Jazz Age Rumpus V — The Music of Sidney Bechet

Vintage Music Festival and Southside Aces CD Release!

Featuring: Southside Aces, Sidney & Muggsy, The Boat Note Five with special guest Sam Skavnak

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Sunday, March 22

The Hook and Ladder Theater

Doors 2:30pm : Music 3:00-7:00pm

General Admission

$22 ADV (Box Office) / $25 ADV (Online) / $27 Door

(Includes Tax, CC Processing, & Ticketing Fees)

• Family Friendly All Ages — Under 18 must be accompanied by adult or guardian
• GA limited seating will be available on a first come, first served basis.

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BOX-OFFICE Tickets Are Available in The Zen Arcade During Hours of Operation. For More Information visit www.ZenArcadeTHC.com

NO REFUNDS

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Once again Hook and Ladder Theater welcomes listeners and dancers to revel in the sounds of the Jazz Age! Year five of the festival celebrates the famed New Orleanian clarinetist and soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet. You’ll hear his music, starting with the 1923 hit “Kansas City Man Blues” with Clarence Williams, through the swinging 1940 quartet with Muggsy Spanier, the spectacular fireworks of his jazz duels with Louis Armstrong, all the way to the beautiful 1950s compositions recorded with French jazz orchestras, which sold more records than the French pop stars of the day.

Paired with this year’s festival is the exciting CD release of Les Oignons, Southside Aces’ newest recording! Ten tracks of Sidney’s hits. All Bechet, all day!

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Dedication

This festival is dedicated to Dr. Henry Blackburn, who opened all our eyes and ears to the amazing world of Sidney Bechet.

Southside Aces

Your magnanimous Jazz Age Rumpus hosts, Southside Aces, are a Twin Cities institution. For over two decades they’ve brought to life the early New Orleans of Jelly Roll Morton, the Chicago joys of Louis Armstrong, the evocative compositions of the young Duke Ellington, on up to the barrel house sounds of Preservation Hall and the early rock and roll of Fats Domino. Their belief in the contemporary vitality of New Orleans music led to the 2022 release of their eighth album, Minneapolis Bump, containing fifteen originals in the style. 2026 will see the release of two more albums: Les Oignons, the band’s spotlight on the music of Sidney Bechet, and The Big Beat, the album you most want to spin at your next New Orleans party.

“By the end of the night, it felt like the members of Southside Aces were longtime friends of my soul.”

–From the blog girlattherockshows.com

Sidney & Muggsy

Soprano saxophonist and clarinetist Sam Skavnak leads this quartet created exclusively for Jazz Age Rumpus to bring you the music of the Bechet Spanier Big Four. Those 1940 recordings showed Bechet in a new setting — working with just cornet and a hot club rhythm section of guitar and bass — to create an incredibly light but fiery swing. Taking on the role of cornetist Muggsy Spanier is Dan Eikmeier, while guitar virtuoso, Sam Miltich, and his bassist father, Matthew Miltich, provide that propulsive hot club rhythm.

“If you’re hearing this music for the first time, keep those ears open wide — this is the real thing!”

-Dan Morgenstern review of the original recordings

The Boat Note Five with special guest Sam Skavnak

Since 2018, The Boat Note Five has dedicated themselves to Louis Armstrong, celebrating the genius and ebullience of the man who changed music forever. The name of the band is drawn from one of Louis' many nicknames, and their repertoire is taken from his nearly fifty-year recording career, starting with the groundbreaking music he made in the 1920s. The band has three members from Southside Aces: Tony Balluff, clarinet; Dan Eikmeier, trumpet; and Dave Michael, drums. Rounding out the quintet are Josh Granowski on string bass and Rick Carlson on piano. Special for Jazz Age Rumpus: soprano saxophonist Sam Skavnak joins the band to help recreate the epic Louis Armstrong/Sidney Bechet jazz battles.

“Boxing had Ali and Frazier. Jazz had Armstrong and Bechet.”

-Louis Armstrong biographer Ricky Riccardi

Tony Balluff

Founder and director of Jazz Age Rumpus, Tony is a clarinetist and composer focusing on early jazz. He received his higher education in traditional jazz from local legends, The Hall Brothers Jazz Band, including Charlie DeVore and Butch Thompson, with a concentration on Sidney Bechet from Dr. Henry Blackburn. He leads many bands in his efforts to bring the Jazz Age into the 21st Century.