Jim Cullum Jazz Band

Jim Cullum Jr. September 20 1941 – August 11 2019 Was An American Jazz Cornetist Known For His Contributions To Dixieland Jazz. His Father Was Jim Cullum Sr. A Clarinetist Who Led The Happy Jazz Band Until 1973. Jim Cullum Jr. Led The Jim Cullum Jazz Band As Its Successor. His Band Mates Included Evan Christopher Allan Vaché And John Sheridan. With His Father Cullum Established The San Antonio Jazz Club The Landing In 1963. He Had Broadcast Performances From The Club On The Public Radio International Series Riverwalk Jazz Since 1989. Cullum Performed At Carnegie Hall The Kennedy Center And Austin City Limits. He Recorded For Jazzology Columbia Audiophile Stomp Off And His Label Riverwalk. From 1993 Until 2005 Cullum And His Band Were On The Faculty Of The Stanford Jazz Workshop At Stanford University In California. In 2011 Stanford University Libraries Acquired Cullum's "Riverwalk Jazz" Archives Comprising Over 400 Radio Show Programs. In January 2013 Stanford's Archive Of Recorded Sound Made The Recordings Available To Listen To On Its Web Site. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band Is An Acoustic Seven-Piece Traditional Jazz Ensemble. Since 1989 The Band Has Been Featured Nationally On Their Weekly Public Radio Series Riverwalk Jazz. The Band Performed Live At The Landing Jazz Club On The San Antonio River Walk From 1981 To 2011. The Jim Cullum Jazz Band Is The Successor To The Happy Jazz Band Which Was Formed In 1962 By Cullum And His Father Jim. The Next Year A Group Of San Antonio Investors Founded The Landing Jazz Club In The Basement Of The Nix Hospital Building On The San Antonio River Walk. The Landing Was The Second Business Established On The Riverwalk After The Casa Rio Mexican Restaurant. Cullum Took Over Leadership Of The Band After His Father Died In 1973 And Changed The Name To The Jim Cullum Jazz Band. The Mission City Hot Rhythm Cats A Six-Piece Traditional Jazz Band Is Composed Of Several Former Members Of The Jim Cullum Jazz Band. JIM CULLUM JR. Bandleader Cornet
In The 1950s When Everyone Else His Age Was Listening To Elvis Presley And Connie Francis Jim Cullum Locked Onto The Sounds Of Early Jazz Greats Louis Armstrong Bix Beiderbecke King Oliver And Jelly Roll Morton. At First He Thought He Might Want To Play Trombone But One Day While Helping His Dad In The Grocery Business Jim Caught Sight Of An Antique Cornet In A Store Window And Fell In Love. While Attending Trinity University In San Antonio Jim Formed A Seven-Piece Traditional Jazz Group The Happy Jazz Band With His Father The Late Jim Cullum Sr. Who Had Played Professionally With Jack Teagarden And Others In The 1940s. In 1963 A Group Of San Antonio Business Leaders Established The Landing A Jazz Club On The San Antonio River Walk As A Showcase For The Happy Jazz Band. Under Jim Jr.'s Direction The Band Evolved Into A Nationally-Acclaimed Professional Company Known As The Jim Cullum Jazz Band. Jim Cullum’s Lifelong Passion Has Been Researching Preserving And Presenting Jazz And Popular Song From The Turn Of The 20th Century To The Mid-1940s. DAVID HOLT
David Holt Is A Four-Time Grammy Award-Winning Musician And Storyteller The Host Of Shows On Public Radio And Television And An Historian Devoted To Traditional American Music And Storytelling. A Native Of Garland Texas Holt Recalls Growing Up In A Family Of Informal Storytellers For Whom Storytelling Was A Natural Part Of Family Life. As Co-Host Of Riverwalk Jazz David Tells The Story Of Jazz In America Interviews Jazz Pioneers And Today’s Leading Figures Of Classic Jazz. He Is Also Host Of Public Television's Folkways And Can Also Be Seen In The Popular Film O Brother Where Art Thou. RON HOCKETT Clarinet
Growing Up In Evanston Illinois Ron Hockett Began Playing Professionally With George Brunies The Salty Dogs Bobby Gordon And Eddie Davis While Still In High School. Also A Member Of The Popular Youth Group The Windjammers Hockett Took Part In Rehearsals That Turned Into Jam Sessions With Visiting Greats Bobby Hackett Bud Freeman And Jimmy McPartland. While Attending Princeton Ron Toured The Orient With The Dukes Of Dixieland. From 1970 To 1999 He Was The Lead Saxophonist And Clarinet Soloist In The "President's Own" U.S. Marine Band In Washington D.C. Performing Throughout The U.S. And Europe And Making Regular Appearances At The White House. Ron Hockett Took Over Clarinet Duties In The Jim Cullum Jazz Band In May 1999. KENNY RUPP Trombone
Kenny Rupp’s Trombone Style Is Reminiscent Of Jack Teagarden Whom He Acknowledges As A Major Influence. Rupp Holds Bachelor Of Music And Master Of Music Degrees From The Manhattan School Of Music In New York. He Had A Long Career In New York Playing In Symphony Orchestras Chamber Ensembles Broadway Pit Bands And Behind Vocalists Frank Sinatra Tony Bennett Ella Fitzgerald Lena Horne Sarah Vaughn And Others. He Also Worked In The Bands Of Maynard Ferguson Woody Herman Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Clark Terry And Vince Giordano's Nighthawks. Kenny Rupp Took Over Trombone Duties With The Jim Cullum Jazz Band In 2000. JIM TURNER Piano
Born And Raised In Los Angeles Where He Studied Music With His Father The Noted Classical Pianist And Teacher Robert E. Turner Jim Turner Later Studied Jazz Piano With Johnny Guarnieri And Dick Cary. Turner Has Also Enjoyed A Career As An Award-Winning Producer Of Piano Recordings. His Producing Credits Include Teddy Wilson George Shearing Chick Corea Oscar Peterson Dick Hyman Floyd Cramer And Steve Allen. HOWARD ELKINS Banjo Guitar And Vocals. Jim Cullum First Heard Howard Elkins Playing In El Paso Texas In 1978. Howard Joined The Band The Next Day And He Has Been Holding Down The Guitar/banjo Chair In The Group Ever Since. Howard Proved To Be A Rhythm Guitarist Par Excellence And Provides Rock-Solid Time To The Band's Rhythm Section. He Is The Composer Of The Riverwalk Jazz Theme “Nightspell.” Elkins Plays A 1920s-Vintage Epiphone Archtop Four-String Tenor Guitar And A 1930s Gibson Tenor Banjo. When He's Not Working With The Band Howard Enjoys Tending His Ten-Acre Pecan Grove Southwest Of San Antonio. DON MOPSICK Bass
A Native Of New Jersey Educated At Rutgers Berklee And The Manhattan School Of Music Don Mopsick Had A Thirteen-Year Free-Lance Career In Florida Playing Concert Dates With Al Cohn Buddy DeFranco Clark Terry Mose Allison Warren Vache Jr. Scott Hamilton Flip Phillips Kenny Davern And Others Before Joining The Jim Cullum Jazz Band In 1991. Mopsick Plays An Antique German Double Bass Set-Up With Gut Strings And High Action In The Manner Of The Pre-Amplified Era. Don’s Approach To Bass Playing Is Completely Acoustic And One Hears Echoes Of Bill Johnson Pops Foster And Milt Hinton In His Work. Don Also Serves As Webmaster. MICHAEL WASKIEWICZ Drums
Michael Waskiewicz Is A Youthful Protégé Of Longtime Cullum Band Drummer Ed Torres. He Uses Drumming Techniques And Equipment Found In The Earlier Drumming Styles Of Zutty Singleton Ray Bauduc And Baby Dodds. Michael Joined The Band In January 2000 And Has Been On The Stand Ever Since Except For A Hiatus In New Orleans Where He Worked With Banu Gibson Duke Heitger And Led His Own Band Featuring Evan Christopher At Fritzel's On Bourbon Street. read less