Chuck Hedges can be counted on for a beautiful tone and a swinging approach. He headed a sextet.

Continued: Elkhart

Another remarkable set took place Satuday evening on the Elco Stage with Ken Peplowski, clarinet and tenor sax, guesting with the Shelly Berg Trio. With Berg at the piano, Professor Lou Fischer playing his Yamaha "Silent Bass" and Randy Drake on the drums, the quartet saluted Zoot Sims with a romping "Red Door" and along the way eased into three lovely ballads, "No Regrets," "In The Middle of a Kiss" and "Spring Is Here" before ending with Bud Powell's "Tempus Fugit," an excursion into the wild and woolly.

Another weekend highlight was a collaboration between pianist Eddie Higgins and the superb bassist Frank Tate, doing Jimmy Rowles' quirky but lovely tune, "The Peacocks," Wow!

Pianist Jim Ryan was another of the Cats 'N Jammers.

Also contributing mightily to the festival were drummer Jake Hanna and trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso. A Kellso set Friday evening found the leader and Hanna in the company of Ken Peplowski, honoree Marty Grosz, bassist John Bany and pianist Johnny Varro. Opening with "Love Is Just Around The Corner" (morphing into a "Smoo-oo-the One") and closing with "Beale Street Blues," this set was a keeper. Somewhere in the middle, the sextet filled the air with strains of such diverse tunes as "Running Wild," "On The Alamo" and "A Porter's Love Song To A Chambermaid," a feature for the Peplowski clarinet. Johnny Varro came to the solo mike with "It's You Or No One," which was echoed in the Rob Parton set that followed. Varro popped up again as a soloist in a nifty Chuck Hedges set which also spotted Kellso, Grosz, Tate and Miles. Varro's feature was a beautiful reading of Duke Ellington's "What Am I Here For?" in a trio setting.

Also deserving a mention was trombonist Jiggs Whigham, an ex-Clevelander who spends a great deal of his time overseas. Whigham lent his more than considerable talents to sessions led by the Vach[ACCENT]e brothers and fellow brassmen Kellso and Sandke.

The Elkhart format calls for one-hour sets with a half hour between the action. Much of the audience leaves after a set to seek another venue, so there are often plenty of seats opening up after a set. If it rains, you can stay put and perhaps discover a group that wasn't on your original agenda. This, too, can be rewarding. The Elkhart weekend comes to an end all too soon, but plans can be made to return for next year's event (June 27-28) and there can be added benefits. We stayed over in order to drive home on a less crowded Monday morning, for example, and we were rewarded by a delightful breakfast chat with Terry Myers!

Van Young, left, was a major force in getting the Elkhart Festival started years ago, and he's still involved. (Note the MC badge.) He's pictured with Salty Dog Tom Bartlett.

September 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag

P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.