The Shanghai Woolies

I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4 The Shanghai Woolies play hot music, the pop and jazz of Chicago and New York City in the 1920’s and 30’s. The eight-piece ensemble, founded by Pink Martini trumpet player Gavin Bondy, is diverse enough to approach the magical sounds of the young Duke Ellington, the big band sounds of Benny Goodman, and even the orchestral treatments of Paul Whiteman. “... a new twist on the raucous, slippery, foot-happy jazz you’d expect to hear at the legendary Cotton Club ... hard to resist...” says Scott Lewis, of the Oregonian. The vocalist and songwriter, Mel (Melanie) Kubik, is the centerpiece of every performance. Her early training in music (classical piano at age 3, saxophone at 9) and her experience in traditional jazz (Timbuktu + 5) and pop rock (Quarterflash) combines with her Bohemian lineage and down-home Kansas upbringing to give her versatility unparalleled, personal accessibility unsurpassed, and musical depth and beauty that is rare to find. Gavin plays trumpet and cornet, writes songs and creates arrangements for the band. Brought up in Portland, Oregon, he studied music from old-school horn players who showed him how American music was made in the first part of last century. They had worked in live radio orchestras and in the bands of people like Glenn Miller and Tex Beneke. It became Gavin’s task to reconcile this early training with the newer sounds he enjoyed elsewhere. Along the way, he discovered beauty in many of the musical elements others had discarded in the name of progress. So, he chose the earlier music of the 1920’s when, in 1999, he began work in ernest on the material for the Shanghai Woolies. On April 17, 2004, the band released their debut CD, Jungle Nights, to an enthusiastic house at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Oregon. National Public Radio later put the third track, Concerto for Trumpet, on their Open Mic web site where the public voted and gave it one of the very highest ratings ever. It is often noted, though, that the Woolies’ live shows are even better than the CD: “That’s the coolest band I’ve ever seen,” said Marv Ross, leader of Quarterflash and producer of the Trail Band, after the Woolies’ memorable performance at Cycle Oregon in Diamond, Oregon, on September 11, 2001. “Though Brian Setzer, Cherry-Poppin’ Daddies, and others have paved this road, the fanciest, coolest machine on the highway is The Shanghai Woolies.” -- Victory Review