Jacksonville’s First Couple of Jazz
When a hot horn man who once led the Dukes of Dixieland married a velvety-voiced Southern belle with exceptional musical breeding the resulting couple clicked like a metronome set on swing time.
The trumpeter is J.B. Scott, and the singer is his wife, Lisa Kelly.
On October 8, the Jacksonville husband and wife brought their sextet to the Charlotte County Jazz Society’s 2018-19 season opener at the William H. Wakeman III Cultural Center Theater, and they dazzled the crowd of 200 with a set extending from classic New Orleans jazz to Great American Songbook to modern swing, Latin and bebop. Kelly—who was born in North Carolina—crooned “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” and belted “Exactly Like You,” her finger-snapping left hand often punctuating the rhythm.
The rhythm section—pianist Jeff Phillips, bassist Jay Mueller and drummer Clyde Connor— kept the pulse driving when speed counted and shifted to slow, easy cooking on ballads. Veteran trombonist Dave Steinmeyer, former leader of The Airmen of Note, blew dynamic, deep-toned harmonies to Scott’s high-ranging horn parts on tunes such as “The Saints.”
Steinmeyer’s a technically adroit trombonist, but he’s glad to get down tailgate-style and did so stunningly on “Basin Street Blues” and “Bourbon Street Parade,” which also showcased Scott
