The Happy Tymes Jazz Band mixes vocals and humor with good old-fashioned Mississippi
riverboat Dixieland Jazz into a show that is not soon forgotten. They're
just downright fun to watch. They're an amazing group of musicians, who combine
technical wizardry with wacky onstage antics to delight audiences young and
less-young.
Called one of “Arkansas' true treasures,” the band
has appeared numerous times at the Sacramento Jazz Festival, the Memphis Jazz
Festival, W.C. Handy Festival in Alabama, and many other festivals throughout
the region. Individually the members of this group have performed with Frankie
Avalon, Isaac Hayes, Doc Severinson, Boots Randolph, Mel Torme, The Coasters,
B. J. Thomas, Ace Cannon, Woody Herman Big Band, the Tommy Dorsey Band, Herb
Ellis, the Art Porter Trio, Bob Hope, Chuck Berry and several touring Broadway
productions.
What is Dixieland Jazz?
New Orleans is thought by many to be the birthplace of jazz around the 1900's,
when a “new music” was created by the blending of diverse cultures. This new
sound was influenced by the instruments and marches of the Napoleonic military
bands of the French; harmonic and rhythmic Africanization of Anglo Saxon hymns
by the blacks, and some subtle flavors by the Spanish. Social clubs formed
bands to provide music for their celebrations, parades, dances, funerals, and
the Mardi Gras. World War I brought the closing of the red light district of
Storyville in New Orleans and drove musicians north to St. Louis, Chicago,
Kansas City, and New York. The first recordings of Dixieland jazz were made
and this migration influenced other developments such as music of the Roaring
Twenties, Tin Pan Alley, Swing of the Big Band era of the 30's and 40's Be-Bop,
Progressive Jazz, Rock, and altered the rhythmic character of Country and Western
music.
All of these elements blended with blues of the American South and evolved
into the Dixieland music that the Happy Tymes Jazz Band performs today. From
sweet sounds to lively melodies, this band does it all, recreating the kaleidoscopic
tonal colors and moods of this truly American art form. And they make sure
everyone has a real good time while they're doing it!
