Featured articles from
PRJC's highly acclaimed 12-page monthly newsletter, Tailgate
Ramblings. Copies of back issues, as long as they last, and articles are available.
View the Index to Tailgate Ramblings.
|
A Great Day for a PRJC Picnic!
From the September 2015 Tailgate Ramblings
Saturday, September 19, 2015, didn't start out to be a grand day for the PRJC annual picnic.
It began with a dense, soupy fog that looked pretty darned ominous. However, by 9:00am or so, the fog began to lift
and the sun made its triumphant appearance. In fact, the rest of the day would turn out to be rather pleasant
to spend outdoors enjoying some really fine jazz and tasty food - a little bit on the hot side, but not all
that humid. A fitting end to the summer of 2015.
Read the article.
|
Striding to Perfection!
From the June 2015 Tailgate Ramblings
On Saturday, May 16, the PRJC held its most recent monthly special. And, boy, was it ever special! For the third year in a row, the PRJC invited Neville Dickie to perform for the club. Just who is this individual, you may ask? Why, he is the #1 stride pianist in all of the United Kingdom and definitely one of the top such pianists in all of Europe! As many of you may know, Neville has delighted audiences all over the globe for more than 5 decades now. He has been featured on the BBC a countless number of times during this period. So, when Neville asked This Writer if the PRJC would like to have him do a return engagement, I enthusiastically said "Yes"!
Read the article.
|
Dixieland Direct Enters its Third Year at the Zoo Bar in Washington DC
Note: The Zoo Bar was sold to new owners in December 2015. It re-opened the following summer under a new name.
Dixieland Direct has gone on to other area gigs which are listed on our upcoming jazz pages and in the Tailgate Ramblings newsletter.
For Five years, The Dixieland Direct Jazz Band played great jazz at this long time neighborhood bar/restaurant with commendable food at reasonable prices.
The Zoo Bar was a long-tim Washing DC institution, located immediately across from the Zoo on Connecticut Ave., voted 1st Runner-Up, Washington City Paper's Best Jazz or Blues Venue 2009, right behind Blues Alley.
The Dixieland Direct Jazz Band is also well known in the Washington area. The band played formerly at the Colonel Brooks Tavern, the Market Inn Restaurant, at recent PRJC events and many other venues along the East Coast. Visit their web site to see them perform on YouTube and to hear their audio clips www.dixielanddirect.com
Drummer/Bandleader, Mike Flaherty, played in the U.S. Army's Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, located at Fort Myer;
Henning Hoehne, formerly with the Naval Academy Band, plays clarinet and soprano sax;
Bob Boguslaw plays piano in the "Presidents Own" Marine Corps Band at the White House; and
Dallas Smith, on bass, hails from the Army Blues. Members of the band have also played at many other out of town venues nationally and internationally.
Several members of the band will participate again in the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans in April 2013.
|
Rockin' at the Rockville Mardi Gras!
From the March 2011 Tailgate Ramblings
February can be downright fickle here in the DC area. Last year at this time, we had to deal with 3-4 feet of snow on the ground with temperatures below freezing. Yesterday (February 13), however, fine weather enticed some 120 or so traditional jazz aficionados to show at the Rockville Elks Lodge for the PRJC's 2011 Mardi Gras and some authentic N'Awlins flavor with John Royen, one of the finest trad jazz pianists in New Orleans. A DC-area native, Royen has come up North to play for the PRJC before and the turnout has always been exceptional at every one of his sessions.
Read the article.
|
Back to the Fut...er, uh...BLOB'S PARK!
From the October 2009 Tailgate Ramblings
Who could PRJC get to perform at such an important event like the annual picnic's return to Blob's Park? Perennial picnic-goers and dancers delighted to the 3-band line-up of the Washington Conservatory Jazz Band, Ben Mauger's Vintage Jazz Band from the Harrisburg, PA area, and Hal's Bayou Jazz Band primarily from the Baltimore area.
Read the article.
|
Wolverines Romp at Rosensteel!
From the
April 2009 Tailgate Ramblings
Rosensteel Hall was really rompin in March when PRJC'ers and two dozen or so local swing dancers came to listen to the Wolverine Jazz Band.
Read the article.
Buck Creek Disbands - “Say It Isn’t So, Guys”
From the
April 2008 Tailgate Ramblings
News that the Buck Creek Jazz Band was closing up shop in January 2009 was greeted with shock and dismay from one coast to the other.
In addition to an appreciation by Don Farwell, past president of PRJC and former editor of "Tailgate Ramblings",
we added a few photos from Buck Creek's farewell cruise to the Tailgate Ramblings Page.
Read the article.
|
Miracle in Sound
From the
January 2007 Tailgate Ramblings
What if someone told you you could hear King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band as it sounded in 1923? You’d probably laugh, but the fact is that with the release of the Archeophone 2-CD set, “Off the Record: The Complete 1923 Jazz Band Recordings,” you can now hear this great band very much as it must have sounded at Chicago’s Lincoln Gardens.
Read the article.
|
John Wood Remembered
From the March 2004 Tailgate Ramblings
“Old Bones” is gone, but our memories live on. He was an
exceptional musician, and a warm, friendly and humorous person. He was
an inspiration to many of us and a gentle giant of a human being.
Read the article.
|
Oh, For A Trumpet!
From the November 2002 and January 2003 Tailgate Ramblings
“So, please won’t you help me owning a trumpet, or even a cornet for a personal use? I beg you a lot. I don’t know, but do it for me, perhaps would you have save my soul in this earth.”
Read the article.
Heitgers Add Spice at Chattanooga
From the September 2002 Tailgate Ramblings
The recipe for the Chattanooga Traditional Jazz Festival is basically set. But presenters Mike and Astrid Griffin like to tinker here and there to make the final dish even better.
Read the article.
“Music That Will Set You Free”
Was scheduled
to appear in the October 2001 Tailgate Ramblings
That’s what you can look forward to on Saturday, October 13, when the Independence Hall Jazz Band will hold forth at Rosensteel Hall.
Read the article.
|
Cruisin’ Alaska, Groovin’ on Jazz
From the
September 2000 Tailgate Ramblings
The vistas were, in a word, breathtaking. However, Jazz-wise it’s hard to beat the band package on this July’s JazzSea Cruise.
Read the article.
|
Arcadians All
From the
August 2000 Tailgate Ramblings
Al Webber, co-founder of the Potomac River Jazz Club, and founder of the Federal Jazz Commission, is alive and well in Arcadia.
Read the article.
|
Last Chance Front and Central
From the
July 2000 Tailgate Ramblings
It was a long narrow room. We were on the left, and it took 12 hours after the gig to get my head to look straight, but it was worth it.
|
Gene Franklin’s Pier Five Jazz Band
From the
June 2000 Tailgate Ramblings
When band leader and clarinetist Gene Franklin Oliver’s life ended on April 19, the band he originated also died.
|
James Reese Europe
From the
May 2000 Tailgate Ramblings
The Post reported that a memorial service was held in February at Arlington National Cemetery for Lt. James Reese Europe, who is buried there.
|
Tall Stacks
From the
March 2000 Tailgate Ramblings
Every four years riverboats hailing from all the great river cities steam into the Port of Cincinnati to celebrate the Tall Stacks festival.
|
Peabody Ragtime Ensemble
From the
February 2000 Tailgate Ramblings
Going strong for 26 years, the Peabody Ragtime Ensemble is sought after, and you are likely to run across them in many different venues.
|
Jesse Stone
From the
November 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
Jesse Stone died in April. He was 97.
|
HOTS Repeats France Success
From the
November 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
The New HOTS Jazz Orchestra, a 1920s-40s-style little big band based in Herndon,
Va., toured Paris, Normandy, and the Val Du Loire in France during the last two
weeks of June 1999. The band played a series of six engagements in and near Paris,
Rouen, Blois and Fontainebleau while undertaking an ambitious schedule of sightseeing.
|
Dude Brown
From the
October 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
Don Farwell reports in Bandstand this issue on the passing of former Hot Mustard drummer.
|
Sowing the Seeds of Jazz
From the
October 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
Dave Burns’ Hot Mustard is one of the longest tenured and most successful of
PRJC bands. Dave, as you might imagine from the band’s recorded
output, is a lover of good songs, and Hot Mustard concentrates on the
presentation of versions of popular songs, not only well-known tin pan alley
output, but of lesser known nice tunes that he has found.
|
One Fell Swoop
From the
July 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
A proposed getaway for a trad fan that does not involve a long trek might go like this...
|
Making a Federal Case
From the
June 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
The Federal Jazz Commission has not gone unnoticed, and the considerable loyal following that shows up at Col. Brooks on Tuesday nights is aware of its good fortune.
|
Hot Trad In Ice
From the
May 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
If you want to enjoy an evening of excellent food, drinks and a different sound of jazz, hit the Ice House when the NTJB is there.
|
PRJC Jazz Jubilee Remembered
From the
May 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
Judging by the full house and audience enthusiasm, the Jubilee in February was an immense success.
|
New Columbia Swings at the Birchmere
From the
May 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
The New Columbia Swing Orchestra, led by Frank Guldseth, appeared at the Birchmere
February 12.
|
Good Music is Paramount
From the
April 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
Who is the Paramount Orchestra? Those of us who were lucky enough to be there really
heard something.
|
Marcus Roberts
From the
April 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
Influenced by Jelly Roll Morton and Duke Ellington, among others, pianist Roberts’ work is significant.
|
Coffee is Hot at St. Elmo’s
From the
March 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
Something pretty special has been going on at St. Elmo’s in Del Ray.
|
Buck Creek Opens PRJC ’99 Schedule
From the
March 1999 Tailgate Ramblings
It was almost like the old days at the Springfield Hilton: the Buck Creek Jazz Band on the stand, fans crowding every table, the dance floor beckoning, anticipation in the air.
|
All That Jazz
![Potomac River Jazz Club [ www.prjc.org ]](images/newPRJClogo.gif)
![Potomac River Jazz Club [ www.prjc.org ]](images/wwwprjcorg.gif){kind=small}
