Jim Cullum Jazz Band
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| Jim Cullum Jazz Band | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin | San Antonio, Texas | |
| Genre(s) | jazz | |
| Years active | 1973 - present | |
| Label(s) | Riverwalk Jazz, Stomp Off | |
| Associated acts |
Happy Jazz Band | |
| Website | http://landing.com | |
| Members | ||
| Jim Cullum Jr., cornet Ron Hockett, clarinet and saxophone Kenny Rupp, trombone Jim Turner, piano Howard Elkins, banjo and guitar Don Mopsick, bass Mike Waskiewicz, drums |
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| Former members | ||
| John Sheridan, piano Allan Vaché, clarinet Brain Ogilvie, clarinet and saxophone Evan Christopher, clarinet Ed Torres, drums Kevin Dorn, drums Jack Wyatt, bass Jim Hunter, bass Randy Reinhart, cornet and trombone |
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The Jim Cullum Jazz Band is an acoustic 7-piece traditional jazz ensemble led by cornetist Jim Cullum Jr. Since 1989, the band has been featured nationally on their own weekly public radio series Riverwalk Jazz. The band performs live Monday through Saturday at the Landing Jazz Club on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.
The JCJB is the successor of the original Happy Jazz Band established in 1962 by Jim and his late father, Jim Cullum Sr. The next year, a group of San Antonio investors founded the original Landing Jazz Club located in the basement of the Nix Hospital building on the San Antonio Riverwalk. The original Landing was only the second business established on the Riverwalk after the Casa Rio Mexican restaurant. Jim Jr. took over leadership of the band after the passing of Jim Sr. in 1973 and changed the name to The Jim Cullum Jazz Band. The Landing moved to its present location in the Hyatt Regency in 1981.
he Jim Cullum Jazz Band (JCJB) plays jazz in the classic manner, that is, in the style of small, hot ensembles prior to WWII. The band's repertoire covers a lot of ground--from 19th-century cakewalks to the small pre-war Benny Goodman ensembles.
The core of the band's music consists of the sounds of Jelly Roll Morton, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, New Orleans Rhythm Kings, King Oliver Creole Jazz Band, Louis Armstrong, and Sidney Bechet, as well as a heavy emphasis on Bix Beiderbecke and his followers (e.g., Hoagy Carmichael).
In keeping with the band's historical point of view, period instruments and performance practices are often used. The Landing Jazz Club is designed for acoustic musical performance without the use of amplifiers. Each member of the band is a specialist in historically informed jazz styles.
Leader Jim Cullum plays a cornet (instead of the trumpet or flugelhorn used in modern jazz), which was the instrument preferred by early jazz masters King Oliver, Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. Howard Elkins plays a 20's-vintage Epiphone archtop 4-string tenor guitar and a 30's Gibson tenor banjo. Don Mopsick plays an old German double bass set up with gut strings and high action in the manner of the pre-amplified era. Mike Waskiewicz uses drumming techniques and equipment more commonly found in the earlier drumming styles of Zutty Singleton, Ray Bauduc, and Baby Dodds.
Jim Turner plays piano in the "two-handed" tradition. Clarinetist Ron Hockett acknowledges the influence in his playing of Peanuts Hucko and Bob Crosby clarinetist Irving Fazola. Trombonist Kenny Rupp's style is very reminiscent of the great Jack Teagarden.
Improvised ensemble playing is an important component of the JCJB performance. As opposed to the "melody-solos-melody" format common in today's jazz bands, Jim Cullum features the almost lost art of the improvised jazz ensemble (sometimes called "collective improvisation"). Using all seven instruments or smaller combinations to create a band-within-a-band effect, this refreshing approach harkens back to the pre-Louis Armstrong days when ensemble playing had a much larger role.
The band members do not approach this music as merely re-creating the sounds of the past. Each player takes great classic jazz as only the starting point for developing a highly personal and original playing style. The group sound of the JCJB has its own unique musical identity in the tradition of Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and the Bob Crosby Bob Cats, among others.
In 1985-7, the band undertook an adaptation of all of the songs from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. This work was recorded for CBS Records and on the Riverwalk Jazz public radio series and, with narration by the late William Warfield, was one of the band's touring presentations. In 1995, the Kern-Hammerstein musical Show Boat was similarly adapted. Current touring programs include tributes to Louis Armstrong; Fats Waller (with pianist Dick Hyman); and Playing With Fire, a 25-minute, 3-movement concerto for orchestra and jazz band composed by Jim Cullum and Frank Ticheli. These and other concert programs are presented nationally and internationally and comprise an important part of the band's yearly work schedule.
In 1980, Jim and the band began their Jazz Mass presentation in churches of various denominations. The idea crystallized when Jim heard clarinetist Herb Hall playing "Just A Closer Walk With Thee" at the funeral of San Antonio jazzman Don Albert. As the mass evolved, it grew to include other spirituals, psalms, and hymns including "Abide With Me," "Deep River," "Go Down Moses," "Nobody Knows," "I Want Jesus To Walk With Me," "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," and ending with "When The Saints Go Marching In." These last two are sung by Howard Elkins, the band's principal vocalist. By 2007, the band had performed well over 200 masses. A CD containing most of this material as presented on the Riverwalk Jazz public radio series was released in October, 1998, "Deep River: The Spirit of Gospel Music in Jazz."
One of the highlights of the band's concerts was a tribute to Turk Murphy at Carnegie Hall in January, 1987. Organized by Jim Cullum, the concert featured the JCJB, the Hot Antic Jazz Band of France, and Turk's San Francisco Jazz Band. Says Jim Cullum: "The whole jazz community admired Turk for his integrity, his persistence, and his music. The idea of the concert was to honor not only Turk but the whole San Francisco jazz community. It was an absolutely thrilling event. The night before, we had a black-tie affair at the Grand Hyatt with about 1,000 people in attendance. Vinnce Giordano's band played for the dance.
"We honored Turk that night with a new horn, and the American Federation of Jazz Societies honored him as well. The President of the US sent a congratulatory telegram. The concert was held the next night at Carnegie Hall. At the end, we all played Turk's theme song, 'Bay City' in a special arrangement by John Sheridan for all three bands. It was a very emotional moment for all of us.
"As it ended up, it was Turk's last gig. He succumbed to cancer 6 months later."
The JCJB is committed to the continued life and growth classic jazz through educating the next generation of musicians and enthusiasts.
From 1993-2005, the JCJB was on the faculty of the Stanford Summer Jazz Workshop.
