The BH5 started the New Year at Ma Glockners with a bang with Jeff Hughes on large tone, vintage cornet and Stan McDonald on soprano sax and clarinet, backed by the trio of Royce Anderson, guitar,  Al Ehrenfreid, string bass, and newlywed Richard Malcolm on drums. 

McDonald and Hughes, with mutual respect, brilliantly carried the front line. In spite of a recent injury to a rib, McDonald blew that soprano sax strong and clear, generally playing around the cornet's melody.   Hughes, with skilled use of the mute,  sizzled with electrically charged energy!

Al Ehrenfreid .... a genius on the bass, constantly carrying on dialogue, while Royce played gentle, sensitive guitar. 

Ma Glockner's glowed with sounds of Bechet and other great New Orleans Traditional Jazz, and then Ann and Richard Malcolm left for their honeymoon.  What a great way to start the year!  ....a life!

The band will return March 6th. Join us for friendship, fine food and fine jazz.

Starting out with a bang, the 2-man front line was quickly assisted by Pierre's lyrical, melodic tuba solo on I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me.  (Eli isn't the only one that can play front-line tuba!)  Then an old classic, Sugar.  With  drive and spirit, Malcolm launched Rose of the Rio Grande.

Kafalas has worked with Stan and the Blue Horizon Jazz Band in the past and is familiar with the routines, if you can call all this improvising routine!  He played spirited choruses, ornamenting, and providing countermelody to McDonald's soprano sax and clarinet.  

A  musical soul-mate, he played right behind Stan on Blues In The Air.  Playing it straight from the heart, McDonald began on soprano sax then moved to a soul wrenching, low register, blues clarinet.

From the silly to the sublime, a comfy, moving,  Old Fashioned Love.

Back to the sax, McDonald, the adept Bechet stylist, had the band behind him on Bucher's 1930 Mandy, followed by 1909 Memphis Blues, and Roses of Picardie.

Prepping the band on the next tune, the former Library Director whispered: "Declamatory start, last eight rubatto, verse & chorus almost identical, ends up on the 5th".  With the instinct that these sharp professionals were there with him, Stan relaxed, and sang a soulful, plaintive Nobody Knows You.

Shifting to clarinet on Sweet Georgia Brown, he took another vocal on Hoagie's New Orleans, "as suitably doloreuse" as  Jimmy Rushing's.  Then moved to a HOT rousing Some Of These Days, finishing with some impressive scat singing.

Carrying the front line can be arduous.  Resting his 'chops', Stan again took a  vocal on Winin' Boy, with an especially fine trombone backup by Kafalas.  Then they all finished with a foot stomping, hot and heavy Swing That Music.  

Reveling and dancing to this pure jazz was a happy group from Kaluga Russia, part of Clark University's Open World Program.  They so enjoyed listening and dancing to this music, they took a picture with the band.  Maybe they'll send us their names???