Bringing swing to the festival

PAGEC9 ARGUS-COURIER THURSDAY JULY 28, 2011 SteppingOut Bringing swing to the festival Stompy Jones is one of the headlining bands at the fourth annual Petaluma Music Festival on Aug. 6 DESMOND CHARLES Petaluma resident Scott Lawrence is the pianist for Stompy Jones. BY ROBERT FEUER FOR THE ARGUS-COURER The band Stompy Jones, named after a Duke El¬ lington instrumental, will join a crowded lineup on Aug. 6 at the fourth annual Petaluma Music Festival, a fund-raiser dedicated to keeping music in Petaluma's schools. Stompy Jones' pianist, Scott Lawrence, a native New Yorker, moved to West Marin in 1970, where he says during a recent interview at his home, “I saw my first cowboy hats and pick¬ up trucks." Five years ago, he moved to Petaluma, which he enjoys be¬ cause, he says, “It’s a little bit country and a little bit city." As a 9-year-old, Lawrence could already play the jazz clas¬ sic, “Lullaby of Birdland," on a neighbor’s piano. His first band, at age 16, emphasized Paul But¬ terfield and Lovin' Spoonful covers. After moving to West Marin, he made seven records with his then brother-in-law, Jesse Colin Young, toured with Country Joe McDonald, played a few gigs with Mary Wells and joined Magic Sam at Winterland. Lawrence mentions Ray Charles and Mark Naftalin as early influences, but his discov¬ ery of Louis Jordan changed his perspective. “My mind was blown by how wonderfully tight and subtle the playing was and how good the energy was, led by that honking tenor saxophone," he says. In 1998, Stompy Jones, (called The Swing Session at that time), came together at the HiBall Lounge on San Francisco's Broadway, playing weekly swing jam sessions under a roof that once resonated with the live sounds of John Coltrane, iles Davis and Sonny Rollins. PETALUMA MUSIC FESTIVAL What: A day full of muSic to ben¬ efit music programs in Petaluma area schools, featuring the Devil Makes Three, The Mother Hips, Stompy Jones, Cornmeal, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, SambaDa, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Big Light, Red Meat, Hillside Fire, Craig Horton, Smokehouse Gamblers, Fire Child, Skylark, Kala and the Peter Welker Sextet. When: 1 1 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 6 Where: Sonoma-Marin Fair¬ grounds, 175 Fairgrounds Drive. Tickets: Tickets in advance are $25 general, free for kids 12 and under with paying adult or $75 VIP, which includes shaded seating with complimentary wine, beer and appetizers. Ticket prices go up by $5 on the day of the event. Information: www.petalumamu sicfestival.org or call 769-9650. Swing fans swarmed to those gigs, dressed in 1940s styles. “It's always exciting to have a line down the block,” says Law¬ rence. He had been drafted into the band after a chance gig with David Rose, one of its found¬ ers, and currently the stand-up bassist. Lawrence says Rose was “extremely turned-on" to meet a pianist with expertise in the bounce piano style popular in the 1940s. Jordan’s music, with its pio¬ neering use of shuffle rhythms in a small combo, comprises much of Stompy Jones' reper¬ toire, along with other greats of the era, such as Roy Milton, Louis Prima, Joe Liggins and T-Bone Walker, early practitio¬ ners of the rhythm and blues styles that spawned rock n’ roll. Lawrence refers to Stompy Jones' music as primarily jump blues, with a little swing, jazz, and R&B. “It's all under that great, big swing umbrella,” he says. Many of their tunes are origi¬ nals, written by Rose or the band's saxophonist, former Petaluma resident Jeff “Erv" Ervin. No two songs are alike, says Lawrence. “There's always room to improvise within the framework of the music.” The remainder of the band consists of trumpeter Robert Dehlinger and drummer Lee Beary, with Christopher Bin- nings handling the crooning. Dressed in vintage clothing (Lawrence never leaves home without his newsboy cap), the atmosphere conjures up a live¬ ly party in a happier, or at least less complex, time. “We really are a dance band,” Lawrence says. “I feel like we've got a symbiotic relation¬ ship with our core followers, the dancers." He talks about the hundreds of miles that swing aficionados will drive for a dance floor. Stompy Jones’ busy schedule includes weekly gigs at the Top of the Mark in San Francisco and a monthly performance at Disneyland. “They love us in Disneyland," Lawrence adds. They've also played a venue on the U.S.S. Hornet, a World War II aircraft carrier docked in Al¬ ameda. Laughing, Lawrence re¬ counts numerous times when people came up asking to talk to Stompy. “We've never played the song ‘Stompy Jones,”' Law¬ rence says, “ but we’ve been threatening to." In addition to Stompy Jones, the fourth annual Petaluma Petaluma Music Festival, to be held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, features a lineup of performances by the Devil Makes Three, The Mother Hips, Cornmeal, Big Sam's Funky Na¬ tion, SambaDa, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Big Light, Red Meat, Hillside Fire, Craig Horton, Smokehouse Gamblers, Fire Child, Skylark, Kala and the Peter Welker Sextet. There will also be plenty of beer provided by Lagunitas Brewing Co. and an extensive selection of Sonoma County wines, cheese, bread, olive oil, ice cream and organic farm produce for tasting. There will be a silent auction and celebrity autographed guitar raffle. Tickets in advance are $25 general, free for kids 12 and under with paying adult or $75 VIP, which includes shaded seating with complimentary wine, beer and appetizers. Tick¬ et prices go up by $5 on the day of the event. The proceeds go to help keep music programs alive and well in Petaluma area schools. In 2010, the festival raised and do¬ nated more than $13,000 to all Petaluma area music programs, elementary through high school level. The gates open and music be¬ gins at 11 a.m., with wine and food tasting from 1 to 5 p.m. The festival ends at 8 p.m. (Contact Robert Feuer at ar- gus@arguscourier.com)