"Tin Roof Blues" * Eric Seddon's Hot Club * 5/21/16

Here's a clip of today's quartet playing "Tin Roof Blues":

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

The Music of Jimmie Noone @ EARLYJAS in Twinsburg!

Eric Seddon's Hot Club is excited to be returning to the EARLYJAS Society at the British American Club in Twinsburg this Sunday from 2-5pm. Last fall we presented a memorial concert dedicated to the original compositions of the great English Trad Jazz clarinetist, Acker Bilk, which was met with considerable enthusiasm, and encouraged us to pursue similarly themed concerts. 

This Sunday we'll continue our series exploring jazz history with a unique program comprised almost exclusively of numbers recorded by Jimmie Noone's Apex Club Orchestra of the 1920s. Noone's Apex Club Orchestra was pivotal in the history of jazz, introducing a chamber jazz approach focused on improvisational counterpoint and clarity, blazing the way for the likes of Benny Goodman (who was profoundly influenced by Noone's playing), Artie Shaw, Nat King Cole, and countless others. 

Noone's unparalleled virtuosity was coupled with a mellowness of tone and depth of phrasing rarely approached in jazz history: we're grateful for this opportunity to showcase his remarkable art.

Eric Seddon * clarinet
John Richmond * saxophone, clarinet
Jim Davis * cornet
George Foley * piano
Gene Epstein * upright bass
Bill Fuller * drums

tickets: $20

C'mon down to Christopher's Pub this evening, enjoy some food, drink and camaraderie, while listening to a preview of our upcoming British American Club show dedicated to the music of Jimmie Noone's legendary Apex Club Orchestra! We'll be rehearsing some numbers not often heard since the roaring '20s, speakeasy style--with the added benefit that, in 2016 at Christopher's, it's all legal!

Residency for Eric Seddon's Hot Club @ Christopher's Pub, Cleveland Hts!

We're happy to announce our new residency at Christopher's Pub in Cleveland Hts, beginning this Wednesday, April 13th. Every second Wednesday, come hear us play New Orleans Style Hot Jazz, in all its manifestations--from the earliest jazz tunes, through the various global revivals, to our own originals--experience the dynamic soul of this constantly growing artform!

Jimmie Noone with Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band, 1944

In the spring of 1944, the great Jimmie Noone joined Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band for a weekly gig on Orson Welles's Radio Show in Los Angeles. After only a few broadcasts, jazz lost one of its pioneers, and jazz clarinet one of its greatest geniuses of all time, when Noone suffered a massive heart attack and passed away just days short of his 49th birthday. I've listened to Noone for years, and have reviewed the comprehensive JSP Records box of his recordings elswehere on this blog. 

Until today, though, I'd never heard any of his performances with Kid Ory for Orson Welles, and assumed they just didn't exist. But it turns out some recording were preserved...and they're amazing. They're the only recordings we have of Noone playing the New Orleans standards "Muskrat Ramble" and "High Society" (including Noone's version of the famous 'test solo'). Add to that a blues, where Jimmie plays laid back virtuosic figurations behind the vocalist, and we have a real insight into how this master must have played in front of live audiences. On "High Society", Noone's legendary tone and articulation are there...but you hear him perhaps gasping for breaths at inopportune moments--maybe his heart was giving out even as he was playing this? It's a powerful moment in jazz clarinet history to have recorded and to hear. If anyone knows of any commercially available digital transfers of these performances, I'd be grateful to know about them. Enjoy. 


[UPDATE 1/19/17: I've found a CD remaster of some of these performances, reviewed here.]

Good Friday Meditation

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? recorded in my studio on a Tascam DR-40.

Jimmie Noone at the British American Club

Just Announced:

Eric Seddon's Hot Club returns to the EARLYJAS Society at the British American Club in Twinsburg, Ohio on Sunday May 22nd from 2-5pm, featuring a program dedicated to the music of Jimmie Noone.

Eric Seddon, clarinet
Jim Davis, cornet
George Foley, piano
Bob McGuire, banjo + guitar
Gene Epstein, upright bass
Bill Fuller, drums