A great time was had by all last night at JAZZ Restaurant in Columbia. I started the evening with the Cajun Shrimp Fettucine, which was delicious. The players were Jeff England, Larry Garrett, Rich Howard, Dan Kelley, Jim "Dr. Jazz" Roller and Mike Thaman. To celebrate the last appearance of the Shingle Shakers, Rich made up lanyards, from which hung a laminated copy of the Shingle Shakers sign. To celebrate the future of Reunion Jazz Band, Larry brought a semi-final mock-up of our new logo. You're gonna love it!
It was a real treat to have Jim Roller with us. He still plays that trumpet with the skill of...well...a surgeon!! His vocal and trumpet rendition of Dr. Jazz is the best I've heard, and certainly merits his nickname. I'm not sure whether Jim introduced us to South, but he plays the lead as well as anyone I know. Those of us who will be playing at the Ozark Jazz Society August 5 - 7 have a real treat in store, as Dr. Jazz will be our lead trumpet there as well.
We had a great crowd. At least three tables that I know of made calls to friends who came and joined in the fun. As we signed off each set with When You're Smiling, I let the audience know that it was the last time we'd be playing as the Shingle Shakers, and that we look forward to entertaining them for many more years as Reunion Jazz Band.
Stay tuned...tomorrow I'll give you an update on our Fair Saint Louis plans. Mike is hard at work on a detailed itinerary, and will be sending that out in the next few days. The preliminary plans for the Hunter's Moon Festival will be coming to you in the next week. The final plan for the Ozark Jazz Society is in the works and as you know, Rich is working on our Columbia Reunion. These are all posted in our Schedule Section.
We have a lot of fun ahead of us. I'm looking forward to seeing each of you in the coming weeks and months!
Remember to look for Reunion Jazz Band effective immediately.