Hello friends! It’s been a while since I’ve shared the trad jazz happenings in Maine—though, certainly, not due to a lack of goings on. In April I contracted a bad bout of Covid, then was sick all through May (first thought was long Covid, but apparently it was allergies), then a big vacation in June, and then a second bout of Covid in July—and this after being nearly a “no-vid” for the last three years. It’s been a challenging year, to say the least.
The good news, however, is that it has also been an amazing year of jazz up here in the desolate, not-yet-frozen hinterlands of Maine.
The biggest news is that the Soggy Po’ Boys have a new album! Huzzah! When I interviewed them last fall, they said they were going back to the studio in January, and I’ve been impatiently awaiting the new album ever since. Well, it’s finally here. I’ve seen the band in concert once this year, at the Strand Theater in Rockland, ME, in August, and will be seeing them two more times in November—once at their “honoring the tradition” annual show at The Dance Hall in Kittery where this year’s focus will be Kid Ory and a second time for their album release party at Blue / BPM in Portland ME (see their tour / release party schedule on their website).
Last year, when the band was in Rockland, very few folks in the audience knew who they were. This year, when the band asked if anyo
