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23rd The Great Connecticut Traditional Jazz Festival
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| Midiri Brothers,
fabulous swing band from New Jersey, with Joe Midiri
co-leader/clarinet/alto/baritone
and soprano saxophones/vocals, Jim Lawler drums, Dan Tobias
cornet/vocals, Ed Wise acoustic string bass, Paul Midiri
co-leader/vibes/trombone/drums, and Bob Leary and Pat Mercuri
(behind Paul) guitars. Take a trip back to Benny Goodman's sextet in the
30's, C'est
Magnifique - indeed! Joe Midiri played the first chorus with a
magnifique finger busting, clarinet solo, then was joined by Bob
Leary and Pat Mercuri, both on Gibson guitars, brother Paul's
jet-propulsion on vibes,
backed by gripping stop chorus of Joe on clarinet and Tobias on trumpet.
Nice.
"The next Irving Berlin tune was edited out of the
Marx Brothers movie
The Cocoanuts", Joe explained, because "Nobody wanted a waltz!"
This dancing crowd did; they created a makeshift dance floor out of
the spacious hall next to the green room for the lovely waltz,
Always.
Speaking of the
green room, the musicians said this was one of the finest
musicians' lounges they've seen, with attentive staff and plenty
of delicious, hot food, with even enough egg plant
parmesan to satisfy Brian Casserly!
Lawler exploded on drums with Avalon, Wise
was scatting in sync with his string bass like Slam Stewart for a full chorus, then Paul
with a brilliant rendering on vibes that would have made
Lionel Hampton envious.
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Ed Wise, humming along with his string bass, was backed
by pat Mercuri on C'est Magnifique. Ed
currently lives in and works around Philadelphia, both with the
Midiri Brothers and with his own group, Ed Wise and his New Orleans
Jazz Band. |
Pat Mercuri and Ed Wise |
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Dedicated to today's recession, Bob & Pat
were featured on guitar in Pennies From Heaven. Don't we
wish!
Joe moved to a tempestuous soprano sax, ending the song
with a brilliant Louis Armstrong vocal
and grin.
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Bob Leary |
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You know it's a
special band when other musicians leave the green room and steal in to
observe.
We caught
Danny Coot, Brian Casserly, and Igor Glenn intently listening to the
Midiri Brothers Band. |
The band came out with a swinging bounce on Limehouse Blues,
together with a lively guitar/string bass duet. After a fabulous
chorus on vibes, Paul moved to the drums, alternating with Lawler. They concluding with both
of them loudly beating
out the tempo together on one drum set! It sparked the first standing ovation of the evening!
This certainly was a high-spirited, nostalgic trip back into the
early swing era that had fans eagerly checking the schedule for the
next Midiri Brothers' set.
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| By Marce,
Updated August 10, 2009
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