When the JazzHappensBand returns “(Back Home Again) in Indiana,” the musicians deftly transform a warm homecoming into a hot happening.
First, trumpeter Jeff Dovi plays a mournfully slow version of the melody before the entire combo kicks in to swing it and wing it. Suddenly, they stop…and Dovi blows the slow head again to truly take it home.
No wonder their crowds clap like crazy!
This Cortland combo revels in authentic Dixieland dynamics.
‘Tin Roof Blues’
The swinging septet – which performs from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday Feb. 20, at McNamara’s Pub, 5600 Newport Road in Camillus – features leader Jeff Dovi on trumpet, Mike Poole on trombone, Nick Pauldine on clarinet, Jim Overhiser on tuba, Robbert van Renesse on banjo, Steve Wilson on piano and David Alexander on drums.
They carefully cover some of jazz’s earliest hits including “Copenhagen,” “Ain’t She Sweet,” “At the Jazz Band Ball” and “Tin Roof Blues.”
Sunday’s show is sponsored by the Jazz Appreciation Society of Syracuse. Admission costs $12 or $10 for JASS members; 652-0547.
‘My Naughty Sweety’
To hear the combo play tunes such as “The Saints,” “Milneburg Joys” and “Mama Don’t Allow,” visit jazzhappensband.com.
“I consider myself fortunate to have found six other musicians who enjoy the same kind of music I do,” Dovi said. “I wanted to stay with the traditional instrumentation for traditional jazz that I heard on recordings by artists like Al Hirt, Fred “Mickey” Finn, Pete Fountain and The Dukes of Dixieland.
The band plays tunes such as “Indiana.” “Bill Bailey” and “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me.”
“I just told the boys that I wasn’t a good chart reader, so let’s learn the melody and then improvise around the tune and provide the spontaneous harmonies,” the bandleader said.
If that sounds like an endorsement for plenty of improvisation, you’re right.
“We try to stay very close to the composer’s melody,” Dovi said, “but sometimes things do go awry and that’s when it gets interesting! Ah…improvising….let’s see how we get out of this one…”
‘Shake that Thing!’
Dovi’s outfit also tackles a few novelty numbers and rhythm & blues tunes. “Most of our gigs have been public performances, but we’ve done weddings and birthday parties too where people make special requests,” Dovi said. “So we’ve played tunes like ‘The Stripper,’ ‘The Entertainer,’ an R&B tune called ‘Shake That Thing’ and a swing tune, ‘The Jersey Bounce.'”
On Sunday in Camillus the JazzHappensBand hopes to get the dance floor hopping.
“The most recent tune we play may be 60 years old,” Dovi said. “The beat is typically a four beat and the faster tunes lend themselves very well for those who swing dance.”
‘White Sugar’
Birmingham, England’s best young blues guitarist – 23-year-old Joanne Shaw Taylor – plugs in at downtown’s Dinosaur Bar-B-Q about 10 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 23.
Heavily influenced by Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix, Taylor’s most recent release is “White Sugar,” a disc she recorded in Memphis.
Seven years ago, when Taylor was 16, Eurythmics rock star Dave Stewart caught her act in England.
“I heard something I thought I would never hear,” Stewart said, “a British white girl playing blues guitar so deep and passionately it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end!”
Stewart isn’t the only Taylor aficionado with prickly hairs.
Blue Print magazine advised its readers to “Catch her live if you can, then you can say: I was there at the beginning.”
Admission is free when Taylor plays the Dinosaur next Wednesday night; 476-4937.
Downtown dinner deals
Last year 19 restaurants took part in the Downtown Dining Week promotion, offering $25 three-course meals in February. This year 22 urban eateries are serving up meal deals through Feb. 26.
The palatable promotion coordinated by the Downtown Committee is sponsored by AmeriCu.
Participating restaurants are Ale ‘N Angus Pub, Anthony’s Pasta Bar, bc Restaurant, Bistro Elephant, Bittersweet Wine & Dessert, Black Olive Mediterranean, Bull & Bear Pub, Byblos Mediterranean Cafe, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Empire Brewing Co., Kitty Hoyne’s Irish Pub, L’Adour Restaurant Francais, La Taqueria Fresh Mexican, Lemon Grass, The Mission, Namu, Opus Restaurant & Lounge, Pastabilities, PJ’s Pub & Grill, Prime Steakhouse, Sakana-Ya Sushi Bar and the Syracuse Suds Factory.
