‘There’s [MISTER] MICHAEL McQUAID!’

Yes, that’s what I once whisper-yelled to my siblings during a concert, as recorded in my vignette. Too many thrills were happening for the first time last year: stepping on Iowan soil, greeting the Mississippi River, hearing live Bixian hot jazz, and meeting the very virtuoso—Mr. Michael McQuaid, specialist of the hot-jazziest reeds. Among my dearly considered yet unofficial “teachers,” whom I met in Davenport is the Australian gentleman, Mr. Michael McQuaid, a current resident of London. For many of the readers residing in the U.S., supposing that you’ve attended previous Bix festivals in IA, you might recall the rare, special occasion of him sitting in with the Graystone Monarchs, a Jean Goldkette/McKinney-styled big band—or as of 2024, with the Jazz-O-Maniacs, the Celebration Belle riverboat combo, and The New Wonders, a NYC septet. Or in the past ten years, you might’ve spotted Mr. McQuaid occasionally up in Chicago with the Cellar Boys during one of his vacations in America. If you’re unaware of his mellifluous reed-playing, it’s an urgent sine qua non to hear the “first-class jazz improviser,” as proclaimed (and still echoed) by Mr. Steinman of Jazz Lives. Mr. McQuaid remains a well-established jazz musician throughout the UK, touring frequently across Europe, participating in bands like The Vitality Five, the Forest Hill Owls, and his very own Michael Mc