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Folks
who visit the Wizardz in concert will enjoy a charming combination of
clean American roots music and comedy. As veteran hillbilly jazz
performers, the Boyz have the freedom to act like, well, hillbillies,
and audiences can’t help but hoot and holler.
The Wizardz hit the stage in
their signature overalls and Hawaiian shirts. You’ll hear plenty
fine
singin’ backed up with guitar, string bass, clarinet, soprano sax,
ocarina, saw, slide whistle, bulb horns, cow bells, jaw harp, and yep,
washboard.
The Washboard Wizardz first got together in 1997 and they have been touring ever since. Folks on the lookout will usually find the Boyz somewhere on the West Coast of California spreading their unique brand of family entertainment. Having wondered from the Midwest to the Far East, the Wizardz will be startin’ 2010 right, with an exciting tour throughout Hungary. The careers of the four Wizardz span the entertainment realm from the Glenn Miller Orchestra to Europe to the grand ballrooms of San Francisco. Don Neely, creator and leader of the world renowned Royal Society Jazz Orchestra, has been rubbin’ elbows with the high class for years, so he’s perfectly qualified to play hillbilly style. Playin’ the clarinet, sax, sweet potato, and saw is what Don does best and his singin’ is swell too. Leader Bill “Pah” Reinhart doesn’t say much but he sure can slap that bass. He’s been pickin’ it for nearly a generation, and in the world of New Orleans Jazz, is one of the best there is. Tony “Big Tone” Quinn, a child prodigy on guitar, grew up playing in his parents’ country and western band. He spent his teenage years touring Europe and returned to the States as a world-class picker and songwriter. Bein’ from South Carolina, “Big Tone” is a bonified hillbilly and can sing up a storm and play a bunch of guitar all at once!! Swing Band music lovers may well have heard Steve Drivon when he toured worldwide as lead trombonist and vocalist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. “Washboard” Steve uses his trombone training to play a mighty fine slide whistle, now that he’s a Wizard, and oh ya, he can yodel a bit. American musical entertainment is what the Washboard Wizardz know and it shows. Watchin’ a crowd havin’ a good time and playin’ music everybody can enjoy is what inspires the Washboard Wizardz. In an October 2006 Fresno Bee feature article, Guy Keeler wrote, “…as often happens for the Wizardz, magic struck.” In the Philadelphia Resonator, Eddy Davis, actor/director Woody Allen’s bandleader wrote, “these guys are terrific!” |
The Washboard Wizardz, those maestros of Midwestern Jazz, will take their bubbly blend of rural rhythm and fun to the 19th International “Bohem” Ragtime & Jazz Festival in Kecskemet, Hungary from March 26th thru 28th, 2010, as part of their Eastern Euorpean tour.
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