So, when was the last time you saw couples dancing at a jazz gig?
Yeah, that’s the point!
One of the best features at The Grape Ventura is the once a month appearance of The Barrelhouse Wailers, and they pack in the Lindy Hoppers for a swinging and sweaty night.
Sure, you can also sit at the tables and take in the sounds of the band, featuring vocalist Karen Parkhouse, who has the earthy swing of an Ethel Waters and the grit of Bessie Smith. The band has the makeup and style of the early swing “hot” bands just this side of 1930; think Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson or Don Redman before this type of music got bowdlerized by the likes of Tommy Dorsey or Artie Shaw. This is dirt under the nails jazz.
The rhythm section of Diamono Andreo on drums or washboard, banjo man Todd Temanson, bassist David Leoncavallo and tuba-meister Jim Wade set the pace with two stepping romps, as on “When I Get Low, I Get High” as Parkhouse packed a wallop on the lyrics and trombonist Stan Middleton plunged like the Roto Rooter man, like he was sucking out notes from a clogged drain. A Minnie the Moocher-ish “Delta Bound” had John Webb tapping into his inner Pee Wee Russell as he hypnotized a cobra with his searing clarinet, and Drue Chermak banged the gong around on his bright and bold trumpet.
While the couples were swirling and twirling on the floor, Parkhouse gave a gloriously cheerful delivery of the medley “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love/Pennies From Heaven” while Andreo hammered away on the high-hat and Temanson strummed out a Basie steady pulse. She hit the tambourine like a Salvation Army sergeant as she belted out “Broken Hearted Blues” while she slithered like a salamander around Leoncavallo’s bass on her sensuous presentation of “Summertime” .
The listeners even got a chance to participate, following Wade’s cue cards in order to sing along to a festive and jivey “Exactly Like You”. And what sets this band apart from the tedium of “Tribute” bands from anyone from Neil Diamond to Bon Jovi, this band brings in its own material, as on the steamrolling “Day In, Day Out” which closed the first set on an evening where the only disappointment is that there was no announcements as to where dance lessons were being given.
Upcoming shows at The Grape Ventura include WorK Quintet 07/17, Lao Tizer 07/19, Bevan Manson with Bob Sheppard 07/20 and Thom Rotella 07/24