A Mingus Moment
A Mingus Moment
Get it in your soul
wailin' saxes are weaving through
the buildings, streets & alleys of downtown Welland.
Saturday night & the Shuffle Demons are in town.
Enter Richard Underhill & rest of the Demons from a side door of Welland City Hall blowing saxes & banging on rhythm instruments as they wandered about cavorting with the sizable crowd & then slowly making their way to the stage.
Let the joint jump, let the fun begin.
The Demons may call it bop rap but for anyone like me whose introduction to jazz included Charlie Mingus & his great multi-horn sections & arrangements & especially his tongue in cheek, humourous, social satire vocals like "Eat That Chicken"... we call it Mingus-Music.
The Shuffle Demons Were a aural treat like a bolt out of the blue back in 1986 when "Spadina Bus" hit the Much Music play list & became a hit & they still sound sweet today.
The Demons originally formed in the fall of 1984. They are now a world wide phenomena & on a major reunion tour that has already included India, China & Europe & it was fantastic that the Niagara Blues & Jazz Society in conjunction with the City Of Welland was able to bring them to South Niagara to cap a great summer of free Saturday night concerts .
The nine concert series, held on the plaza in front of the Welland City Hall on East Main Street, averaged approximately 500 attendees per evening, a huge success!
Saturday, September 15, the Niagara Blues & Jazz Society
is hosting it's first International Blues Festival, "Live On Request".
The lineup is
- Touch of Class at 1:30 pm
- The Ants, 3:30 pm
- Roger Niznik Trio, 5:30 pm
- The Johnny Max Band , 7:30 pm
- Bill King's Saturday Night Fish Fry featuring one of Canada's best blues singers
Diana Braithwaite on vocals at 9:30 pm.
Admission is $10, children under 13 free.
The seating is banquet style & the event is licensed.
Doors open at 12:30 pm & the 1st act hits the stage at 1:30 pm.
Welland Market Square is located in downtown Welland
one block west of King Street at Division (one-way west)
& can be accessed from Division Street on the right hand side
one block after you cross the west bound bridge over the Old Welland
Canal. See you there!
The Shuffle Demons:
