Editor, Webmaster: Phil Cartwright Editor@earlyjas.org
Music Makers -- by Bill Irvin
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September 2007
After brief welcoming remarks by festival director Wayne
Vetter, the three-day EARLYJAS Festival got underway on
Friday evening, September 21, 2007. It started on a high note
and didn’t slow down until the final chorus Sunday
afternoon.
This may have been the club’s largest festival in terms of attendance and both the ballroom
and the lounge were filled to capacity each day. A final financial accounting has not been
completed but it should be impressive.
The bands were Titanic JB, Climax JB, Tollhouse JB, Cakewalkin’ JB and Jamie Wight’s N.
O. Joy Makers. Ray Heitger’s Cakewalkin’ JB continues to be a top attraction. The band
was enhanced by the addition of two young Heitgers. Duke Heitger has international
fame as an outstanding trumpet player. Nicole Heitger is one of the finest blues vocalists
in the country.
Many of the tunes heard were “oldies but goodies” such as Dallas Blues, My Gal Sal, New
Orleans Shuffle and Tin Roof Blues. Others not so well known included A Rose in a
Garden of Weeds, Triangle Jazz Blues, Backwater Blues, and Georgia Grind.
That were very few cancellations but we were particularly sorry to learn that Cecil Smith
of Tulsa, OK cancelled due to illness. He has attended many of our festivals, promoted
them in his newsletters and written nice post-festival reviews. We extend our best wishes
to him.
Plans are well underway for the next year’s EARLYJAS Festival. It will be held
September 26-28, 2008. When contracts are firm we will announce next year’s bands.
Earlville Association for Ragtime Lovers Yearning for Jazz Advancement and Socialization
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