SEPTET CONTRAST AND VERSATILITY
This small folio of music is to demonstrate the fact that our septet was versatile. We could, in a heartbeat, switch from Raucous rhythm and blues to early 19th century classic two beat arrangements. The band could play everything from Jewish folk songs and Vienna waltzes to raucous Dixieland and rhythm and blues head charts. If you’re interested, click on a few of these short recordings and you will see what I mean.
The instrumental versatility of the four guys in the front line of our septet resulted in interesting and varied instrumental combinations. I played alto and soprano sax, clarinet, valve trombone, and sang. Keith Mirick kicked the tunes off when I was making announcements, played lead trumpet, doubled on valve trombone and was our featured singer. Cecil Heick or Ed Culver played tenor sax, clarinet, flute and valve trombone.
This was a band that prided itself on its ability to deliver popular music to a wide range of ages. They played everything from bouncy two-beat songs from the 20s to New Orleans Dixieland to swinging jazz flavored arrangements of hip songs a la Dave Pell and Mongo Santa Maria.
