Some Upcoming Dates

For those of you around the Cleveland/Akron area, here are some upcoming dates where you can catch me in various groups.

Cleveland's BOP STOP Named #1 Jazz Club in America

Congratulations to Cleveland's legendary BOP STOP for having been named the #1 Jazz Club in America and the #2 in the World in the All About Jazz Readers Poll! I'm very proud to have recorded my band's live album -- Bootlegs from the Bop Stop --there in the Fall of 2017!

In the Fall of 2017, my band Eric Seddon's Hot Club was given the rare opportunity to lead a six concert history of jazz clarinet. At the time we jokingly called it the Trad Jazz Invasion, and were deeply grateful for the enthusiasm and support of the manager, Gabe Pollack, for giving us the opportunity and sticking with us for that entire season. We were so happy with the sound of the room and some of the performances captured by friends that we released Eric Seddon's Hot Club "Bootlegs from the Bop Stop" in 2018. You can order your copy of the album here. 

As an interesting note, only the Kozlov Club in Moscow topped the Bop Stop globally. This isn't much of surprise to me, as so many of our readers are from the Russian Federation. perhaps we'll have to do a second live album there! 

Bootlegs from the Bop Stop

One year ago tonight, Eric Seddon's Hot Club was in the middle of a six concert 'Trad Jazz Invasion' of the Bop Stop in Cleveland. Several of the numbers we performed that night were captured and released on our first CD: Eric Seddon's Hot Club: Bootlegs from the Bop Stop. (Click link and scroll down for CD ordering information.)

Here are some clips of the band from that series...it was a special time.

CD Release Party at the BOP STOP in Cleveland

Eric Seddon's Hot Club at the BOP STOP (photo: Bill Laufer)

This is the Big One at Last! If you're wondering which of our upcoming gigs to attend, our CD release party at the Bop Stop is the one I'd suggest. I usually don't discriminate when it comes to gigs, but last year Gabe Pollack gave our band the unprecedented opportunity to play a six concert 'Trad Jazz Invasion' of the Bop Stop in Cleveland. We covered rarely heard Sidney Bechet numbers, Jimmie Noone, George Lewis, Benny Goodman, Acker Bilk, Hubert Rostaing, and an evening of my own tunes.

One of the results of that series was our new CD--Bootlegs from the Bop Stop, recorded by Bill Laufer and my wife Elisa, which we'll be selling at this gig.

Also joining us this Thursday will be the legendary Dean of the Trad Jazz Scene here in Cleveland-- George Foley--on the Bop Stop's famous Steinway. If you haven't heard George on a Steinway, this is one of the great opportunities to do so.

George Foley (piano) with Eric Seddon (clarinet)

Mostly, I'd like to thank Gabe with a packed house--for backing our group throughout all of last Fall, and allowing our mission of bringing Traditional New Orleans style jazz played at the highest level of artistry a chance to shine at one of the top nightclubs in Cleveland.

Eric Seddon, clarinet
George Foley, piano
Kevin T Richards, guitar
Gene Epstein, bass
Bill Fuller, drums

Songs from Bechet to Today....

You can purchase your tickets here.

The BOP STOP
2920 Detroit Ave
Cleveland, OH 44113

Thank you and KEEP SWINGING!!!

Eric Seddon's Hot Club * CD Release Party at The Bop Stop in Cleveland * Thursday August 16th

Just about a year ago, Gabe Pollack gave our band the unprecedented opportunity to play six concerts of New Orleans style jazz over a twelve week period at the BOP STOP -- arguably the best listening room for jazz in Cleveland. Three weeks from tonight, we're going to return there to celebrate our live CD pulled from those evenings--Eric Seddon's Hot Club: Bootlegs from the Bop Stop. 

I'd like to repay Gabe's faith in us with a packed house this August 16th. Tickets are only $12, and can be purchased here. 

In addition to hearing material from the new album, you'll be treated to real NOLA style hot jazz from my clarinet,  George Foley on the Bop Stop's Steinway piano, Kevin T. Richards on guitar, Gene Epstein on bass, and Bill Fuller on drums. The new CD will also be available for purchase! 

"Seddon, who has a large tone and extroverted style on clarinet...dominates the music, playing with infectious spirit and creativity within the classic format. His songs, which include a tribute to the late Acker Bilk ("Goodbye Bowler Hat"), are natural fits for New Orleans jazz bands..." 

--Scott Yanow, The Syncopated Times

Eric Seddon's Hot Club [photo: Bill Laufer]

New Logos for Eric Seddon's Hot Club

Emphasizing our New Orleans roots, we've officially updated our band logo as of today:

'Like' and follow us on FaceBook for all the latest information about gigs and recordings! 

Eric Seddon's Hot Club * Go Down, Moses * Bootlegs from the Bop Stop * Marlboro Man Music * 2018

Here's a video of a spiritual included on our new album Bootlegs from the Bop Stop, available through Marlboro Man Music here (shipping to the US only). All of the recordings for this album were captured live in single takes during our Trad Jazz Invasion of Cleveland's Bop Stop in the Fall of 2017.

Eric Seddon, clarinet
Jim Davis, cornet
Kevin T. Richards, guitar
Gene Epstein, bass
Bill Fuller, drums

video by Bill Laufer/Laufer Film

Enjoy!

Scott Yanow on Bootlegs from the Bop Stop

"Seddon, who has a large tone and extroverted style on clarinet...dominates the music, playing with infectious spirit and creativity within the classic format. His songs, which include a tribute to the late Acker Bilk ("Goodbye Bowler Hat"), are natural fits for New Orleans jazz bands..."

Scott Yanow, from a review in The Syncopated Times, July 21018

CDs of the new album can be ordered here (shipping to USA only).

Eric Seddon's Hot Club: Bootlegs from the Bop Stop CD now available for order in the USA!

We're happy to announce the release of our new CD--Eric Seddon's Hot Club: Bootlegs from the Bop Stop! The album features four traditionals spiritual and six originals by me, including my tribute to the late Acker Bilk, 'Goodbye, Bowler Hat.'

This disc documents the band's 2017 Historical Jazz Clarinet Concert Series at one of Cleveland's most important jazz clubs. The Bop Stop is renowned for its stellar sound and discerning jazz audiences. We were grateful to play a six concert 'Trad Jazz Invasion' last Fall, and some of the bootlegs that came out of it (from the acoustic perspective of the audience rather than multi-tracked and mixed) were so energetic and typical of our live shows we wanted to release them as an album. On a personal note, I wanted my first album to represent reality--each tune a single take, capturing real sound, including any rawness or roughness to the playing. This isn't airbrushed, but the real thing--natural music. I hope you like it as much as we enjoyed making it. 

You can order your copy of the album from my website--click here and scroll down to the album, where you'll find the information. Note: we only ship within the USA.

Coming Soon: Eric Seddon's Hot Club on CD -- 'Bootlegs from the Bop Stop'

Three years ago tonight, Eric Seddon's Hot Club played its very first gig--at the Wine Spot on Lee Road in Cleveland Hts, as part of ChamberFest Cleveland's Uncorked series. Since then we've become a fixture of the Northeast Ohio Trad Jazz scene, regularly playing such venues as the Bop Stop, BLU Jazz +, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Tri-C JazzFest, the British American Club, and the Music Box Supper Club, among others.

Today, on this third anniversary, we're happy to announce that our first CD, 'Bootlegs from the Bop Stop' will soon be available for purchase. It features four traditional spirituals and six originals by Eric -- all of them single take performances from last Fall's six concert 'Trad Jazz Invasion' of the Bop Stop.

The idea for the album came about when, a few months after the shows, Eric stumbled across some iPhone 'bootlegs' taken by his wife and was surprised by how good and 'real' the sound was. Combining them with some recordings made by Bill Laufer of Laufer Film, he realized that, if they were all mastered, there was enough material for a live album capturing some of the vitality of those concerts.

Stay tuned for more updates regarding CD release parties, etc!

Choruses on 'A Smooth One'

The turnout and enthusiasm of the crowds for our series at BLU Jazz + in Akron continue to inspire and impress. Here are a couple of my choruses on the Benny Goodman classic "A Smooth One" from last Saturday night...

Announcing: 2018 Concert Series at BLU Jazz +

HAPPY NEW YEAR JAZZ CLARINET FANS! 

Mark your calendars and be sure to join us this Saturday, January 6th at 8pm as we launch our 2018 Concert Series at Akron's DownBeat rated Night Club: BLU Jazz + 

Our concert series is entitled "Jazz Clarinet Composers from Bechet to Today." 

We'll be featuring original tunes by Sidney Bechet, George Lewis, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Acker Bilk, Eric Seddon, and others--a century of Trad Jazz originals--many of which are brilliant tunes rarely heard live! This is your chance to hear living jazz history...

We lead off with Bechet this Saturday!

Eric Seddon Originals Live @ The Bop Stop

Our historical jazz clarinet concert series comes to a finale a week from tonight, bringing Trad Jazz all the way up to the present with an evening focusing on original compositions of mine. Hope to see some of you out there for the close of a great season!

Acker Bilk and Hubert Rostaing at The Bop Stop

I've had a surge of gratitude since playing our concert last night at the Bop Stop. Those who were there know we started with a set of gypsy jazz, dedicated to Hubert Rostaing and Django Reinhardt. The second set was dedicated to Acker Bilk's compositions.

At the beginning of the second, I asked the audience how many folks had ever heard of Acker (he's not well known on this side of the pond). I was surprised that nearly every table had someone enthusiastically raising a hand.

At the very end of the gig, after we'd played "Coffee & Ackercake" I asked them how many had ever heard that song performed live. No one raised a hand...it was the first time any of them had gotten the chance to really hear it.

Both my wife (who was in the audience) and the manager of the Bop Stop, Gabe Pollack, told me stories of couples at tables reacting emotionally to what we were doing--excited to actually hear a band playing this music for once.

Acker's music has had a profound impact on my playing and song writing. It's deceptively simple, sunny music. What you find if you play it enough, though, is a unique type of joyful depth, demanding a soulful musical language of its own. To think that we brought that to people eager to hear it last night, in a creative way...to share musical goodness like that...that's what this historical jazz clarinet concert series is all about.

I love the Benny Goodman tributes, and all of those things...they are important and people love that music...but when we can perform tunes that would otherwise be entirely lost or unperformed...when we can essentially start a musical tradition before it can't be started...as an artist, let me tell you, that is truly a great privilege.

Thank you to everyone who came out last night. We play one more in this epic series--two weeks from now we'll focus on my originals (about 15-17 tunes worth of my stuff), and some other that we didn't get to this fall (I want to play "Si Tu Vois Ma Mere" by Bechet and some others yet..) So don't miss us on the 29th at 7pm--the final installment of the 2017 Historical Jazz Clarinet Series at the BOP STOP.

Eric Seddon's Hot Club at The BOP STOP in Cleveland

"Jeremiah Blues" by Eric Seddon * Live at the Bop Stop * November 1, 2017

Here's a tune I wrote earlier this Fall, called "Jeremiah Blues"...

Eric Seddon, clarinet
Jim Davis, cornet
Kevin Richards, guitar
Gene Epstein, bass
Bill Fuller, drums

video, William Laufer

'Go Down, Moses' live at the BOP STOP

I'm very grateful Bill Laufer captured this performance on film at our most recent concert at the Bop Stop in Cleveland. One of my persistent goals with this band has been to present new, fresh versions of the traditional spirituals which form the backbone of jazz history. At the Bop Stop, I spoke a bit about my theories of jazz clarinet--that the klezmer influences of the great Jewish American players like Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman melded with the African American and Creole New Orleans styles, creating a uniquely lyrical, virtuosic, and soulful legacy. A Spiritual like "Go Down Moses", poetically touching both major streams of American Jazz clarinet heritage, seemed the perfect meeting place stylistically.

I think this moment was a special one in our concert series so far. Very glad it was recorded--thanks Bill!

yours truly, clarinet
Jim Davis, cornet
Kevin Richards, guitar
Gene Epstein, bass
Bill Fuller, drums

video by Bill Laufer

Benny Goodman: Blue Collar Virtuoso * Live at The Bop Stop

Last Wednesday's tribute to Benny Goodman at Cleveland's Bop Stop nightclub was a blast. Here are some videos...

First, my chorus on a favorite Benny Goodman number, "A Smooth One"

Next,  the ending theme of an original of mine called "(That's Just) The Way It Goes" (captured and shared by Hot Club enthusiast Bill Laufer).

Enjoy, and Keep Swinging!

Eric Seddon, clarinet

Jim Davis, cornet

Kevin Richards, guitar

Gene Epstein, bass

Bill Fuller, drums 

Eric Seddon's Hot Club Live @ The Bop Stop in Cleveland, OH (photo: Bill Laufer)

Eric Seddon's Hot Club live @ The Bop Stop

Last night we continued our six concert Trad Jazz Invasion of one of the finest jazz rooms in Cleveland--The Bop Stop. A fan caught a few choruses of my tune 'Everything's Jake' on her phone and shared it with us--you can check it out below.

Eric Seddon, clarinet
Jim Davis, cornet
Kevin Richards, guitar
Gene Epstein, bass
Bill Fuller, drums

Eric Seddon's Hot Club live @ The Music Box Supper Club TONIGHT

Almost exactly two years ago, The Music Box Supper Club gave us our first chance to play a nightclub in Cleveland. Before then,the gigs had been tough to scratch out; after that they came steadily. Ever since, we've always been happy to return to one of our favorite place to play. Here's a clip (taken by friend of the band, Reid Patterson) of our performance opening for Preservation Hall Jazz Band earlier this summer. Tonight's show starts at 7--we'll play two full sets of music, including several originals that will receive their Cleveland debuts tonight. Hope to see you there!

At The Music Box Supper Club tomorrow at 7pm!

Eric Seddon, clarinet
Jim Davis, cornet
Kevin Richards, guitar
Gene Epstein, upright bass
Bill Fuller, drums