They were singing the blues at the Morristown & Township Library on Friday– in a good way.
The annual Jazz in July series saluted two centennials–jazz and the library–and the band composed a birthday tribute on the spot: The Morristown Library Blues. Check out the video above.
Slideshow photos by Kevin Coughlin
Kudos to the combo: Joe Licari on clarinet, Randy Reinhart on cornet, Tom Artin on trombone, John Halsey on piano, Brian Nalepka on bass, and David Humm on drums.
In the spirit of the evening, they played plenty of hits from 1917. Here’s one of them, Shelton Brooks’ Darktown Strutters’ Ball:
If you missed this show, you’ve got one more chance. Another group will conclude the library’s 13th annual Jazz in July series at 7 pm on Friday, July 21, 2017. Admission is $20, at One Miller Road, Morristown.
Let’s see what sort of birthday tune Bob Devos (guitar), Bob McHugh (piano), Ron Naspo (bass) and the ubiquitous David Humm (drums) can cook up.
According to the library, these fellows…
…will highlight some of the jazz greats born in 1917, such as Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie, as well as Duke Ellington, another legendary figure in the music genre.
Thelonious Monk was born on Oct. 10, 1917, and developed an improvisational style that led to many of his compositions to be recorded by other jazz artists.
Dizzy Gillespie, born eleven days after Monk, was a virtuoso trumpeter known for his unique, bent instrument, his puffed cheeks and a style that went uncopied for decades due to its complexity.
Duke Ellington was almost a generation older than Monk and Gillespie and wrote an astounding number of compositions from his ambitious Black, Brown and Beige in 1943 to Mood Indigo, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore and It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).
