"Down the Road A Piece" ... is NOT always a I-95 traffic tie-up on the way to a show. Right, Allen Kanovsky?

Submitted by Al Kanovsky 10/21/13

...is the title of a tune recorded by Will Bradley back in the days of boogie-woogie. 

Part of the lyric reads--"better than chicken fried in bacon grease" and it describes how much I enjoyed my Sunday with Duffy Jackson at Arts Garage. I forego football for live JAZZ and am rewarded. Duffy(drums) with Dolf Castellano on piano and Rick Doll playing bass start a program at 2 in the afternoon. It is targeted on dancing to the music. Young folks, some not-so-young and some older people are in attendance. The play list is heavy on 'Ellington' including his "Theme", "Satin Doll" and "It Don't Mean A Thing". Duffy scats all the horn parts, Dolf quotes every tune written since the 1900's and Rick does his best to keep everybody in line by actually swinging his solos. Duffy's sense of humor is a reminder that his Dad, Chubby, kept audiences and fellow band members laughing. Many years ago during a performance by the Woody Herman band, Chubby did or said something that had the whole trumpet section cracking up, mid-song. Woody never recovered from the experience. Chubby did. Some of the couples there to dance are amongst my favorite dancers. Doris and Bernie Spiegel are seen at dance venues all around the town. Tracey-Ann  and Martin Pena along with Kaycie Davis and Andrew King are very creative 'swing' dancers, responding to the rhythm. Dolf's solo on "Sophisticated Lady" is a shining example of JAZZ piano. Not to be outdone, Duffy responds with his scat vocal and drum solo on "Exactly Like You". Rick gets his turn when they play "Emily" as a waltz. They all show off a little during "I Let A Song Get Out Of My Heart". The trio continues with "Girl From Ipanema". Bernie (my generation) takes the hand of Tracey-Ann (my granddaughters generation), leading her to the dance floor where he proceeds to take her through every Latin dance step known to mankind. Mambo, Cha-cha, Bolero even a little merengue.  Doris gets up to join in. A trio on stage--swinging, a trio on the dance floor swinging along. During the playing of "Girl", Duffy elects to whistle a portion of the tune. Scat vs. Whistle. My ear says Duffy should stick with the vocal. Dolf's grandson shows up to join the swing dancers. Moving to be-bop they do Dizzy's "Owwww". During it Martin and Andrew switch partner mid-tune. The ladies respond with true "following" acumen.

A request to play "Poinciana" is done, followed by Erskine Hawkins "For Dancers Only" with Duffy scatting the horn parts on each. Dolf is featured on Hoagy Carmichaels "Skylark" and the afternoon show concludes with a rousing, hand clappin' "Perdido". At a table adjacent to mine a Mom had been dancing with her daughters. One of the girls name is Mary Dillon. She is an aspiring trumpeter.

Killing some time until Duffy returns to Arts Garage at 7, I read from my Kindle and consume 20 of the 50 Dunkin Donut Munchkins I had bought as dessert for the band. All of them were off sugar, sooooooo -------. I conserved the others for dinner.

My buddy Jimmy Belize arrives for the evening performance so I no longer have a shot at the remaining Munchkins. Seated with Jimmy and I, are couple who annually visit from Germany, Dieter and Helga. I had met them at Arts Garage last year. Duffy now has added to the trio, John Michalak on tenor sax and David Gibble on cornet/flugelhorn.

A few bars of drum intros the opening tune "What Is This thing Called Love". 2 of the afternoons dance couples, the Spiegels and the Penas have returned. The quintet take solo turns and Duffy again scats a horn part. The tune ends with drums and cornet only, playing into a soft fade. They continue, playing through all JAZZ's genres. Tadd Damerons "Tadds Delight", a reprise of Carmichaels "Skylark", and an unusual chart of Monks "Well You Needn't". During the break Duffy informs me that all the charts are done by a friend in Nashville, where he now lives, George Tidwell. Great charts meant to be played by great musicians. Joining us in the dressing room is local trumpeter Freddy Jacobs. I ask David about the unusual absence of the trumpet and his reply is that he felt the cornet fit in better. While listening to him play I had to look twice to make sure it was a cornet being played. He says it's due to the amplification. I say it's due to his superior "lip".

The play list for the 2d set had "Old Feeling", "Country Kitchen" (Autumn Leaves in disguise) and an very nice solo by Rick Doll, "Why Do I Love You", "Slow Boat To China" and closing with "Mean To  Me".  They play "Mean" up-tempo and I decide to ask a lady to dance. She acquiesces and we are on the floor. She says let her 'lead'. I say I don't 'follow'. She said my dancing was boring. I sat her down. There are things that I have been called at different points in my life. Many of them are not fit for human consumption. Some of them can't even be translated from their native tongue. I say it unashamedly no one, no where, no how has ever said anything I did (outside of how I write my reviews) was boring. It proves there is a first time for everything. I give no second chances.

During the performance a young red-headed boy and his Mom( I knew it was his Mom because of her red hair) were boppin' their heads in perfect time to the beats of Duffy's drums. His name is Ian Dalton, his Moms Victoria. He is a high-school senior dreaming of being a professional JAZZ drummer. As Jimmy and I leave we meet Bill Ohashi. Bill has recently arrived from New York. He plays trombone and is looking for a band to play with. 917-744-3043.

If you weren't at Arts Garage yesterday you will pardoned if you catch Duffy's return to south Florida next month. Check JAZZBLUESflorida website for music listings.

As I said at the beginning Duffy Jackson and his fellow JAZZ musicians gave me a Sunday that was "better than chicken fried in bacon grease". Hey, Jimmy! Pass the napkins. 

Al's Disclaimer:

A short note: The reason I write this is because I love music and words. I do not book acts. I do not promote acts. I do not accept invitations to review artists. I go to venues of my own choice. When and where is not influenced by anything other than who I would like to hear that night or day. If I don't like what I hear, I won't write about it. When I like it I let you all know. I never mention a name without asking permission. "Pardon me, Miss. Would you like to dance?"       

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