The Galvanized Jazz Band!
Wrought Iron Rag
© 2005 The Galvanized Jazz Band!
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Very hot, very exciting New Orleans Jazz played by Connecticut's number one Jazz band.
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THE GALVANIZED JAZZ BAND!
‘CONNECTICUT’S NUMBER ONE JAZZ BAND’
"WEEKLY JAZZ PERFORMANCES SINCE 1971!"
Fred Vigorito, Leader
20 Ledgeview Lane
Guilford, Ct. 06437
203-453-5916
Fax: 203-458-0753
Email: Vigorjazz@Aol.com
Web: galvanizedjazz.com
INTRODUCING THE GALVANIZED JAZZ BAND
WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO?
The Galvanized Jazz Band is a dynamic group of Connecticut musicians devoted to the energetic performance of Dixieland,Traditional New Orleans Jazz, Swing, blues, rags, stomps, struts, spirituals, and classic popular songs from the past hundred years or so. In addition to public concerts, private parties, weddings, funerals, school programs and fund-raising events, we selectively perform at Jazz Festivals from Maine to New Orleans and throughout Europe.
IN THE BEGINNING
The Galvanized "Washboard" Band got its start at Yale University in 1965, first with London clarinetist Sammy Rimington, and later with Time Magazine Senior Editor Tommy Sancton on clarinet, New York's Peter Ecklund on cornet, Arthur Hovey on tuba, Mark Finks on banjo, Howard Vidal on trombone, and Julie on the Washboard. Around 1970, some changes occurred. Tommy got tired of commuting from Cambridge, Mass, so he started the New Black Eagles Jazz band in Boston, Peter moved to New York, and former Easy Rider Jazz Band members Fred Vigorito (Cornet), Noel Kaletsky (Clarinet) and Bill Sinclair (Piano) became "Galvanized".
THE SUNDAY TRADITION
In January, 1971 the band replaced the washboard with drummer Bob Bequillard, changed the name of the band to THE GALVANIZED JAZZ BAND, and began a weekly tradition of Sunday evening performances at the newly constructed Millpond Taverne in Northford, CT., about 15 minutes from New Haven. In that same year, the GJB and its fans went to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival, where we were asked by George Wein to perform in the Municipal Auditorium, along with Dizzie Gilespie, Bobby Hackett, the Dukes of Dixieland and Kid Ory! Our guest was clarinetist Woody Allen. Our unique custom of rotating guest trombonists originates from that period. The Sunday tradition lasted for 25 years at the Millpond Taverne, then moved to the USS Chowder Pot III in Branford, CT. until June, 2003 when we returned to the Millpond, then called the RiverRun at Millpond. The Sunday sessions, which ended Jan, 2006 after 35 years, have become the longest running Dixieland sessions that we know of, anywhere!
WHAT ABOUT THE REVIEWS?
“Hot!, Hot!, Hot!”..”always entertaining and always certain of where they’re going musically”.- B. Reiders, ST. Louis Jazz Club.
“They can compete with any jazz band”..“Always exciting and satisfying”. -J. Lessberg, Penn Jazz Society. "Superb".."Wow," They knocked my socks off".."It doesn't get any better than this".."I can't wait until we bring this group back again" -L. Nass, Penn Jazz Society.
"The GJB leaves no question as to how they got their name”..”The 'Galvanized' Jazz Band..one can't help but be 'Galvanized' to laugh and dance when the band gets pumping" -Orla Swift, Record Journal. "The GJB is an entertaining, authentic traditional jazz band with no gimmicks"..the musicians here are expert technicians on their instruments, and their music is superb" -George Borgman, Mississippi Rag.
"Connecticut's GJB plays the kind of straight ahead jazz that attracted us to Dixieland in the first place..an outgoing, aggressive product that puts its highest values on swinging hard and playing hot" -Tex Wyndham, American Rag. "They did a Bugle Call Rag that left everyone limp"..”the front line will be hard to beat for their sheer enthusiasm".."we must get GJB to St Louis" -B. Reiders, St Louis Jazz Club.
"Impressive innovations, imaginative instrumentation".."they helped turn a rainy night into a bright and shiny evening".."this is about as good as it gets" -Bill Cummings, Darien News Review.
"The GJB reminds us with authority, vitality, and imagination of the stylistic source from which so much else has multifariously sprung".."the GJB is all about talent, experience, instinct, ego, humility, and open-earedness of each performer uniting for the common good".."they have a profound and realistic grasp of the universality of the idiom" -Paul Verrette, University of New Hampshire Jazz Program.
"What a great treat to have had the privilege of hearing the GJB".."this band had such variety, and many numbers for dancing"..."this is one of the finest bands I have ever heard" -Betty McDonough, Pennsylvania Jazz Society.
"There music is fun, their style is grand, their manner is irrepressible"...a refreshing flamboyance emerges when the GJB moves into action”..”you see imagination ticking at its finest" -Gilda Elder, The Evening Sentinel.
"It jumped, rocked, bounced, and pulsed with hard, clean, driving rhythm from one of the hottest, and loudest Dixieland combos we've heard”..”Loud?..Yes indeedy!..They can generate more sheer volume than any group I know of....but, and a very important but'...this is good loud, hard hitting, swinging, pristine enthusiasm...truly a helluva fine group" -New York Jazz Gazzette.
WHO HAVE WE PERFORMED WITH?
Over the past three decades, the GJB has shared the stage with, among others, Frank Sinatra, Alan King, the Manhattan Transfer, Ben Vereen, Carol Channing, Stockard Channing, Benny Goodman, Buddy Rich, Clark Terry, Louis Belson, Bobby Hackett, Dizzie Gillespie, Kid Ory, Ed Garland, the World's Greatest Jazz Band, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band!
GJB members have recorded with, among others, Kid Thomas, George Lewis, Albert Burbank, Captain John Handy, Sammy Rimmington, Noel Kaletsky, Big Bill Bissonnette, Slow Drag Pavageau, George Guesnon, Jim Robinson, Louis Nelson, Jack Gale, Emmanuel Paul, Sammy Penn, Matt Finders, George Masso, Jim Fryer, Kenny Daverne, Les Paul, Garry Mazzaroppi, Howard Alden, Wayne Wright, Spiegle Willcox, Conrad Janis, Herb Gardner, Joel Helleny, Craig Grant, Skip Hughes, Jimmy Mazzy, Carol Leigh and Jane Campedelli.
In addition to the above, the GJB has performed with REED-MEN: Bud Freeman, Edmund Hall, Herb Hall, Joe Murayni, & Billy Novick, TROMBONISTS: Jimmy Archey, Big Chief Russell Moore, Art Baron, Dan Barrett, Scott Whitfield, Harvey Tibbs, Ed Hubble, Porky Cohen, Buddy Morrow, Jerry Zigmont, Sonny Costanzo, Tom Artin, Jack Kelly, Dick Driewitz, Benny Morton, Wendell Eugene, Frog Joseph, Kenny Rupp, and Tom Boates.
Others performing with the GJB include CORNETISTS: Lew Green, Ed Polcer, Tony Pringle, Randy Reinheart, Joe Hanlon, Lee Lorenz, Paul Monat, Geoff Bull, Scott Black; DRUMMERS: Zutty Singleton, Gene Krupa, Tommy Benford, Freddie Coleman, Garry Burghoff, Ed Stockmal, Ronny Grebb, and Johnny Vine; PIANISTS: Teddy Wilson, Don Ewell, Harold Danko, Ellen Rowe, Merrill Doucette, Dave Douquette, Bill Whitcraft, Tex Wyndham, Butch Thompson, and Jeff Barnhardt. Others include: Dave Huxtable, Bruce McNichols, Bob Adams, Vince Giordano, Sarah Spencer, Steve Bulmer, Barry Boccuss, Eli Newberger, Red Balaban, Arny Hyman, Dave Ostwald, and Ruth Brisbane.
THE GJB MUSICIANS
FRED VIGORITO, Cornet & Leader, Guilford Ct: Fred is a full time musician, having retired from the Telephone company. He has been playing New Orleans Jazz since 1963 when he joined Big Bill Bissonnette's Easy Rider Jazz Band. Fred, a former Connecticut allstate first-trumpeter, is featured on more than 35 recordings, his most memorable being a 1965 GHB recording at Preservation Hall with jazz veterans Jim Robinson, Albert Burbank, Creole George Guesno and Don Ewell. Fred plays a hot, driving cornet style, with a clear, defined lead. Major influences include Louis Armstrong, Kid Thomas, Kid Howard, Wild Bill Davison, Bobby Hackett, Muggsy Spanier, Ruby Braff and Thomas Jefferson. Fred has lead the Galvanized Jazz Band, Connecticut’s #1 Jazz Band, every Sunday evening since 1971!
RUSS WHITMAN, Clarinet, Soprano Sax, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax & Bass Sax, Ansonia, CT: Russ, a Harvard PHD graduate, moved from Chicago to CT with his wife Carol Leigh several years ago. He is one of those rare musicians that excels in all of the reeds. Because of Russ's unsurpassed versatility, he is one of the most sought after reed men in the business. That's why he has appeared at forty five jazz festivals and has recorded some twenty albums since 1970, many with the fabulous James Dapogny Jazz Band. His 1982 Atlantic recording with Sippie Wallace was nominated for a Grammy.
BILL SINCLAIR, Piano, Trumbull, Ct: Bill is a versatile pianist, with an incredible feel for New Orleans jazz as it should be played, from the heart, with deep meaning and poignant subtleties. Also a former Easy Rider, Bill has been playing New Orleans Jazz for over 40 years, and in addition to his GJB schedule, Bill leads his own band twice weekly. In terms of world travel, Bill leads the pack, having been invited to play in Germany, France and Belgium every year for the past 20 years. Bill also leads the pack in recordings with New Orleans Jazz veterans, both audio and video. According to the New York Jazz Gazette, "Bill handles solos with imagination and taste, and is well able to drive the rhythm section when required".
THE MUSICIANS, cont’d,
ARTHUR HOVEY, Tuba & String Bass, Milford, Ct: Art is a charter "Galvanizer", having helped form the band while attending Yale in the early sixties, graduating in 1964. Art, who is a retired physics teacher, was also principal tubist with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra for ten years, leading both a classical and a jazz life, simultaneously. Art's tuba playing is second to none, whether it's Clarinet Polka, a slow ballad, Louis' chorus on Potato Head Blues, or trading fours with anyone! As one reviewer expressed it, "Art gives new life to the Tuba". And his String Bass playing aint bad either!
BOB BEQUILLARD, Drums, Winsted, Ct: Bob is a true Dixieland veteran, having played for over 40 years, and with the best of them. He even traded four's with Teddy Wilson in the late sixties, and Teddy was impressed! Another highlight for Bob was a seventies RCA recording with Wild Bill Davison and Bob's personal friend, George Masso. Those of us that play with Bob, and occasionally with other drummers, have grown to appreciate Bob's ability to always hold that steady, solid beat, in spite of the sometimes craziness of the front line. And when it comes to solo's, Bob is a master, exciting, and always tasteful.
JOEL SCHIAVONE, Banjo, Hamden, Ct: Joel picked up the Banjo while attending Yale and Harvard in the sixties, originated the idea of 'YOUR FATHER'S MUSTACHE", and then went on to spread the concept throughout the US and Europe. Thanks to Joel, YFM became an incredible success, and a training ground for the finest Dixieland musicians in the country. Since the early seventies, Joel has been the GJB's emcee and Banjo player at the weekly Sunday venue and other selected, special GJB events. The rest of Joel's time is spent taking care of his young family, rebuilding old neighborhoods, and preserving Dixieland Jazz here in Ct; Joel was the CEO of The Great Connecticut JazzFest for 8 years. Joel is also a hard-driving Banjo player, an experienced soloist, and a dynamic emcee. Recenly, Joel was inducted into the prestegious Banjo Hall of Fame!
Galvanized Jazz Band Special Guests
JANE CAMPEDELLI, Vocals, Jacksonville, Fla: Jane has been singing since her teenage years, and continues today with world-wide Sweet Adeline tours and, whenever we can get her, with the GJB. Originally from Mass., Jane sang for many years at the Stickey Wicket with Johnny Sheahan’s Heritage Jazz Band with Jimmy Mazzy, Noel Kaletsky and Scott Philbrick. Jane now resides in Jacksonville, Fl., but we invite her to CT. for all important jobs. There's no question about it, she's the best, whether it's belting out 'Cake Walking Babies' or 'Hard Hearted Hanna', or soothing the fans with '100 Years From Today'. She always manages to dazzle the audience, and the musicians.
NOEL KALETSKY, Clarinet & Sax, Branford Ct: Noel, a former ‘Galvanized’ regular for 26 years, is a full time musician in every sense of the word, plays Jazz festivals throughout the world, works steadily with the Bearcats Jazz Band, and is a featured, guest performer with the GJB and Rent Party Revelers, working from his Clinton, CT. home base. Often described as an "exciting, versatile soloist with seemingly unlimited endurance", Noel, a former Easy Rider, has performed with the best of them, including an RCA recording with New Orleans veterans, a GHB recording with Wild Bill Davison, and numerous Jazz Crusade recordings. As one reviewer recently remarked about Noel's playing: "This is about as good as it gets". We Agree!
BOB PRICE, Banjo, Stratford, CT: Bob is a native of CT., but recently moved to Florida, and has been making a living playing the banjo for the past 30 years. In his spare time, he managed to earn degrees in Philosophy and Music, and an MA in Far Eastern History. Although most of Bob’s playing has involved solo work and small combo’s, Bob is a master at working with the standard New Orleans ensemble. With single string solo’s, Bob is second to none. Bob is an artist representative for the Gibson Company.
JIM FRYER, Trombone, Wallingford, CT: Jim began his professional career at the age of 16 in the Boston, Mass area. He later joined the Paradise City Jazz Band, and played many festivals with them. Since that time, Jim has toured internationally every year, played on dozens of recordings, made TV appearances, and played a variety of theaters and concert halls throughout New England. In 1988 Jim first toured England, and has returned every year since, with Classic Jazz Epochs and Jeff Barnhart, Paradise City JB, the Hot Cats, and as a solo performer with the UK’s best musicians, including Humphrey Littleton, Kenny Baker and Digby Fairweather. Back in the US Jim is the busiest brass man in CT., playing and teaching Jazz seven days a week, and now a featured performer with the Titan Hot Seven Jazz Band. In his travels he has shared the stage with Doc Cheatham, Kenny Davern, Butch Thompson, Dave Brubeck, Slide Hampton, Milt Jackson, and Rosemary Clooney. Jim now lives in CT. with his wife and two children.
Craig Grant, LaGrangeville, NY: Craig began playing Dixieland while attending Harvard University, first at Boston’s Red Garter with banjoist Joel Schiavone, then at several of Joel’s ‘Your Father’s Mustache’ clubs in Mass, NJ and NY. What followed was a 6 month gig in Boston with Bobby Hackett, Jackie Williams, Ronny Bill and Chuck Stewart. He began guesting with the GJB in 1973, and soon found himself working with Wild Bill, Doc Cheatham, the McPartlands, Kenny Davern, Arvell Shaw, Herb Hall, Jack Lesberg, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie and Urbie Green. Craig retired from IBM several years ago, but still works in the industry. Craig has directed his church choir since 1990, the youth handbell choir since 1988, and he’s directed/produced several musical shows. He’s definitely a favorite among GJB fans!
WEEKLY JAZZ PERFORMANCES
The Galvanized Jazz Band, Connecticut’s number one Jazz band according to Connecticut Magazine, has performed every Sunday evening, since January, 1971, and hopes to continue the tradition at????? The GJB has a faithful following of Jazz fans that appreciate good music, good food, and an occasional drink!
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Wrought Iron
author: John Russellexcellent, HOT music, Russ Whitman on reeds was good as usual. I also have 2 albums by this band on which Sammy Rimington, from England is a guest artist on . I live in England and have met Sammy Rimington several times and can recommend any of his recordings as well. I have other great CD by Galvanized Band
"HOT, HOT. HOT" !!!!!!!!!!!
author: Paul Winterhalder"HOT,HOT,HOT"."PASSIONATE"."HOT,HOT,HOT,HOOOOTTT". Nothing finer except seeing The GJB perform in person. This album will knock your socks off and make any day much much much brighter!