Dixieland
Jazz, Blues, Ballads,
Swing
And Music for
Listening and Dancing
Our CD is now available - go to CDs
Regular Gigs
Westlawn Inn the second Saturday of each
month
St. Elmo's Coffee Pub Thursday of each week
The Not-So-Modern Jazz
Quartet Plus is a combo playing in the club venue of the 20s, 30s and 40s. It
faithfully reproduces this music with top local jazz musicians, and has been
playing continuously since 1983. The basic quartet is made up of clarinet, bass,
piano and drums. When a piano is unavailable, the quartet substitutes a rhythm
guitar. We often play with five or more musicians, particularly when playing
Dixieland, hence the "plus" in the name of the band. The musicians
rely heavily on their improvisation skills, and the band has a very large book
of old standards, traditional Dixieland and Swing Era tunes. The music of Benny
Goodman, Duke Ellington and Fats Waller are centerpieces of the combo's
repertoire along with the Great American song books.
We play regularly at St. Elmo's
Coffee Pub (every Thursday), and the Westlawn Inn (Second Saturday of
the month). We are available for other regular gigs and scheduled
affairs such as parties, weddings, dances and public events as well as New Orleans style jazz funerals.
We are celebrating our 39th year as a regularly playing band.
In May 2012 our longtime
leader, Bill Rowe, passed on. He was
playing gigs until the end.
Mike Ritter took over the
band and after a short while a new drummer joined us: Steve Watson has fit in just about
seamlessly.
Keep in touch with the NSMJQ Plus right here!
If the
jazz musicians at Bayou are the future of music, then the Thursday night jam
session at St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub is an easy way to experience the past. The
Not-So-Modern Jazz Quartet – tongue firmly lodged in cheek – has its roots in
jazz groups that have been playing in bars around
Wander in on a Thursday night, and you'll find five or six white-haired men clustered around the front door, holding their instruments (except for the drums which sit in the front window; and an upright piano pushed against one wall). Years of experience mean a jam session spirit fills the air. "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now;” someone calls out. "Is that in C?" the pianist asks, and then they're off and running with a new tune. This is pure swing and Dixieland - the kind of music you rarely hear at jazz clubs, and these guys are happy to keep it alive. The crowd consists of senior citizens cheering and singing along and 20-somethings tapping their feet as they type away on their MacBooks.
St.
Elmo's is just as laid-back as the tunes,. It's your
old-school neighborhood coffeehouse, With jewelry and paintings by local
artists on display and for sale, a couple of
shelves of books, for browsing, mismatched furniture that might have come from
a jumble sale. There's no alcohol to be had; just fair-trade coffee, sandwiches
and a soup of the day, and once a week, some of the sweetest, happiest jazz
you'll hear.
fritzhahn@washingtonpost.com
Not-So-Modern Jazz Quartet Plus Celebrating Its 14th Anniversary at St. Elmo's
Bill Rowe - Drums,
Ernie Buck - Bass, Dick Parks -
Cornet
Herb Greenlee - Piano, Mike Ritter
- Reeds
February
2012
Not-So-Modern Jazz Quartet 2011
Clockwise From Top Left
Ernie Buck (Bass), Chip Kelly (Guitar, Banjo), Mike Ritter (Reeds
and Horns), Bill Rowe (Drums)
Not-So-Modern Jazz Quartet 2006 - 2010
Clockwise From Top Left
Bill Rowe, Ernie Buck, Mike Ritter, Herb Greenlee