The Gang at Monkey Inn (Part 2) The Bill Erickson Combos 1961-62

Don't miss the downloadable audio files that follow this post. Part 1 is HERE. The Monkey Inn was a casual beer and pizza joint and college student hangout in Berkeley, California. Bob Mielke recalls that it had sawdust on the floor and “fraternity guys out on their first beer benders. It got pretty rowdy sometimes." The musicians playing Jazz there five nights a week from 1957 to ’65 rarely sounded happier or more relaxed. The informal dive provided a steady venue in Berkeley for Revival Jazz after the Lark’s Club closed in 1956. Various ensembles rounded out the weekly schedule Tuesday through Saturday nights, including the Great Pacific Jazz Band, Le Sharpton’s New Orleans Band, the ensembles of Mielke or Oxtot, Erickson’s combos and ad hoc jazz groups similar to those highlighted in part one. This article focuses on the effervescent Jazz combos of piano player Bill Erickson at the Monkey Inn during 1961 and ‘62 with clarinet players Frank “Big Boy” Goudie or Ellis Horne and trombone player Bob Mielke -- a young phenomenon rising to the occasion. They were occasionally joined by the superb jazz trumpeter Jerry Blumberg. Bill Erickson (piano, leader) Almost completely forgotten today, Bill Erickson (1929-67) wa