Lauren Sansaricq and Charlie Judkins

My bassist-tubist friend Brian Nalepka put me wise to the quintet Miss Maybell and the Jazz Age Artistes and suggested they’d be a good fit at the Tri-State Jazz Society. Brian is part of the group’s rhythm section. Actually, I had heard of this band but had not seen them in person until I hired them at TSJS a little over a year ago. But knowing their lineup I knew I didn’t need an audition before offering them a gig. Brian was right; the group was a big hit, and I’m planning to re-book them in the next year or two. The leader, Miss Maybell (Lauren Sansaricq) plays banjo, guitar, a customized washboard, and sings. And her voice is perfect for the type of music they play. Her husband Charlie Judkins is on piano, Dan Levinson handles the reeds, and Andy Stein is on violin. Brian sometimes joins Lauren on vocals. I have subsequently seen Lauren and Charlie as a duo at the West Coast Ragtime Festival in November and at the Yocum Institute for the Arts in West Lawn (Reading), PA a short time later. They were scheduled to play at the Central Pennsylvania Ragtime and American Music Festival in September, 2023, but just days before they both tested positive for Covid. I caught the quintet again right after Christmas at the Zinc Bar in Manhattan, one of the places in the