Twisty, Curvy Roads

Turk Murphy composed & recorded the tune, " Brother Lowdown " in 1947 during the Traditional Jazz revival years in San Francisco. Murphy was influential in the revival of traditional jazz that began in the 1930s and lasted into the '60s and '70s. You can learn more about Turk Murphy and his music here. Turk Murphy's music had a strong influence on Tom Griffith's Old Waterloo Jazz Band. You can hear that influence in this performance of Murphy's " Brother Lowdown ". This performance was recording from circa 2010 in Hutto, Texas, and features: Tom Griffith - leader/piano; Larmon Maddox - cornet; Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Robert Black - guitar/banjo; Bob Alexius - bass; Matt Prause - drums. If you enjoy hearing this please use the Subscribe button at the top of the page to get notifications of new posts. Also please click the Share icon to share this page with your friends. Jim Ivy - The Grumpy Old Man

The song " You Took Advantage Of Me " was composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was written specifically for the 1928 musical production, "Present Arms". This particular recording is another that I recovered from the drive of one of my older computers. It was recorded at a Hutto, Texas studio for the only Old Waterloo Jazz Band CD that was ever produced. Tom Griffith's Old Waterloo Jazz Band was a staple of the traditional jazz scene in Austin, Texas for many years. The personnel on this recording include Tom Griffith - leader/piano; Larmon Maddox - cornet; Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Robert Black - banjo/guitar; Bob Alexius - bass; Matt Prause - drums. If you enjoy this recording, click the "Subscribe" button at the top of the page and we will notify you as future recordings and articles are released. Also, feel free to share with your friends by email or social media by clicking the share icon!

This is another recording that I found on an old computer drive. The Old Waterloo Jazz Band recorded this in Hutto, Texas sometime around 2010. At least that is the date on the file I found! Jelly Roll Morton composed "Wolverine Blues" and recorded it at Richmond, Virginia in July of 1923. Morton was a talented musician and a prolific composer. You can read more about Jelly Roll Morton here. Tom Griffith's "Old Waterloo Jazz Band" was for many years the only traditional jazz band in Austin, Texas. They performed quite often at different venues around Austin, notably playing for many cruises up and down Lake Austin on the Riverboat Commodore. The personnel on this recording consists of: Tom Griffith - leader/piano; Larmon Maddox - cornet; Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Bob Black - guitar; Bob Alexius - bass; Jeff Prause - drums.

Listen to this article read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. The Flint River rises in a valley of the Cumberland Plateau just north of Alabama-Tennesee State Line. It runs for about 65 miles until it flows into the Tennesee River below the Guntersville Dam. The Flint is not a "wild" river, but to a young boy in the late '50s, it was certainly wild enough to produce some vivid memories! This is one of those memories. - Jim  It must have been 1957. Our parents hauled eight barely teenage boys, and four canoes to where Hwy. 72 crosses the Flint River near Brownsboro, Alabama. My paddling partner was Owen Bennett. Owen lived on Ward Avenue, in Huntsville, Alabama, and I lived a block away on Pratt Avenue. We had ordered plans for "canoe-yak" from Boy's Life Magazine. The plans showed how to build a boat that was kind of a cross between a canoe and a kayak. Owen was taking shop classes at Hunts...

'Bury Me On Basin Street' was composed by Steve Allen. Allen is perhaps better known as a TV personality. He was the original host on The Tonight Show and many other television programs. Allen was also a jazz pianist and a prolific composer who wrote over 8500 songs! You can learn more about Steve Allen here . This performance by Tom Griffith's Old Waterloo Jazz Band was recorded sometime around 2010. Personnel on this recording: Tom Griffith - leader, piano, vocal; Larmon Maddox - cornet; Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Bobby Black - guitar; Bob Alexius - bass; Jeff Prause - drums.

  Joseph Lacall wrote this wonderful song in 1920. As a clarinetist, Lacall played in John Phillip Sousa's band. Amapola has been performed by everyone from operatic tenors to Spike Jones. It is often played with a latin rhythm but I love it as a slow ballad. After all it is a love song!           Amapola, My pretty little poppy You're like that lovely flower So sweet and heavenly Since I found you My heart is wrapped around you And loving you it seems to beat a rhapsody Amapola The pretty little poppy Must copy its endearing charm from you Amapola, Amapola, How I long to hear you say, "I love you."

  Barry Irwin Here is another treasure that I discovered while cleaning an old computer hard drive! The file was labeled simply 'tmp167_Track01.wav and dated 03/01/2010. When I listened I recognized a recording of the Old Waterloo Jazz Band from our one and only CD. We recorded the CD at a studio in Hutto, Texas. I do not remember the exact date, but it would have been at least a couple of weeks before the date on the file. The band consisted of Tom Griffith - leader and piano; Larmon Maddox - cornet; me, Jim Ivy - clarinet; Barry Irwin - trombone; Bobby Black - guitar/banjo; and Jeff Prause - drums. While the CD was not exactly a commercial hit, I believe that it is still a fine example of the music that we played back in those days. I hope you will listen and leave a comment below to let me know if you like what you hear.

  No. This is not a post about eating an extra large donut! Although I imagine that eating one of these Texas size donuts in one sitting would soon bring at least gastronomical regret! "Someday You'll Be Sorry, Dear" is a tune written by Louis Armstrong in 1947. I was only 4 years old in 1947, so I don't expect that I actually heard the tune until many years later. But is is a great tune and I am glad that I eventually discovered it. I recently arranged the tune for violin, viola, and piano. While doing that, I remembered what a wonderful song it is and decided to make a recording of the tune.  I played my soprano sax and pianist, Billy Martin, furnished the piano part. Here it is. I hope you enjoy listening!

This is one of my most popular jazz combo arrangements. I think of it as "Bach Meets Swing".  It is scored for trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, and rhythm section. You can get your own copy at Sheet Music Plus !   "Just You, Just Me" is a well-known jazz standard. Written in 1929 by Jesse Greer, the lyricist was Raymond Klages. There have been instrumental recordings (no vocal) by Red Norvo, Stan Tracey, Oscar Peterson and Lester Young, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Les Paul, Benny Carter, Buddy Bregman, Tex Beneke, Coleman Hawkins, Harry James, Erroll Garner, Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Joe Pass, Buddy Tate and Abdullah Ibrahim, Les Brown, Bill Coleman and Duke Ellington, and, of course, Dave Brubeck. In 1999, Lester Young's recording of "Just You, Just Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Most jazz arrangements do not have vocals and, in fact, many of the songs do not have lyrics. The lyrics to this particular song are not great by any means. In fact...