Correction

So, yesterday, it turns out, that I over credited the Tallahassee Swing drummer, Walter Kelleher with the posted video. Walter was the one to blame for getting Carl Morse "hooked on uploading videos to YouTube".

Carl did a great job of editing a two camera shoot. See it at:
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=0i6Py9NXNGs

Cheers!
jc

Tallahassee Swing on YouTube

Carl Morse, at my request, brought his video gear in to the regular Tallahassee Swing gig at the Legion to record the first reading of my chart, "Nola Swings".

Carl is a regular with the band in the trombone section, and plays on my CD, Down to the Village.

WELL, he and Walter Kelleher (the drummer), produced a two camera shoot and posted it on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i6Py9NXNGs

It is also at myspace.com/thejimcrozierband

Pretty damn good for sightreading!

I love these cats.

jc

Making a Show

So, this is the biggest show I have ever put together.

On March 22, 2008, at the American Legion Hall, at Lake Ella, Tallahassee, FL, Jim Crozier will produce:
Down to the Village, the Big Show
I can't call it a CD Release party because I released the CD last November, but it is the only show that I am really trying to get everyone from the CD on stage at once - AND there were a lot of folks who helped me put this project together.

As part of this, I have written big band arrangements for most of the tracks. "Tallahassee Swing". The Big Band will be backing up me and all of the other singers and instrumentalists from the album on songs from the album and two others that will be on the next project. In fact, I expect that the recordings we make during this show may very well be on the next release!

BUT, the logistics of the situation indicate that the chances of actually having a rehearsal with everyone are just about zero. SO, to mitigate that situation, I have produced a CD with the synth output from Finale (the arranging program) that I pulled into Sonar (a sound mixing program) and added a vocal part - me singing plus a running commentary about where the solos come in, etc. This is what I call a rehearsal demo.

Tallahassee Swing plays at the Legion Hall every Tuesday Night (and has done for over 18 years now). There are two (actually three) bass players, so I am there every other Tuesday. Tonight was not my night to play, but I produced the rehearsal CD's this past week-end, and this afternoon, I manufactured 20 copies that I distributed to the band members this evening.

The band sounded great this evening, even without me playing with them ;=)

jc

Tallahassee Swing

Well The Tallahassee Swing Band totally kicked ass tonight! And they played my chart "Pemberton's Blues", too.

JIm Crozier & Tallahassee Music

Jim Crozier in Tallahassee:

Arrived June 1, 1976 from New York City.

Met and played with Pierce Pettis that first summer and on to play some early tour dates and his first album a few years later.

Met fiddlers David Langston and his late father Bob at a bluegrass pickin' party hosted by Fred "Butch" Burns of the Bottom Dollar Boy$ that first summer.

Joined Bill Wharton's "Wild Blue Yonders" in September 1976 (before he was the Sauce Boss).

Started playing with Jimmy Lohman in February 1978. That immediately became the "Lohman-Crozier Trio" when his brother Van arrived from Pittsburgh the following month. Jimmy and Jim played jazz together for several years to follow. The late Tom Creekmore and the late Steve Mello both figured prominently in that project. Pam Laws started coming out to sing with us before she was famous.

Played bass with Bill Kennedy and Lindsey Sarjeant starting in 1978.

Graduated from FSU School of Music, 1979, with a BM in Music Composition and Certificate in Performance on the Double Bass.

Played two jazz festival dates with Marcus Roberts before he was too famous.

Started a long standing relationship with the McKenzie Brothers (Jimi and John) in 1981. After John moved down to central Florida, Jimi and Jim have played together with many folks including: Steve Redmond, Scott Schieve, Bob Weiss, Trenida White, Joey Karioth, Mariano Rodreguez, the FRB Horns…. In bands known as "Cats In Orbit", "The Jones Brothers"….

Played with Jon Copps in the mid-80's in the band "Big Fedora" which morphed into "Twang Thang".

Played with Alan Hightman, Michael McKenzie, and Marlon Moore as the "Hightman-Crozier Quartet" with Deborah Lawson on vocals. That group did a couple of live appearances on 88.9's "Snatches of Jazz" program in 89 and 1990.

Played with the late Fred Friedberg in "Equinox" in the early 90's. Mariano Rodreguez had recently come to town and played in the band.

Played with "Tallahassee Swing" throughout its history, sometimes as a sub and sometimes as a regular. Has been a regular one of two bassists since the late 90's.

Was a founding member of "ACME Rhythm & Blues" in 94 and played with that unit until 97.

Played with blues diva Bonnie Edwards when she was in town in the late 90's.

And more recently, and through the years, with TD and Kathi Giddings.

Nola Swings on the Radio

The cut "Nola Swings" from my CD "Down to the Village" was just played on WFSU-FM's (88.9 Tallahassee) Sunday program "Snatches of Jazz"!

Interesting things about Jim Crozier:

Interesting things about Jim Crozier:

He was a New York City cab driver for 3 years in the early 70's

He attended the Grammy Award show in 1972 as a nominee in the category of "Best Original Cast Album".

His first "band" was the "Pionears".

Jim was the rhythm guitar player, not the bass player, when "The London Dock" won a battle of the bands in downtown Warren, PA in 1968 with "Jumpin' Jack Flash".

He accidentally told John Lennon that he liked Paul's music better in 1971.

He was working in summer stock theater as Musical Director while still in High School.

The body of his broken string bass was stolen from his car parked on W33 St, NYC in 1971.

He once lived in a children's playhouse.

He once picked up a hitch hiker in Las Vegas and took him to Erie, PA. It turned out that the guy was AWOL from the Air Force. There was a war going on then, too.

He once spent all of two hours visiting San Francisco.

He played in the band at his own wedding reception.

He gave a recital at FSU that was half classical and half jazz (in 1979).

The bride helped push his truck out of the sand when he got it stuck in the sand at St George Island (he was in the band that played at the reception).

He once wrote a string quartet called "Pair of Duces" that is scored for Violin & Cello vs. Viola & Contrabass.

He once shared shit-eatin' grins with Bob Dylan on Bleecker Street.