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Dixieland Jazz,
Blues, Ballads, SwingAnd
Music forListening 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.
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 Arlington and Falls Church since the 1970s, though the group has made St. Elmo’s its home since 1998.
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 Our 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
Jam Session
Every
Thursday
7:30 - 10:00 p.m.
St. Elmo's
Coffee Pub
2300 Mt. Vernon Ave. Alexandria, Virginia
We are presently in our our 15th year at St. Elmo's
703-739-9268
Our CD is available - goto CDs