The first weekend in April found me at the Durango (CO) Ragtime and Early Jazz Festival. This festival is a re-incarnation of a previous one run for five years (2013-17) by the Strater Hotel (built in 1887 and a national historic landmark). This time it was under the supervision of pianist Adam Swanson, well-known to TST’s readers and a resident of Durango. He has organized it as a non-profit, so any contributions you make could be tax-deductible.
Adam brought in a world-class roster of talent: Frederick Hodges, Martin Spitznagel, Jeff Barnhart, Don Neely, Danny Coots and Domingo Mancuello. The latter name may not be as familiar to you as the others. Domingo has been on the ragtime festival circuit for several years. He has recorded a CD with Adam. I consider him to be Adam’s equal on the 88, but unlike Adam, he also sings. He has a great baritone voice and crystal-clear diction. In his day job he works as a theater production assistant, normally at the historic Fulton Theater in Lancaster, but more recently with a traveling company doing Back to the Future. So although we live near each other, I hadn’t seen him in at least two years.
You might be wondering: why a festival in early April in Durango? The main reason is that when the world-famous Durango and Silverton Railroad is running at full operation, the town overflows with tourists, reducing hotel availability and driving up prices. Mesa Verde National Park is nearby and adds to the visitor count. Durango’s weather in April, like many places, is unpredictable; this year we had the threat of snow each day, although very little fell. It was chilly, with daytime highs not reaching 50 degrees.
Durango is not an easy place to get to by any mode. If you’re one of my regular readers, you know that when I travel this far from home I try to have at least two reasons to make the trip, but that was not realistic or practical at this time and place. I flew to Albuquerque, the nearest large airport, where my friend Chuck Larrabee, who connected with me several years ago through this paper, hosted me. We have seen each other at the Bix Beiderbecke and West Coast Ragtime Festivals. Chuck drove us to Durango, 200 miles from ABQ, and we shared a room at the Strater, making the cost very reasonable for both of us, not to mention the convenience of being in the center of the action.
The festival began Thursday afternoon, April 3, with the dedication of Room 108 in the Strater, where some of the famous pianists who have played at the hotel’s Diamond Belle Saloon have stayed. The best-known of these were Johnny Maddox, Dick Kroeckel, Dick Zimmerman, and “Perfesser” Bill Edwards. Adam has been holding forth there since 2016, six nights a week during the peak season. That evening there was a concert at the Durango Arts Center, a two-block walk from the hotel, where the afternoon and evening concerts on Friday and Saturday were also held. This is an unremarkable building from the outside, but inside there is a roughly 150-seat theater that worked well for the music. However, if the festival grows, a larger venue may be needed.
There were three 30-minute sets from 11 am to 12:30 pm on Friday and Saturday in the Pullman Room at the Strater. In addition, there was a feature-length silent movie with piano accompaniment Saturday afternoon at the DAC. After-hours parties were held from 9:30 pm to 1:30 am in the Diamond Belle. Due to the crowds, I did not attend either one, although I was tempted. Optional dinners on Friday and Saturday in the Pullman Room were available that had musical accompaniment by all the festival musicians. While the music was good, it seemed wasted because the dinners were occasions where people wanted to socialize with their tablemates, and most were not paying much attention to the music. And there was a finale brunch Sunday, also at the Belle and with music, an extra-cost option, that Chuck and I attended. This had to be better than the after-hours jams because practically everyone in the room attended the festival and thus paid attention to the music.
The opening concert Thursday evening started, appropriately, with Adam, who in addition to performing, served as the emcee for all events, playing his composition “The Strater Shuffle.” Then all six of the other musicians had their turns, individually and with accompaniment. Don played clarinet and soprano sax and Jeff played trombone in addition to piano. Danny held forth on traps for everyone. During all his sets, Don also played a cross-cut saw using, I was told, a regular bow treated with resin. The sound he was able to get was surprising, but once or twice would have been enough to preserve the novelty. Frederick, Don, Jeff, and Domingo also sang a few numbers. I remarked to several friends sitting nearby that if the festival had consisted only of this concert I would have gone home happy. But I was glad I stayed, and even happier that I made the trip.
Speaking of friends, I saw about a dozen whom I knew from other festivals. There were also a few I knew of who, like me, watch Adam’s Sunday evening livestreams but whom I had not met in person. Adam began these concerts from his house at the onset of the Covid pandemic as a way to ward off starvation, as did a number of other musicians. Most of them have abandoned livestreams as live gigs returned, but Adam has continued, and just passed his fifth anniversary on the web. You can watch him on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitch on Sundays at 6 pm MT. When you do, be sure to throw a few shekels in the tip jar. During the summer these concerts are usually every other week unless he’s traveling because he’s working six nights a week at the Belle.
Friday’s offerings were excellent in all respects. Frederick’s seminar on the history of Tin Pan Alley covered the earliest years of popular-music publishing in Europe and the US. He is a thorough researcher and I have enjoyed every seminar he has presented at various festivals. He was followed by 30-minute sets each by Jeff, Don and Martin. Danny provided percussive accompaniment for each set.
On Saturday morning Adam gave a seminar on “Ragtime Composers on Film,” showing footage, much of which is now available on YouTube. In some cases these are the only images existing of notable composers. In the afternoon, in lieu of a concert there was a feature-length silent movie (Speedy starring Harold Lloyd from 1928) with accompaniment by Frederick.
The rest of the day and evening followed Friday’s format, with one notable exception: the finale concert at most festivals brings all the musicians on stage for one last number. But this time it was a duet with Adam and Frederick playing the complete piano selections from Pinocchio. Duets by those two are always enjoyable, but in any case I liked this change. Sometimes the closer with everyone turns into a free-for-all that doesn’t always bring out the best in the performers.
At this point I should spill a little ink on Don Neely. He is best known as the leader for 50 years of the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra, a West Coast band that, sadly, is ceasing operations at the end of this year. I recall hearing them once, at a festival in Connecticut in 1999. I have just ordered several of their CDs so the band is not lost to the ages for me. Fortunately, Don, who is about my age, is not ceasing operations (nor am I). And I heard that Don and Frederick are planning a smaller band to carry on.
Now, a few highlights from the festival that, unfortunately, cannot be adequately described in words. You just had to be there:
♫ The silent movie. Not the movie, but Frederick’s herculean 90-minute continuous accompaniment.
♫ Adam’s youthful guests during his noontime set on Saturday: 17-year-old Dylan Carey from England; the brothers Alex and John Hutchinson from North Carolina, the latter a winner in the junior division at the Old Time Piano Playing Contest; and Brooks Christensen, not quite as youthful but the second place winner in the adult division last year.
♫ Domingo’s singing bass and falsetto on *“Aggravatin *Aggravatin’ Papa” during his Saturday morning set.
♫ Jeff Barnhart whistling “Cabin in the Cotton” as Don Neely played it on clarinet.
♫ The ambiance of the Strater.
Next year’s festival will be held April 16-19. I hope to attend, as this one was outstanding in every respect.
♫The ambiance of the Strater.
Next year’s festival will be held April 16-19. I hope to attend, as this one was outstanding in every respect.
Bill Hoffman is a travel writer, an avid jazz fan and a supporter of musicians keeping traditional jazz alive in performance. He is the concert booker for the Tri-State Jazz Society in greater Philadelphia. Bill lives in Lancaster, PA. He is the author of Going Dutch: A Visitors Guide to the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Unique and Unusual Places in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and The New York Bicycle Touring Guide. Bill lives in Lancaster, PA.
