Personnel:
Although the Magnolia Jazz Band regularly
performs with up to six musicians, the nucleus of
the band is Robbie Schlosser, cornet & string
bass; Bill Napier, clarinet; and Paul Mehling,
guitar & banjo.
Robbie Schlosser formed the Magnolia Jazz Band in
1975, as music was his main hobby up to then. He
began learning violin in the third grade, cornet
the next year, and string bass 27 years later.
During high school and college, Robbie's musical
interests focused on playing cornet in marching
bands and French horn in concert bands and
orchestras. After college he lived in New York
state and worked as a scientist and a science
teacher. He also played occasionally with several
informal Dixieland bands, including one named
"The South Happiness Street Society Skiffle
Band". Moving to northern California in the
early '70s, he joined the South Bay Traditional
Jazz Society, where he met many musicians he
would work with over the next 20-plus years.
Robbie performs nearly every day with the
Magnolia Jazz Band, and he manages the band's
business. The Bay Area traditionally boasts
plenty of wonderful musicians and lots of
parties, and Robbie learned early that he
preferred local work to life "on the
road". Still, when time permits, he enjoys
an occasional out-of-town performance with a few
well-known musicians across the country. In the
early 1980's, the Magnolia Jazz Band made seven
recordings, toured through the west coast, the
Midwest and the east coast, and was a popular
favorite at many jazz festivals.
During those years, Robbie performed occasionally
with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New
Orleans. A few years later, he worked as a
regular member of the Royal Society Jazz
Orchestra, performing on a PBS TV special,
several international cruises and jazz festivals,
and numerous special concerts across the country.
From 1991-1997, he appeared regularly with the
Butch Thompson Trio, which received national fame
on Garrison Keillor's PBS radio program, "A
Prairie Home Companion". Robbie also
free-lances occasionally with other local bands,
including Clint Baker's New Orleans Jazz Band,
The Hot Club of San Francisco, Hal Smith's
California Rhythm Cats, and Big Mama Sue, and he
keeps in touch with dozens of musicians each
month. He continually learns from all his fellow
jazzmen, and every day brings something new.
Born in 1926, in Asheville, North Carolina, Bill
Napier has been interested in jazz since 1939. He
began learning some things about music and the
clarinet while attending a Jesuit boarding school
at the age of twelve. Since then, music has been
his main interest. He has performed with many
semi-famous and famous musicians, and has
recorded numerous times over the past 5 decades.
In 1961, he toured Britain and the European
continent with the Harlem Globetrotters road
show, where he performed at half time with the
famous Bob Scobey Frisco Band.
Now playing almost exclusively with the Magnolia,
he enjoys some of the highlights of a lengthy
musical career. He is playing more creatively
than ever before, due to the freedom of
expression he finds with these fine musicians.
Paul Mehling began working with the Magnolia Jazz
Band in 1978. An accomplished
multi-instrumentalist (guitar, violin, bass,
plectrum and tenor banjo, mandolin), his
free-lancing with Bay Area groups includes work
with the Abalone Stompers and with Big Mama Sue.
Briefly with Dan Hicks' Acoustic Warriors, he
appeared on Austin City Limits, among other
venues throughout the country.
Paul is the founder and lead guitarist of the Hot
Club of San Francisco, a group dedicated to
performing and recording the music called Gypsy
Jazz. Internationally known as an authority on
the music of Django Reinhardt and other Gypsy
swing players, Paul conducts clinics and private
lessons when not performing with the Magnolia
Jazz Band or his Hot Club.
History:
In January
1975, a local nightclub owner heard Robbie at an
after-hours jam session, and hired him to lead a
jazz band to entertain the customers. Robbie
called five friends from the South Bay
Traditional Jazz Society and organized the
original Magnolia Jazz Band. The job lasted six
weeks, every Friday and Saturday. Through the mid
'70s, they continued playing, often expanding to
nine musicians, and performed at dances, parties,
and concerts. In the late '70s and early '80s,
they specialized in the New Orleans revival
style, popularized by the Bunk Johnson, George
Lewis, and Preservation Hall Jazz Bands. The
sextet made seven recordings, toured through the
Midwest and the east coast, and performed at many
jazz festivals throughout the country.
Now, in the 21st century, the band is going
stronger than ever. Since the late '70s, the trio
(clarinet, guitar, and bass) has been working
nearly every day. Their clients get swinging
entertainment for corporate events, private
parties, and wedding receptions at the best local
hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs. The band
knows how to be flexible -- often adding trumpet,
trombone, piano, saxophone, drums, banjo, or
tuba, to provide the right size combo for every
occasion. Selecting music from a wider
repertoire, they play the popular jazz styles
from the '20s, '30s, and '40s. Listeners and
dancers enjoy echoes of Louis Armstrong, Duke
Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Louie
Jordan, Nat King Cole, Glenn Miller, and more.
The Magnolia Jazz Band specializes in
entertaining people. Because they help make each
event successful, their clients keep coming back
for more. Although most of the band's engagements
are private parties, they regularly bring fun,
elegance, and excitement to public events
throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Check
their Schedule, and catch them soon!
Recordings for
sale:
We are
currently recording, and a new CD should be
available soon. Look here for more information as
the release date approaches.
In the meantime, a limited number of our old
LP's's are still available.
For MJB
records, please mail your request and enclose
prepayment of $10 each, including shipping, to:
* Magnolia Jazz Band
P.O. Box 2739
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
For SOS and GHB
records, please request a complete catalog from
each company:
* Stomp Off Records
P.O. Box 342
York, PA 17405
* GHB Records
1206 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA 70116
Shake That
Thing (SOS1137, recorded 1983)
Robbie Schlosser, bass; Jimmy Mazzy, banjo; Walt
Sereth, clarinet; Bill Carter, clarinet; Jim
Klippert, trombone
King Joe, Breeze, Royal Telephone, Blue Bungalo,
Moonlight, Creole Love Call, Black Girl, Shake
That Thing, Corrine Corrina, Smooth Sailing,
Jelly Bean Blues, Sheik of Araby.
Art Hodes and
the Magnolia Jazz Band (GHB172, recorded 1982 (CD
AVAILABLE))
Art Hodes, piano; Robbie Schlosser, bass; Jim
Borkenhagen, trumpet; Bill Carter, clarinet; Jim
Klippert, trombone; Danny Ruedger, banjo; Jeff
Hamilton, drums.
How Long How Long Blues, Just A Little While to
Stay Here, Hurry Down Sunshine, Linger Awhile,
Magnolia Blues, Some Of These Days, Beale Street
Blues, I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover.
The Magnolia
Jazz Band and Art Hodes (GHB 171, recorded 1982
(CD AVAILABLE))
Art Hodes, piano; Robbie Schlosser, bass; Jim
Borkenhagen, trumpet; Bill Carter, clarinet; Jim
Klippert, trombone; Danny Ruedger, banjo; Jeff
Hamilton, drums.
See See Rider, Yearning, Life Is Like A Book,
Weary Blues, Chimes Blues, I Ain't Gonna Give
Nobody None Of My Jelly Roll, Someday Sweetheart,
Shake That Thing.
Red Onion Blues
(SOS1016, recorded 1981)
Robbie Schlosser, bass; Jim Borkenhagen, trumpet;
Bill Carter, clarinet; Jim Klippert, trombone;
Danny Ruedger, banjo; Jeff Hamilton, drums.
One Sweet Letter From You, Far Away Blues,
Tailgate Ramble, Memphis Shake, Mobile Stomp,
Good Time Flat Blues, Old Rugged Cross, Red Onion
Blues, Hesitating Blues, I Can't Escape From You.
On Tour - 1980
(MJB80, recorded 1980)
Robbie Schlosser, bass; Jim Borkenhagen, trumpet;
Bill Carter, clarinet; Jim Klippert, trombone;
Danny Ruedger, banjo; Jeff Hamilton, drums.
Old Gray Bonnet, His Eye Is On The Sparrow, Big
Mamou, Careless Love, Joe Avery's Piece, What A
Fried We Have In Jesus, Willie The Weeper, Sweet
Lotus Blossom, All The Girls.
Live Recordings
At Central City (MJB79, recorded 1979 (OUT OF
PRINT))
Robbie Schlosser, bass; Jim Borkenhagen, trumpet;
Bill Carter, clarinet; Jim Klippert, trombone;
Danny Ruedger, banjo; Jeff Hamilton, drums.
Red Wing, Sister Kate, In The Sweet Bye and Bye,
If I Had Wings, I'm Not Rough, Walking With The
King, Ticket Agent Blues, Bogalusa Strut.
Magnolia Jazz
Band (MJB78, recorded 1977,78)
Robbie Schlosser, bass; Jim Borkenhagen, trumpet;
Bill Carter, clarinet; Jim Klippert, trombone;
Danny Ruedger, banjo; Jeff Hamilton, drums.
Make Me A Pallet On The Floor, Bourbon Street
Parade, See See Rider, Swanee River, When The
Saints Go Marching In, Precious Lord, Sing On, A
Closer Walk With Thee.
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