Dixie Street All Stars

Leon Heale, Geoff Speed, Brett Iggulden, Rod Andrew, Rob Moffatt, Tony Orr, Bruce Gourlay

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The Band

Dixie Street All Stars Jazz Band is made up of a bunch of thoroughly decent, well ripened larrikins who have individually carved out envious reputations over many years throughout the length and breadth of Australia's Jazz scene and overseas. Members of this ensemble have performed with universally admired bands such as Frank Trainor's Jazz Preachers, The Red Onions, Hot Peppers and Black Mountain Jazz Bands and Storyville Jazzmen.

Jazz exists primarily at the ‘moment of performance’. You can make a sound recording of it, and transcribe the notes onto a score. But the next live performance won’t sound like that record or that score. Beyond its historical significance, the music itself is sometimes punchy, full of flair and subtle when required, with much of it being irresistibly happy. Our concerts invite you to experience the ‘moment of performance’ where the collective improvisation of the group provides that special sound of surprise that can only be experienced live.

The band has delighted audiences for many years both overseas and within Australia with their extensive Traditional / Dixieland Jazz repertoire.

To learn more about the individual band members, you can access our bios here.

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The Music

Our program comprises a wide variety of tunes from the golden years of jazz. We have chosen beautifully crafted tunes from composers such as Andy Razaf, Fats Waller, Neil Moret, Jerome Kern, Richard Rogers, James P Johnson and Ray Henderson for your dancing and listening pleasure.

Songs were chosen from the period 1890 to 1932. Exuberant renditions of 'Oh Marie', 'Rain' and 'My Sin' were mixed with romantic compositions 'You Are Too Beautiful', 'If I Didn't Care', 'You Tell Me Your Dreams' and the originally dreamy waltz 'Oh How I Miss You Tonight', as they tell of love lost, regained and old fashioned. They provide a nostalgic glimpse of another age where 'love' was just as complicated as it is today.

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Hot Peppers Jazz Band

Ken Richards, Bryant Ham, Terry Wynn, Maurie Fabrikant, Graham Eames, Dave Sutton, Rod Andrew

 

Hot Peppers Jazz Band was born in Deniliquin (NSW) during its Easter Jazz Festival in 2001. At that time it drew on highly experienced professional musicians from many country areas in Victoria. The band repertoire generally spans the golden years of early jazz from 1900 - 1930. The classic jazz of Clarence Williams, Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver, the traditional genre of Louis Armstrong, Spencer Williams, Maceo Pinkard, Jimmy McHugh and Fats Waller, and the swing era of Rogers and Hart, Vernon Duke, Ira Gershwin and Duke Ellington are all featured.

The band's philosophy regarding the music it performs is that it must be danced, sung and listened to with ease. All musicians bring to the function respected and wide ranging musical experiences spanning 40 years. The band has released three CDs.

Australian clients of the band have included Australia Day Committees, Australian Brumbies Rugby Team, Canberra Hospital, Racing Carnival Committees, various country-town Ball Committees, Golf Clubs, Hotels, Memorial Services Clubs in Victoria and NSW and a variety of regional Jazz Clubs including the Victorian Jazz Club, Werribee Jazz and Swing Club, and the Peninsula Jazz Club. Annual Jazz Festival appearances are at Moe, Port Fairy, Merimbula and the Australian Jazz Convention. An extensive tour of New Zealand during 2003 was acclaimed as highly successful by jazz patrons and critics alike.

The current band line up is noted for getting its audience involved in the performance. It has a distinctive style and is totally dedicated to providing a high level of quality entertainment.

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CD Review from Jazz Scene . . .

Dixie Street Jazz Band - Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight

This recording was made by the band that toured New Zealand in early 2011, comprising a bunch of veterans whose origins stem from South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales without a hint of regional conflict. The selection of tunes covers the years from 1779 (Amazing Grace), through 1886 (the title tune), the 1900s (Down South, China Town and Ragtime Dance), with others from the 1920s, 30s & 40s, right up to a Roger Bell composition from 1963 and one from the shared pen of Bob Bernard and Chris Taperell that brings us right up to 1990. What a pleasure to hear many songs that are way off the well-trodden path of the Revival, all played with verve, enthusiasm and, dare I say it – feeling for the genre; not always present when the classics are played for the umpteenth time. In the sleeve notes, major domo Rod Andrews describes the music as "… sometimes punchy, full of flair, subtle when required and with many of them simply toe-tapping." Master-of-Ceremonies (and past Master-of-other things) Maurie Fabrikant sums up with 'Around 310 years of performance experience will come at you through the gramophone so sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy a "Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight".

Hear! Hear!