A single string drives Djug Django.
Ithaca’s Gypsy swing band features the washtub bass playing of Syracuse native Jim Sherpa, who began thumping the gutbucket in the mid-1970s for the Water Street Boys jug band in Oswego, where he studied theater in college.
Now, after several years in New Orleans, Sherpa holds down the bottom for Djug Django, a quirky quintet also featuring fiddler Eric Aceto, clarinetist Brian Earle, drummer Al Hartland and guitarist Doug Robinson. The snappy combo performs a free concert at 7 p.m. Monday, July 18, as the Liverpool Is The Place Summer Concert Series continues at Johnson Park; 457-3895; liverpoolistheplace.com.
‘Honeysuckle Rose’
Every Wednesday evening Djug Django draws an enthusiastic crowd of jitterbuggers to downtown Ithaca where they swing like Gypsies in a second-floor bistro called Lot 10.
Djug Django specializes in the music of Roma guitarist Jean Baptiste “Django” Reinhardt (1910-1953) who founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France along with fiddler Stephane Grappelli. Hot Club specialties revived by Djug Django included “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Exactly Like You.”
The combo also plays Dixieland standards such as “Bourbon Street Parade” and classic jazz compositions such as Duke Ellington’s “Creole Love Call.”
Guitarist Doug Robinson sings rarely heard tunes such as “Frim-Fram Sauce,” “Besame Mucho” and “C’est Magnifique.”
‘Hit that Jive, Jack!’
“The group’s overall musicality is on a very high level indeed — sophisticated and dead-on,” said the late Syracuse cornet player Pat Carroll. “In fact, these guys really enjoy playing together, and that spirit comes across clear as crystal.”
While the Quintette du Hot Club de France had Louis Vola playing double bass, Djug Django is driven by the spirited Jim Sherpa. He’s showcased on “Hit that Jive, Jack,” “Old Folks at Home” and, aptly, “Mr. Rhythm Man.”
‘Mr. Rhythm Man’
The washtub’s single string may seem limited, but Sherpa makes the most of it. Carroll, an astute observer of the jazz scene for more than six decades, was duly impressed.
“I’ve heard others play this seemingly simple instrument, players who fail to pass the first test,” Carroll said. “This is a rhythm instrument, and Jim has a natural sense of rhythm plus the skill to obtain a full range of sound out of a single string. Simply amazing.”
Rhythm runs in Sherpa’s very veins. He’s the son of octogenarian Joe Sherpa, who’s retired as doorman at Hotel Syracuse and, in earlier years, played drums for the Mario DeSantis Orchestra.
‘Good Day Sunshine’
Two brothers from Liverpool, Steve and Kevin Nickels, look to the heavens for future power production. Steve is president and Kevin is vice-president in charge of sales and marketing for Nickels Energy Solutions, LLC (NES). NES offers solutions, service and support for all energy improvement needs by focusing on designing solar power installations. They effectively reduce energy usage for residential and commercial property owners in Central New York; nickelsenergyesolutions.com; 481-7412.
‘Chasing Light’
A photo exhibit titled “Chasing Light,” by Syracuse photographer Dale Pierce, opens Friday, July 15, at Ophelia’s Place/Café at 407, 407 Tulip St., in the village. The photos remain on display through Aug. 15.
Speaking of Café at 407, we have to wonder what’s going to happen to homegrown businesses like the café if village officials actually allow the construction of a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru restaurant just two blocks away…
The columnist can be contacted at [email protected].
