat in on tenor, Rich Clark on trombone, and a 1st timer - trumpet savant Kirk Garrison. Kirk blew some amazing shtuff from the back row. Claudia, who was all hopped up on Dayquill, manned up and dealt with the ravages of a cold and temperature. There was a cash bar, so the merriment was somewhat muted by $4.50 Heinikens. Here's Phil drinking from the carton again.

Herder's 'Bus of Fun', carrying Vince, Phill, John Ruf and Jim Byrnes, made an unscheduled stop at the Crystal Lake Denny's. The new 'Grandslamwhich', is pretty freakin good, but the maple flavorred bread is more of a distraction than an asset. Just sayin.

March 2, 2009 - Hackney's

Tremendous evening! Tempos were right on, the rhythm section found its pocket from the get go, the band played dynamically. Monster trumpet section with the additions of Terry Connell and Tom Tumino. Brenda Ruf sat in on bari for Master Enright.

Meg had a loud obnoxious group from the Northern Suburbs  who clammorred for Sentimental Journey all night. She also entertained a group of thespianic church musicians, one obviously living a lie (not that there's anything wrong with that). They all knew both Terri Lenz and Peg Mooney, two former OJPianists. Small world.

Drink of the night was Sambuca.  

Set 1

Shiny Stockings, American Patrol, I'm Beginning To See The Light, Benny's Bugle, Come Rain Or Come Shine, Take The A Train, I Only Have Eyes For You,  You're Nobody Till Somebody, I Believe In You, Beyond the Sea, Moten Swing

Set 2

Basie Straight Ahead, Senimental Journey, That’s My Style, Cherokee, I Cant Believe You're In Love, Record Session, This Can't Be Love, Leapfrog, Fly Me To The Moon, Cheek to Cheek, Choo Choo Ch'Boogie, Sing Sing Sing