About The Music
The Jim
Cullum Jazz Band (JCJB) plays jazz in the classic manner, that is, in the style
of small, hot ensembles prior to WWII. The band's repertoire covers a lot of ground--from
19th-century cakewalks to the small pre-war Benny Goodman ensembles.
The core of the band's music consists of the sounds of Jelly Roll Morton, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, New Orleans Rhythm Kings, King Oliver Creole Jazz Band, Louis Armstrong, and Sidney Bechet, as well as a heavy emphasis on Bix Beiderbecke and his followers (e.g., Hoagy Carmichael).
In keeping with the band's historical point of view, period instruments and performance practices are often used. The Landing Jazz Club is designed for acoustic musical performance without the use of amplifiers. Each member of the band is a specialist in historically informed jazz styles.
Leader Jim Cullum plays a cornet (instead of the trumpet or flugelhorn used in modern jazz), which was the instrument preferred by early jazz masters King Oliver, Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. Howard Elkins plays a 1920s-vintage Epiphone archtop 4-string tenor guitar and a 1935 Gibson tenor banjo. Don Mopsick plays an old German double bass set up with gut strings and high action in the manner of the pre-amplified era. Mike Waskiewicz uses drumming techniques and equipment more commonly found in the earlier drumming styles of Zutty Singleton, Ray Bauduc, and Baby Dodds.
Jim Turner plays piano in the "two-handed" tradition of James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. Clarinetist Ron Hockett acknowledges the influence in his playing of Peanuts Hucko and Bob Crosby clarinetist Irving Fazola. Trombonist Kenny Rupp's style is reminiscent of the great Jack Teagarden.
Improvised ensemble playing is an important component of the JCJB performance. As opposed to the "melody-solos-melody" format common in today's jazz bands, Jim Cullum features the almost lost art of the improvised jazz ensemble (sometimes called "collective improvisation"). Using all seven instruments or smaller combinations to create a band-within-a-band effect, this refreshing approach harkens back to the pre-Louis Armstrong days when ensemble playing had a much larger role.
The band members do not approach this music as merely re-creating the sounds of the past. Each player takes great classic jazz as only the starting point for developing a highly personal and original playing style. The group sound of the JCJB has its own unique musical identity in the tradition of Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier, and the Bob Crosby Bob Cats, among others.
In 1985-7, the band undertook an adaptation of all of the songs from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. This work was recorded for CBS Records and on the Riverwalk Jazz public radio series and, with narration by the late William Warfield, was one of the band's touring presentations. In 1995, the Kern-Hammerstein musical Show Boat was similarly adapted. Current touring programs include tributes to Louis Armstrong; Fats Waller (with pianist Dick Hyman); and Playing With Fire, a 25-minute, 3-movement concerto for orchestra and jazz band composed by Jim Cullum and Frank Ticheli. These and other concert programs are presented nationally and internationally and comprise an important part of the band's yearly work schedule.
In 1980, Jim and the band
began their
Jazz Mass presentation in
churches of various denominations. The idea crystallized when Jim heard clarinetist
Herb Hall playing "Just A Closer Walk With Thee"
at the funeral of San Antonio jazzman
Don Albert. As
the mass evolved, it grew to include other spirituals, psalms, and hymns including
"Abide
With Me," "Deep River," "Go Down Moses," "Nobody Knows,"
"I Want Jesus To Walk With Me," "His Eye Is
on the Sparrow," and ending with "When The Saints Go Marching
In." These last
two are sung by Howard Elkins, the band's principal vocalist. By 2007, the band had
performed well over 200 masses. A CD containing most of this material as presented on the Riverwalk
Jazz public radio series was released in October, 1998,
Deep River: The Spirit of
Gospel Music in Jazz.
One of the highlights of the band's concerts was a tribute to Turk Murphy at Carnegie Hall in January, 1987. Organized by Jim Cullum, the concert featured the JCJB, the Hot Antic Jazz Band of France, and Turk's San Francisco Jazz Band. Says Jim Cullum:
"The whole jazz community admired Turk for his integrity, his persistence, and his music. The idea of the concert was to honor not only Turk but the whole San Francisco jazz community. It was an absolutely thrilling event. The night before, we had a black-tie affair at the Grand Hyatt with about 1,000 people in attendance. Vinnce Giordano's band played for the dance.
"We honored Turk that night with a new horn, and the American Federation of Jazz Societies honored him as well. The President of the US sent a congratulatory telegram. The concert was held the next night at Carnegie Hall. At the end, we all played Turk's theme song, 'Bay City' in a special arrangement by John Sheridan for all three bands. It was a very emotional moment for all of us.
"As it ended up, it was Turk's last gig. He succumbed to cancer 6 months later."
The JCJB is committed to the continued life and growth classic jazz through educating the next generation of musicians and enthusiasts.
Right: Bass Master Class at the Stanford Summer
Jazz Camp.
From 1993-2005, the JCJB was on the faculty of the Stanford Summer Jazz Workshop.
The JCJB and the producers of Riverwalk Jazz, in partnership with the San Antonio YMCA are currently developing an after-school enrichment program for elementary school children called The Jim Cullum Video Curriculum.
In April, 2007, the JCJB completed an epic tour of Russia that took them from Moscow to eastern Siberia and back west to the Baltic Sea. They played 9 concerts in 17 days and covered 7 time zones. The Russian audiences were wildly enthusiastic in their applause and appreciation for the band's music.
