We're here! It's a bit more difficult to take photos here, because all the venues are in ballrooms at the Hilton Hotel. While the lighting is great for the audience, it's terrible for photographers!
The festival started Thursday afternoon with two sets in the Lobby. We got in too late to hear Robbie Rhodes' piano set, but did hear a bit of the Midiri Brothers Sextet while we were checking in and then looking around for friends.
After the Patrons' Reception, which we also missed, the Pacific Room opened. The Pacific room is the largest of the ballrooms.
The evening started with ParisWashboard, a great band from -- you guessed it -- Paris. They've been here several times before and we're always happy to see their name in the listings.
Next came a band from North Carolina that we think is new to the West Coast, the Firecracker Jazz Band. We'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see if they improve after some rest. We're pretty sure they flew in yesterday.
Third in the line-up was a band that should not be missed -- although they're hard to find : The Fryer/Barnhart International Jazz Band. They're made up of Jeff Barnhart (piano), Jim Fryer (trombone) - both from the Titan Hot Seven Band - plus some of the best jazz musicians in England. Gordon Whitworth (trumpet), George Huxley (reeds), Nick Ward (drums), Brian Mellor (banjo/guitar), and usually Annie Hawkins (bass). Annie was not available this weekend, and was replaced by Genevieve Rose, from Massachusetts. As fantastic as this band is as a whole, Genevieve stole the show. She's young, obviously enjoys the music, and is a better base player than most of the older men and women we've seen!
Finally, Tom Hook's Black Dogs. The originally group, from New Orleans, was once the most popular band on the traditional jazz scene. About ten years ago, they went in separate directions, with a few of them reuniting for an occasional session. The only member not playing during this time was Dave Gannett, who was working to recover from a broken jaw that didn't allow him to play. Last night they were almost in full force. The original trombone player (Steve Yokum) has been working in Europe for several years, and the drummer, Eddie Metz, Jr., was not available this weekend. It felt like the old band with Dave Gannett back!
Here's the line-up: Tom Hook, piano (the Bad Dog), Mike Massessa, drums (the Yankee Dog), Davey Jones, trumpet (the Hot Dog), David Poe, reeds (the Show Dog), Dave Gannett, helicon (the Big Dog), and Pat Gullotta, trombone (the Brown Dog). Whenever and wherever, and in whichever configuration you see this band, they're always fantastic musicians, and a lot of fun.
That was it for the Thursday night festivities.
Now it's Friday and we can't wait to see as many of our favorites as possible!
