Dixieland at the BakeryWhat: Frisco Jazz Band and
the New Horizon Stompers

Where: Costeaux French Bakery, 417 Healdsburg Ave.
Time: 7:30 pm | Tickets: SOLD OUT

Tickets Sold OutThere will be some earth shaking when the Frisco Jazz Band brings its high-energy Dixieland into Costeaux French Bakery and Café on the first night of the 2013 Healdsburg Jazz Festival.

Back in the ’80s when San Francisco’s avatar of Dixieland, Turk Murphy, was doing his regular gigs at Earthquake McGoons, a string-instrument specialist named Scott Anthony was hired to play intermissions.  When he was a mere whelp at 14, Anthony was exceptional enough on the banjo to be invited onto Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour.  By the time he hit San Fancisco in the ’70s, he was pretty good on the guitar, too.

The Frisco Jazz Band Anthony is bringing into  the Costeaux Bakery the opening night of the festival plays high-energy Dixieland. Enough so that the bread loaves might get an extra rising. With the redoubtable Anthony leading the way on guitar, banjo and vocals, the band consists of Noel Weidkamp on cornet, Paul Edgerton on reeds, Bob Williams on trombone, Bob Ringwald on piano and Jim Maihack on tuba.  Expect to be taken down to Basin Street.

New Horizon Stompers
Frisco Jazz Band (left),  New Horizon Stompers (above)

Frisco Jazz Band

 

Opening the show will be …

The New Horizon Stompers, a crack big-band of Sonoma County Dixieland aces led by Ray Walker. Multi-instrumentalist Walker, 83, is a music instructor who calls himself “retired” despite still instructing and playing in about six different bands.  The Stompers are a dixieland offshoot of the New Horizons Band of Sonoma Country, which is a 70-strong orchestra open to anyone who wants to play an instrument and make music with like-minded folks.

What is it about Sonoma County that makes people want to play music? Is it the wine? The natural beauty? Whichever, the place is crawling with folks who’d rather pick up a clarinet that do practically anything else.

A few years ago Walker extracted some crack players from this herd and set them to swinging. They are Dave Stare on banjo, Richard Bloom and Bill Byrne on clarinets, Louise Graves and Neil Herring on saxophones, Bill Badstubner and Dave Graves on trombones, Gerry Turner on tuba, Jim Cunningham on drums and Bob Ressue on piano. Walker himself will play clarinet and banjo. He’s been known to sing, too, but don’t get too hungry now. Save it for the Bakery.

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