Member Since: 2/19/2008
Band Website: barbonestreet.com
Band Members: CLARINET/LEADER - STEVE BARBONE: 56 years playing jazz with legends like Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Sidney Bechet, Walter Bishop Jr., Yank Lawson, Bob Haggart, Gene Schroeder, Roswell Rudd, Thelonious Monk, et al. Gigged at jazz clubs in New York City, Philadelphia and Europe including; Nick's, Condon's The Savoy, Cinderella Club, Melody Lounge, CentralPlaza, Stuyvesant Casino, Ortlieb's Jazz Haus, Le Cave, Vieux Columbier etc. ------------------------------TRUMPET - PAUL GRANT: 43 years playing jazz. Retired US Army bandsman who toured the Far East, USA and Europe with the Army Jazz Band as their featuired Trumpet Soloist. Lead his own band at the Showboat Casino and played in other venues there after his retirement. He also plays in several Philadelphia area big bands. Had the trumpet lead and also acted in the stage play, "West End Blues - The Louis Armstrong Story." - -----------------------------------------------------TROMBON E - CINDY LEIBE: 10 years playing jazz and classical. Recently joining the band, Cindy has a Masters Degree in Music from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She frequently plays in the pit orchestras at Philadelphia theaters when they present musicals. Joined us after completing a big band tour in Las Vegas, following her USA tour in the band backing singer Barry Manilow. She also has a great singing voice. -----------------------------------------------------DRUMS - MIKE PIPER 25 Years playing jazz. Mike also recently joined the band. We found him working with trumpeter Paul Grant at the Showboat where they had a steady New Orleans Brass Band marching gig. He started in the music business playing Rock and Roll with several retro rock bands like the Crusaders and the Intruders. His first love was always jazz and his father was a Philadelphia area jazz drummer before him. ------------------------------------GUITAR - SONNY TROY 53 Years playing jazz. Well known on the Philadelphia Jazz scene, he made his first record at age 12 with Frankie Avalon who played trumpet at the time. Worked in Las Vegas with Louis Prima and Sam Butera. Then he toured with Peggy Lee for a while. Returned to Philadelphia playing on the Mike Douglas TV show for 6 years. Also played with Harry James and reunited with Peggy Lee on 13 TV Specials. --------------------------------------BASS - ACE TESONE 61 years playing jazz. He played with just about all the jazz legends of the 20th century including: Lester Young, Ben Webster, Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Kai Winding, J.J. Johnson, Charlie Ventura, Billie Holiday, Barrett Deems, Mugsy Spanier et al. He recorded with Mel Torme, Clifford Brown and is on Chubby Checker's Twist record. Also toured wih Fabian and Liberace among others. Ace is a legend in his own right.
Influences: Various band members were influenced by the various settings in which they performed before joining Barbone Street. Their individual influences we musicians like Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt, Ray Brown, Gene Krupa, George Barnes, Baby Dodds, Clifford Brown, Jack Teagarden, J. J.Johnson, Lester Young, Thelonious Monk, Coleman Hawkins, Omer Simeon, Hank D'Amico, Charlie Christian, Elvin Jones, Neils H O Pederson, Count Basie Band, Chick Webb Band, Fletcher Henderson Band, Benny Goodman Band, Tommy Dorsey Band. Plus many others, both well known and not so well known, to whom they listened to and learned from.As a result, Barbone Street is a collection of talented individuals who have their own musical voices, their own sound. And those individual sounds are blended into a unique band sound that swings mightily while sounding a bit different from other bands.Barbone Street Sound? Exciting. It makes you want to move around, tap your feet, dance, swing and sway while falling under the spell of tuneful jazz.
Sounds Like: Barbone Street sounds like Barbone Street. It is a mixture of the blues styles from Kansas City, with the funky jazz style of New Orleans, tempered by the more structured jazz sounds of New York City and Philadelphia.We first heard something like it in the New York Jazz scene of the 1950s. After the Kansas City musicians who were in the big swing bands suddenly found themselves out of work when big bands disappeared. So they joined smaller bands which integrated the Kansas City musicians with the New York musicians. In those years, New Orleans music was going through a revival and soon the bands were a mix of the three musical styles. It was the most exciting jazz music many of us had ever heard.That's the closest description we can give to what Barbone Street sounds like. We've put our own spin on the jazz we heard in the 1950s in New York City. Modernized it, reworked it and made it relevent to audiences of all ages today.
Record Label: BSJB
Type of Label: Indie