Sacramento Jazz Festival

101st Army Dixieland Band

The nine-piece 101st Army Dixieland band, here for its 9th consecutive Jubilee performance, plays jazz about as feverishly as the Army National Guard defends America against enemies great and small. This is unapologetic traditional Dixieland with vintage tunes like "Bill Bailey" and the "Saint's Go Marchin' In," from early 20th century New Orleans, except for Army songs. From ragtime to swing, West Coast style to traditional, the Dixieland Band steps beyond the traditional Army green to provide a show that pleases young and old alike. This Dixieland group performs across Colorado in schools, concert halls, historic parks and military installations.

Aaron King and the Imperials

The Imperials have been away from the Jubilee for awhile, but we're glad to have them back. Aaron King is a guitar virtuoso and something of a Sacramento legend. Playing with Sacramento luminaries such as the Chrome Addicts, Johnny Heartsman, Omar Sharriff and Little Charlie & the Nightcats, as well as his own band the Imperials, King has become renowned as an accomplished guitarist in the style of B.B. King. Jubileers may want to take advantage of the band's appearance to pick up its favorably-reviewed new CD, "Solid," which highlights King's classic '50s-era urban blues sound.

Aftershock

Gerald Jonutz's Aftershock has been making quite a name for itself in concerts around the Mother Lode with its rock-jazz-funk-blues fusion book of material from 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s by the Neville Brothers, Elvis Presley to Al Jerreau, Earth Wind and Fire, Tower of Power, Blood Sweat and Tears, Ray Charles, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis and the News. There may even be some Doo-Wop. Aftershock will play just two concerts, both late-night events at the Firehouse Lot. Your chance to shake your bootie.

Ann Pedersen Quintet

She went to American River High School, but she conquered the Berklee School of Music and Boston and is now making a name for herself in Southern California. She has performed at the famous Knitting Factory, at Lincoln Center in New York City, and has received the prestigious Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Vocalist Award at Lincoln Center. Here accompanied by the fastidious Joe Gilman and others from Sacramento's contemporary jazz scene, she shows off her talents with a program of mainstream standards.

Bayou Boys

Vallecito, CA

Walk into a performance by Ron Bombardier's Bayou Boys and you can practically smell the gumbo and étouffée. Like Cajun cooks, the Bayou Boys blend Zydeco, New Orleans Rhythm and Blues, and Cajun into their performances. Keeping it traditional, Bombardier sings in French, Creole and English. Dancers will love the Bayou Boys' two-step beat for line dancing. Today's Bayou Boys band features Olen Dillingham on fiddle and electric mandolin, Joe Lev (Stacie Eakes & the Superfreaks, Beer Dawgs) on bass, drummer Tony Dey (Van Morrison, Linda Ronstadt, Stone Ponies and local Reggae group Sugar Boom Boom.)

Benny Goodman Centennial Tribute Band

Various, USA

The year 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the birthday of jazz legend Benny Goodman, the undisputed King of Swing. We are proud to announce that the Goodman Estate and Bill Hyland, its executor, have given clarinetist Allan Vaché permission to present "A Benny Goodman Centennial Tribute" show at the 2009 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. The show features many well-known swing artists, including Mr. Vaché, Randy Reinhart, trumpet; Russ Phillips, trombone; Richard Simon, piano; John Cocuzzi, vibes; Jake Hanna, drums; Howard Alden, guitar; and Terry Alden, vocals. We know these folks. This band will rock!

Beth Duncan

Sacramento, CA

You know Beth Duncan is a sultry-voiced, award winning, broadcast journalist who's been reporting news and traffic information for more than 25 years. But have you heard her sing? Beth started singing at age five in church and has gravitated toward vocal opportunities ever since. Recently she turned from pop music to her roots and tackled what her soul was craving—jazz. Jazz, of course is the Jubilee's business, so everything is copasetic. We hope she sings songs from her album, "Orange Colored Sky," with, as she says, "lyrics that speak of passion, enduring love, faithfulness and thankfulness."

Big Mama Sue

Considered by many to have one of the most recognizable figures hoho in traditional jazz, vocalist, emcee, comedienne, percussionist, recording artist, and Fast Eddie's buddy, "Big Mama" Sue Kroninger is a hoot. Her career started in musical theater and has led her through just about every type of musical performance style in existence. Although she wears many musical hats (sometimes quite literally), Sue is renowned for her expertise in traditional jazz. With a style that evokes singers like Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday, Sue often headlines at countless jazz festivals around the world.

Big Tiny Little

The Lawrence Welk Show was famous for showcasing musicians of awesome talent. One of those, the stunningly accomplished pianist Big Tiny Little, has graced the Sacramento JazzFest for a number of years, including serving as Emperor in 2008. After the Welk show, he went solo, performed at President Reagan's inaugural ball in 1985, recorded numerous albums, and appeared as a featured guest on numerous network television shows. In 2000, he returned to television in the PBS special, Lawrence Welk: Milestones and Memories, which featured a reunion of stars from the Welk show. Today, Tiny performs around Carson City, Nevada.

Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band

This is as fine a jazz band as there is in the Sacramento Jubilee. Period. "We started a quest in late 1989 to find, research and play some of the almost forgotten arrangements of the early reading jazz bands," Bill Allred says. Since then, the band, consisting of some of the finest instrumentalists in the country, has added new sounds and unusual treatments of old and new musical material that have taken it throughout the world to concerts, cruises, jazz festivals and, of course, the Sacramento Jubilee. See to believe.

Bill and Eddie

Sacramento and Monterey, CA

Witty and puckish, Bill Dendle and Eddie Erickson, virtuoso banjoists, began their entertainment careers at Capone's Warehouse in Monterey. They went on Disneyland and DisneyWorld, where they opened the Empress Lilly Showboat. Over the years they have appeared at: Mickie Finn's, on USO tours, jazz festivals all over the U.S., in Japan, France and Germany, at banjo shows, conventions, private parties, jazz concerts and as guest artists with many other bands and noted jazz performers. Their friendship, love and respect for each other are as evident in their performances as are the fun and humor they share.

Black Tuesday

The Black Tuesday Jazz Band plays New Orleans and traditional jazz music such as "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Bill Bailey," "Milenberg Joys," and like that. For more than 10 years, they have entertained audiences at jazz societies, concerts, jazz festivals, and other special engagements in the San Francisco Bay area, Northern California, and Nevada ("The Big Easy"). For the past few years, the band has packed them in at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee. Black Tuesday consists of trombone, trumpet, bass sax, banjo, clarinet, piano, drums, vocals, and an occasional kazoo.

Blue Street Jazz Band

The Blue Street Jazz Band is a major force on the Dixieland jazz circuit, playing every major jazz festival in the United States and engagements in Canada, Mexico, and Europe as well. At any given Blue Street performance the audience may hear swing, Mardi Gras, folk songs, marches, waltzes, Latin music, and Sunday morning gospel programs. The band is capable of playing entire sets devoted to the music of Kid Ory, Jelly Roll Morton, The History of Jazz, and Louis Armstrong. The band showcases singing of the "Siren of the San Joaquin" - Ms. Sherri Colby.

Blues Box Bayou Band

They've conquered Modesto and now they're bustin' out at the Jubilee. Hailing from Sonora and with a loyal fan base, the BluesBox Bayou Band is led by the talented Pete Grimaldi. Like most hard working local bands, BluesBox plays numerous small clubs in Northern California and additionally does the festival circuit including the Isleton Crawdad Festival, the Gilroy Garlic Festival and the American Music Festival in Brookings, Oregon. In their annual pilgrimage to Louisiana every year, these musicians add new influences of Cajun, Zydeco, Blues and American Roots music.

California Repercussions

Capital Pops

Take some time out from the jazz and take in a special concert of the Capitol Pops Concert Band, a fully instrumented band of volunteer musicians and workers. Since 1997, Capitol Pops Concert has performed a diverse portfolio of high-quality, well-prepared music for thousands of concertgoers throughout Northern California under the leadership of Director Jerry Lopes. It's a self-supporting, all-volunteer band of some 70 members, including students. Musicians represent a cross-section of the metropolitan Sacramento area. Band members range from high-school age to octogenarian. Here's your chance to hear some John Phillip Sousa or Leroy Anderson.

Catfish and the Crawdaddies

Catfish and the Crawdaddies, whose heart and soul is Ray "Catfish" Copeland, is a rocking blues-based group with a huge fan base right here in Sacramento. Catfish, who has been in the blues scene for most of his life and has played behind many famous artists, plays guitar and sings and is a major songwriting contributor. Together for more than 15 years, the Crawdaddies have brought their modern blues, New Orleans piano stomp, zydeco, Delta blues and old time rock & roll to the Jazz Jubilee since 1996 as well as other Northern California festivals and street fairs.

Catsnjammer Jazz Band

Gene Berthelsen has assembled a band of top musicians from all over California, Nevada, and even England, to perform a highly sophisticated book of traditional jazz songs. Sometimes loopy, sometimes droll, always interesting, the Catsnjammers celebrate their 32nd year in 2009. Berthelsen calls the shots, and sometimes the musicians listen. The Catsnjammer songbook of about 350 highly individual tunes, along with Berthelsen's arch humor, makes this band an entertainment hoot. Of course, Berthelsen wrote this, so you can take it to the bank.

Climax Jazz Band

These are the guys that put "tradition" in traditional jazz. Climax's first gig was at Albert's Hall, upstairs at Toronto's Ye Olde Brunswick House, from May 1971, six nights a week. Their fame spread far and wide, leading to invitations to festivals all over North America, Europe and Japan and popular jazz cruises. They've been playing every Saturday afternoon since 1983 at the Chick'N' Deli, opposite the Newbigging Funeral Home in Toronto. Their British-style trad jazz is hot and tight, covering a wide repertoire of marches, blues, spirituals, ragtime and popular songs. Sponsored by Louis Marsten, Jr.

Company B

Ah. Fresh faces! Company B is a light-hearted, hard-swinging group of talented musicians based in Vancouver, BC. The group's main attraction is its three harmonizing girl singers who perform in the style of classic 1930s and ‘40s acts like the Andrews and Boswell Sisters. The girls are backed by a traditional jazz rhythm section and are complimented by a small horn section. They inevitably cause feet to tap and faces to smile with their arrangements of classic swing era hits as well as with their classy image, based on fashions of the Swing Era.

Cornet Chop Suey

The Cornet Chop Suey Jazz Band has enjoyed a meteoric rise since its arrival at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee in 2001 and, these days, is practically a prerequisite for anybody who wants to put on a jazz festival. Best known for a wide variety of styles, Cornet Chop Suey applies its own exciting style to traditional jazz, swing and blues and big production numbers. Every performance by Cornet Chop Suey is a high-energy performance and, we promise, will once again provide an unforgettable experience for 2009's Jubileers.

Cynthia Douglas

Sacramento, CA

Cynthia Douglas is a JazzFest newcomer, but is garnering plenty of attention around Sacramento. She has performed and recorded with artists such as Peabo Bryson, Bob Seger, George Clinton, The Dramatics, Johnnie Taylor and Millie Jackson. Cynthia's live performances include a mix of jazz and pop standards as well as bluesy vocals such as "Dr. Feelgood" and "Teach Me Tonight." Ms. Douglas, who has a style and mix of music that's all her own, was recently featured in the Sacramento Bee as a must-see artist.

Dr. Bach and the Jazz Practitioners

Auburn, CA

Dr. Bach and the Jazz Practitioners is a high-energy group consisting of eight talented and experienced musicians who show plenty of enjoyment while playing Dixieland, swing, blues, and gospel. Charlie Gehlbach's upbeat band features both male girl vocalists and tuba-banjo sound for traditional tunes and a string bass–guitar sound for swing. Dr. Bach and the Jazz Practitioners have performed at all of California's jazz societies and at the California State Fair. They've done the Jazz Jubilee for the last seven years.

Firecracker Jazz Band

Ashville, NC

Jerome Widenhouse, who plays trumpet and leads the Firecracker Jazz Band, has traveled the world with such as the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Sex Police, and Hobex for 15 years. With the Firecrackers, he has, he says, "accepted Jazz as his personal savior." Wo! The Firecrackers carry the torch once lit by greats such as Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and Bix Beiderbecke. We had ‘em here last year for the first time, and as with so many groups introduced by the Jubilee, they lit up the place and are now firmly planted on the festival circuit.

Fulton Street Jazz Band

If you haven't heard Fulton Street for awhile, get ready to be delighted. The band has been featured at jazz festivals and on jazz cruises for more than 30 years, but Bob Ringwald, since taking over a couple years ago, has dialed it up several notches. This popular group combines a front line of outstanding players with a rhythm section to produce a powerful and unique sound. A special treat: Emperor Bob Havens fills the trombone spot in 2009. The band's extensive repertoire makes each performance an exciting swing and traditional jazz statement.

Gator Beat

Gator Beat, a six-member Cajun/Zydeco and New Orleans R&B band, is out of Sonoma, but its members hail from all parts of the globe. They were brought together by Louisiana native Richie Domingue, who started the band 20 years ago. As a historian and a prolific songwriter deeply in love with his culture, Domingue took great pains to assemble a complete library of zydeco music. Following his passing in 2005, the group inherited his rich body of original material. The band continues to attract top talent and continues as one of the most exciting zydeco groups around.

Golden Gate Rhythm Machine

The Golden Gate Rhythm Machine, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is a small band with a big, swinging sound, produced by some of the best traditional jazz musicians in the country. They play a wide range of music, from standard Dixieland favorites, through the West Coast originals of Lou Watters and Turk Murphy, to more recent standards and novelties played in a traditional style. At every festival they attend, they delight new and old fans alike with their danceable tempos, wonderful solo and ensemble work, and the genuine warmth and appreciation toward their audiences.

Gramercy Six

Sacramento, CA

Dutch Deutsch, who has played in every single one of 36 Sacramento Jazz Jubilees, is something of a clarinet icon around this town. His groups, in various incarnations at most of the major watering holes, play a tasty form of early swing, along with some traditional jazz tunes. Dutch hearkens a bit to Artie Shaw for clarinet style; he always surrounds himself with the most talented musicians around Sacramento. The result is a great deal of enjoyment for audiences, and, we suspect, for the bandmembers too, which makes everything very fine and mellow.

Hayriders

La Jolla, CA

San Diego drummer Hal Smith brought his new band, the Hayriders, to Sacramento last year and created a considerable stir. While Smith has performed at nearly every Jubilee with a wide variety of bands, these days he brings something of a departure, the Hay Riders, playing Rockabilly music of the 1950s--songs made famous by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Williams and the musicians who performed on the "Louisiana Hayride" broadcasts of the '40s and '50s. The Hayriders have piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and acoustic bass. The swing dance crowd will be pleased.

High Sierra Jazz Band

Three Rivers, CA

There probably isn't any band more associated with the success of the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee than the High Sierra Jazz Band, with sparkling performances of its traditional jazz book from the very first. The band, formed in 1976 in Three Rivers, has seen only a few changes in its long history. Of the original six members, four: Charlie Castro, Bruce and Stan Huddleston and Earl McKee, are still active. An American Rag poll recently pronounced High Sierra the second most popular traditional jazz band ever, just behind the Turk Murphy band, ahead of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

Igor's Jazz Cowboys

Tempe, AZ

Imagine Roy Rogers singing with Louis Armstrong's boys—you get the picture. For anyone who doesn't know, Igor's Jazz Cowboys play acoustic Western Swing accompanied by a hot horn section. Igor is the one with the handlebar mustache and beard. Not only can he play the upright bass, banjo, guitar and piano; he can sing beyond three octaves. Igor and his cowboys ride the Jazz Trail from Connecticut to California, and Oregon to Florida. Sometimes the posse loads the horses and goes overseas. They've appeared throughout Mexico, Western Canada, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Europe and Israel.

Jeff Alkire Quintet

Sacramento, CA

Get ready to hear some very good contemporary jazz. Jeff Alkire, who appears at the 2009 Sacramento JazzFest with a five-piece group of the best contemporary players in the area, has toured the world performing as a saxophonist with the likes of Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Terry Gibbs, Bobby Shew, and many others. Alkire studied at Berklee College of Music and California Institute of the Arts where he earned degrees in Jazz Performance. After graduating, he moved to Australia to become a full-time faculty member of Adelaide University. Jeff now teaches jazz at several colleges in California.

Jim Martinez Trio

Sacramento, CA

Here's a Sacramento boy whose 10 magic fingers have made it big in the music world. Jim Martinez, who recently opened All-Star Night at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, has performed or recorded with such notables as Lionel Hampton, the Stan Kenton Alumni, Bucky Pizzarelli, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, and Ed Thigpen, the first drummer for the Oscar Peterson Trio. Martinez gained international exposure through his 'Echoes of Oscar Peterson', which featured his transcriptions of Peterson's performances. Recently, Martinez released a "Classical and Jazz Tribute to Edvard Greig." Gotta hear that.

Jimmy Pailer and the Prophets

Sacramento, CA

The Jimmy Pailer and the Prophets band is a headline act in Sacramento's very healthy Blues scene. If you haven't seen the Prophets, you are missing out on one of the best acoustical Blues acts in the Sacramento area—guitar legends that you can catch on various evenings at the famous Torch Club in downtown Sacramento. Look for their version of "Voodoo Chile" where the guys go off the deep end with guitar riffs. Those who have seen the Prophets play it tell us they get goose bumps at the finale.

K Street Ramblers

Sacramento, CA

Here comes Charlie Hull and his K Street Ramblers, bringing a load of good-time jazz music to the Jubilee. The Ramblers band is a happy Dixieland group that will brighten any place it plays. Charlie, who plays a very agreeable clarinet, has been a staple of Sacramento entertainment for several decades. Here, he presents an ensemble of journey musicians that produces music in many styles, full of Dixieland jazz flavor on traditional jazz and gospel songs.

La Candela

Vancouver, BC

You may think a five-piece Cuban band from Vancouver a bit strange, but La Candela is a band that gets people movin' it, a la Cuba. The players in La Candela have a simple love of Cuban music—Son to Mambo, Timba to Cha Cha, Rumba, Pilon—from deeply traditional music to the most contemporary. Mark Beaty, a frequent contributor to the Vancouver music scene, knows his Cuban music. Three La Candela members come from Los Habaneros, a Latin institution around Victoria; Cary Aileen Garcia Yero is actually a native of Havana and is therefore qualified.

Le Jazz Hot

San Francisco, CA

You may have seen elsewhere that the Jubilee is offering Gypsy music in 2009. Le Jazz Hot, of the Hot Club of San Francisco, is our Gypsy offering. It's small jazz, played with unamplified instruments; the rhythm guitar is played using a percussive technique called "la pompe" to replace the drum and how could we possibly have left that out! Taking its inspiration from the music of Django Reinhart and Stephan Grapelli, Le Jazz Hot is less an excursion into nostalgia than a group that swings with joy; it makes little difference from what era it draws its tunes.

Linda Bracamonte Band

Folsom, CA

Linda Bracamonte, frankly, is a babe. We know we're not supposed to say that, but she is. She would prefer us to say that her band is not your typical blues band. As she puts it, "We could be called a "hybrid blues" band, because we marry the blues with other genres to keep it a little unpredictable and interesting for our audience." Ms. Bracamonte's strong Nashville influence shows through her performances and grabs the attention of serious Blues aficionados. It is likely that she will join the ranks of essential Sacramento music artists who establish a global presence.

Dick Johnson's Mardi Gras Band

Sacramento, CA

Anyone who has a sense of humor, appreciates a band's derring-do, and recognizes talent, is in for a treat at a performance of Dick Johnson's Mardi Gras Band. Trad jazz? Anything but. Jazz in any form? Depends on your point of view. Music you can tap your toe to and enjoy? Sure thing. Lately, Johnson has ventured into Rockabilly and western swing, so you're likely to hear stuff like "Steel Guitar Rag," "Johnny B Good," and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," along with Johnson's wacky original tunes. And, of course, magic is always afoot when Ms. Claudette Stone takes the mike.

Midnight Rose

Wallace, CA

Sisters Dannie Balser and Nancy Kreiss carry the load with the Midnight Rose Jazz Band and they are so gosh-darn likeable that you can't help smiling when they take the stage. Both are veterans of various Northern California Dixie bands, Dannie on trumpet and Nancy on clarinet. The girls and their supporting cast are well-versed in the literature of traditional jazz, and that's what you're going to hear. Dannie, who leads the band authoritatively on trumpet, also happens to be possessed of a considerable singing voice with which to out all those Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey standards.

Mumbo Gumbo

Fairfield, CA

Mumbo Gumbo has ascended into that rare company whose very names inspire excitement. The melting pot of styles that characterize this region are the basis for Mumbo Gumbo's sound. This group blends rock, soul, Afropop, balladry, zydeco, and country, into a celebratory, danceable noise. Mumbo Gumbo has created something less a style than a feeling: the sound of joy. Its music has been used in the TV show "Northern Exposure," and in the 2005 movie, "Her Minor Thing." This seven-piece band features hot vocals, accordion, washboard, swamp guitar, boogie piano, saxophones, and a solid rhythm section.

Their new album "FUN PAK" will be available just in time for the Festival

Ophir Prison Marching Kazoo Band & Temperance Society, Ltd!

Ophir, CA

OMG! as the youngsters say. We offer the following as information about this group:

Question: What is OPHIR?
Answer: Pronounced as in "O-fer-pete's sake". Ophir was a small gold rush town just west of Auburn, CA.

Question: What is the story of "Rufus T. Whizbang"?
Answer: That's a long story and will have to be dealt with at another time.

Question: Is "Rufus" his real name?
Answer: No one in the band uses his real name. Some to protect our families, some because we still have warrants outstanding, and Rufus uses his stage name to protect him from his family.

Question: Are there any violent criminals in the band?
Answer: No. We used to allow murderers and the like into the band but they kept getting sent to the chair, so we stopped.

New Lowdown

The Sacramento Traditional Society has a rich program for education in traditional jazz for young musicians. Here's one of our prouder results: The New Lowdown, formed in 2006 by drummer Pete Agraan and composed of former students of the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society's Traditional Jazz Camp for youths, now in its third year. The New Lowdown swings harder than ever with refinement that comes from hundreds of hours playing as an ensemble. Watch for the New Lowdown to bring its impulsive, educated, and often humorous interpretation of traditional jazz to other festivals as it develops.

Night Blooming Jazzmen

Claremont, CA

The Nightblooming Jazzmen has been one of the rocks of the Sacramento JazzFest ever since it was formed in October 1975 to represent the Society for the Preservation of Dixieland Jazz. In leader Chet Jaeger's hands, the Bloomers play well, put on a great show and sport an uncanny appeal that flows from Chet's his persona and from the his mix of novelties and familiar songs. Chet makes no apologies. This is fun-loving Dixieland. The Night Blooming Jazzmen is one of the busiest jazz bands in the nation.

Polly's Hot Paupers

Roseville, CA

"Polly" is Polly Edgerton, a music educator in the Roseville area who has been very active in bringing along her youthful charges in the arts of jazz. To that end, she also is a very appealing clarinetist and has assembled a very appealing jazz band, playing Chicago-style early jazz. We'd suggest you pay particular attention to her trumpet player, Jim Gammon, who imparts a lot of the Louis Armstrong flavor that this band possesses. Being an educator, Polly puts particular store on dynamics, so you can count on those slow-burn moments that lead to exciting shout choruses.

NiteCry

San Jose, CA

Through several incarnations, NiteCry has become what a blues/R&B band ought to be. Guitarist Rene Solis’ search for players with interests similar to his own brought keyboardist and songwriter Richard Palmer. To upgrade NiteCry's overall sound, they added bassist/vocalist Johnny Yu, a San Francisco club scene mainstay. Another leap forward came with guitarist and hot soul vocalist Steve Siacotos. Trumpet player Chris, Marquis, drummer Michael Jiggets and saxophonist Danny Sandoval round out the group, which plays diverse musical styles, but never strays far from the blues and R&B roots on which it was founded.

Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums

Emeryville, CA

Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums and their whiz-bang slammajamma swing style are a huge draw at the Sacramento JazzFest. The Rhumba Bums' precision and musicianship make for finger snapping performances of jewels from swing, blues, and New Orleans R&B traditions. Dem Bums have engaged audiences at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Half Note Jazz Club in Athens, the San Francisco Blues Festival, and as the house band at the Derby in Hollywood. That's all pretty good, but Miss Carmen Getit on vocals and guitar adds considerably more than a soupçon of glam to the mix.

Reynolds Brothers' Rhythm Rascals

Santa Ana, CA

It has been too long since the Reynolds Brothers have brought their skiffle operation to the Jubilee, and we beg your pardon for that. Reminiscent of the hot washboard bands of the early 1930s, the Rascals make audiences smile. The Brothers' core consists of Ralf Reynolds on washboard, guitarist John Reynolds and Westy Westenhofer on sousaphone. They are joined by cornetist Corey Gemme, Anita Thomas on reeds and Katie Cavera on guitar, consummate musicians all. If you're looking for a sophisticated alternative to our zydeco and Blues offerings, the Rascals make for a pretty good halfway stop.

Tom Rigney and Flambeau

Santa Ana, CA

Tom Rigney has been a part of the San Francisco Bay Area roots music scene for over 25 years, but now, broadening his composing skills and refining his virtuoso technique on the violin, Rigney is the focal point of and creator of all of Flambeau's music. The music bursts with the energy of the bayou one minute, turns passionate with a gypsy tune the next; it can raise the roof with a Celtic reel and then touch the heart with a beautiful waltz; it can drive deep into the heart of the Blues or evoke echoes of Eastern Europe or the coast of Spain.

Royal Society Jazz Orchestra

Petaluma, CA

We are pleased to report that Don Neely and the 10-piece Royal Society Jazz Orchestra are back. Renowned for big band swing and hot syncopated jazz and inspired by such as Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman, Fletcher Henderson, and Bix Biederbecke, this orchestra has an intriguing personality and style all own. Dancers are electrified by the sound of the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra. Songs in their repertoire include those from the pens the major from Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, Vaudeville, and the Silver Screen composers. You'll enjoy the vocals of Carla Normand, Don Neely, and Frederick Hodges.

Sacramento Blues Revue

Sacramento, CA

The nine-piece Sacramento Blues Revue band was the winner of the 2008 Sammie Award for Blues Bands in the Sacramento area. The group includes some of area's best blues and R&B musicians, who have decided to concentrate on blues music with a pronounced beat, great vocals, guitars, horns, harmonica and songs. It features Lena Mosley, Marshall Wilkerson, and Deacon Baker on vocals. Musicians Jonny "Mojo" Flores, guitar/vocals; Rick von Geldern, guitar, Marty Deradoorian, sax; Michael Haviland, trumpet; Jeremy Clawson, bass; Katoya Moore, drums, and Sam Camillucci, keyboard round out the troupe.

Sacramento Capitolaires

Sacramento, CA

You'll hear the 50-voice Capitolaires at the Memorial Day Concert at the Hyatt Regency on Monday. For more than 60 years, the Capitolaires men's chorus has entertained our city. A couple years ago we asked them to take over the production of our Memorial Day Salute to Service. The chorus has turned out handsomely with a smooth meld with the 101st Army Dixiel and Band, medleys of patriotic music, presentations by military representatives, and plenty of American flags. This is one of the Jubilee's most popular performances, particularly their gorgeous version of "Taps."

Shelley Burns Quartet

Sacramento, CA

Shelley Burns started singing and dancing as a child with the Burns Sisters Quartet and hasn't ever really grown up, which is a good thing. Shelly, who performs with a number of Sacramento musical groups, is a luv. She comes to the Jubilee in 2009 with a supporting trio, but what a cast: cornetist Corey Gemme, bassist Shelley Denny, and hubby Bill Dendle. This year she'll perform music from the Great American Songbook—Gershwin, Porter, Kern, etc. —and other swing tunes and novelties. Intimate and subtle, the quartet swings solidly and also entertains, as Shelly Burns;' fans have come to expect.

Sister Swing

Sacramento, CA

Sister Swing is three exciting gals whose charts are especially tailored to show off their vocal abilities in the style of the girl groups of the 1930s and ‘40s. An evening with Sister Swing will take you back to an era of glamour, romance and innocence. Influenced by the three-part harmonies of groups like the Andrews and Boswell Sisters, Sister Swing brings a new sound to an old style. The three ladies, Leigh Hannah, Valerie Marston and Paula Chafey-Merrill, have a good time on stage, which their audiences lap up enthusiastically.

Texas Tradition

Lytle, TX

With true country fiddles, honky tonk guitar and Western Swing-style electric guitar, Billy Mata and Texas Tradition provide entertainment both for true country music traditionalists and a new generation of Western Swing enthusiasts. The style of music descends from Bob Wills, Johnny Bush, Mel Tillis, Ray Price, as well as the popular sounds of Asleep at the Wheel, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Earl Keen, and many more. Billy and the band perform at dancehalls, fairs, festivals, rodeos, special benefits, and specialty functions, including wedding receptions, conventions, fundraisers and private parties. Add a growing number of jazz festivals to that.

Vince Bartels' Migrant Jazz Workers

Carmichael, CA

Vince Bartels kicks things along with his drumming for this talented bunch. These legitimate all stars hail from all parts of the U.S.: Eddie Higgins, piano; John Allred, trombone; John Cocuzzi, vibes; Dan Barrett, trombone; Jennifer Leitham, bass; Steve Homan, guitar; Harry Allen, reeds; and Rebecca Kilgore, vocals. Together, this group (aka "Migrant Jazz Workers") has a chemistry that immediately became evident at their first recording sessions and during performances at jazz festivals and cruises since then.

Vivian Lee Sextet

Sacramento, CA

Jazz vocalist and recording artist Vivian Lee is cool. She specializes in the standards— Gershwin, Ellington, Berlin, Jobim, and the like. Because her main venues have been cabarets and supper clubs and nightclubs from Lake Tahoe to the Bay area, the JazzFest puts her in similar venues so that audiences can appreciate the subtleties of her performances. In bassists Bill Douglass and Bootza Nacek, drummer Ed Thigpen, and pianist Joe Gilman, she comes with a top notch ensemble; together with her style, phrasing, story-telling and stage presence Ms. Lee simply captivates her audiences.

Voices of Faith

Sacramento, CA

The Voices of Faith, a 10-member Gospel ensemble from Sacramento led by founder and musical director Precious Craft, will anchor the Jubilee's Sunday religious observation at the Firehouse Lot on Sunday, May 24. Organized in 1967, this inter-denominational, intergenerational, multi-ethnic group performs regularly for religious, social and civic audiences of all sizes, and for various events and causes throughout Northern California and beyond. This beautiful, compelling music is presented with vitality and enthusiasm, with no sacrifice of quality or dignity, and is designed to heighten the spiritual and social consciousness of the listeners.

Zydeco Flames

San Anselmo

Hot is the word that comes to mind when it comes to the Zydeco Flames, one of the West Coast's premiere Zydeco bands. Frank Bohan and the Flames were the first Zydeco band hired by the Jubilee about three decades ago, and they set the pace for all the others. This Bay Area group's sizzling roots rhythms are timeless and the execution of them relentless. Get yourself some Louisiana hot links and some corn liquor out of the back of Linda Cousins' scooter and settle back for a good ol' Cajun flamin' celebration.