RRHFW: A Fan Speaks

Liner Notes for REGGIE'S CD Happy Feet

    The first time I saw and heard Reggie's Red Hot Feetwarmers was on a beautiful summer day under the elms at New York's famed Saratoga Race Course. My wife, Mary, and I had driven 2,000 miles from West Texas to experience what is reputed to be the most beautiful rack track anywhere with the world's best racing. What we had not been told was that the race course includes many acres of unbelievably beautiful grounds, filled with the sound of music -- all kinds of music. One afternoon we were leaving the Clubhouse for the Paddock when we heard jazz coming from one of the picnic areas. At first I thought it was a recording, because this jazz was not a modern version; it was the real thing -- like Joe Oliver, Kid Ory, Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong -- as played in New Orleans at the turn of the century. Surely, I thought, no band can play that kind of music hundreds of miles north of New Orleans. Maybe the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is on the grounds. It was authentic; that good. I then saw the band, a New York group that had brought Bourbon Street to Union Avenue in Upstate New York.

    I soon learned they had a repertoire that runs the gamut, from pop music to old favorites to traditional jazz selections. Whatever I or others requested, they played, and played well - That's A Plenty, Beale Street Blues, Georgia Camp Meeting, etc. When they I learned I was a music historian and had written a biography of Bob Wills and his western swing, they even worked up a Wills medley for me that included a unique jazz arrangement of Wills' San Antonio Rose. They love all kinds of music and play it all well.

    The Feetwarmers' music represents the best of New Orleans jazz idioms -- beat, rhythm, syncopated melodies, improvisation and creative solos. The band has a traditional New Orleans front line trumpet, tailgate trombone and clarinet with a rhythm section of tenor banjo and string bass. They're what musicians call a tight group, meaning they play so well together.

    Because the Feetwarmers are so popular in Saratoga, their audience includes everyone from two-year-old children to mothers, fathers and grandparents, with teenagers and middleagers in between. Without taking anything away from their musical ability, we concluded that a principal reason for their popularity is the fact that their music is always fun and upbeat. It makes people forget their troubles; to escape, if you please, from the problems everyone has in life. The title of this package, Happy Feet, says it all. It makes people happy. Try it! When you get a little down or blue, listen to this recording, (or either of their previous ones -- Saratoga Shout or Reggie's Red Hot Feetwarmers Volume I). Their song, Dr. Jazz, makes the point well:

"When I'm troubled, blue, and mixed, He's the one who gets me fixed, Hello Central, give me Doctor Jazz!"

     I wish we lived closer to Saratoga, so that we could enjoy The Feetwarmers music and friendship more often. I will just have to be content to listen to their recordings back in Texas until we make our annual mid-summer pilgrimage to the Adirondacks of New York, the mecca of thoroughbreds and jazz music.

Charles Townsend, Emeritus Professor of History at West Texas A & M University, is the author of San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills (Urbana; University of Illinois Press) and winner of a Grammy Award for his liner notes for Wills' last album, Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys:For The Last Time (United Artists). Dr. Townsend received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

LINER NOTES FOR REGGIE'S CD Instant Mardi Gras

    Let's say you see the Feetwarmers off in the distance at one of their many outdoor gigs, like the Saratoga Race Track or the Hildene, Vermont Craft Fair. The first thing that reaches you is the beat. Not the jackhammer of amplified pop but a happy lilt that sneaks into you sideways and makes you feel instantly better than you were just a minute ago. Walk a little closer and you see a lot of red bouncing along with the beat. Red socks, red suspenders, red neckties and Reggie's red bass fiddle. This is old-time red hot music at its best. The heat is in the beat, not in the amplifiers. Then maybe you'll hear the whole band singing in jazzy barbershop harmony, Reggie crooning into his red megaphone or the sweet strains of Frank on clarinet. Mike blows a hot chorus, Peter makes the banjo ring and sing, and Tommy tells the truth on his trombone. A crowd comes from all directions and makes a half circle around the band. Absolutely everyone is there ‹ small children and oldsters, famous people and ordinary folks. Everybody finds his own groove. Little children clap, a couple dances, an old man sings along. The Feetwarmers are what music was meant to be before life got complicated.
    Put on this CD and let them into your life!
    I can tell you all this because I've been late for work. It's a long drive from New York City to the Saratoga Track where I play with the Feetwarmers when Mike takes a day off. I've heard them in the distance while hurrying to put on my red tie and red suspenders. I've seen them draw a crowd so quickly that getting through it can be a problem. Playing with the Feetwarmers is great; almost as much fun as it is to be part of the audience.
    Wherever and whenever you hear them, the Feetwarmers are an Instant Mardi Gras. You'll appreciate that they've chosen a Fat Tuesday theme for this CD. Not just a New Orleans Mardi Gras, but a Mardi Gras for anywhere and anyone. These are great old tunes with a spirit of uncomplicated joy that reminds us that whatever might come, we're all glad to be here.

Album Notes by Peter Ecklund, renowned composer, arranger, and inestimable super-sub. He has appeared with Woody Allen's band at Michael's Pub in New York City, and is a regular at jazz parties and festivals throughout the United States and Canada. Peter's solo cornet and trumpet can be heard in the Ken Burns films The Civil War, Baseball and The American West. He is also featured in the scores of King of the Gypsies, Eight Men Out and Fried Green Tomatoes as well as in many radio and television commercials. Peter has appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion . In the 70's Peter toured and recorded with the David Bromberg Band , and played on Bonnie Raitt's legendary LP Give It Up . He also played on the albums of Gregg Allman, Geoff and Maria Muldaur, and many others. In the 80's Peter toured and recorded with Leon Redbone , returning to traditional jazz. He played first trumpet with Vince Giordano's band from 1987 to 1995. He can be heard on over 35 traditional jazz CD's-including three solo albums--most recently on the Arbors Jazz label . Peter's latest Arbor's label recording, titled Gigs , was released in 1999.

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