Author: cjsadmin

The Carolina Jazz Society’s first concert of the 2026-2027 season will be the second Sunday of September, 2026 because of Labor Day. Concerts are usually on the first Sunday of each month between September and May. Concert will take place at Heyward Street United Methodist Church, 2501 Heyward Street in Columbia SC from 2:30pm until 5:00pm.

Jim Hall, our drummer, will lead the band for what should be a great time back together after the summer.

Dick Goodwin and his trumpet will miss this concert as he’s recovering from a health issue last month. Please keep Dick in your hearts and wish him a speedy recovery.

2501 Heyward St. Columbia SC

Sunday’s concert will feature the return of Les Flat Out Strangers, a Gipsy Jazz ensemble. Django Reinhardt, a musician who was raised in a gipsy family, learned to play as a child and developed a style of music popular today. Like Dixieland, Gipsy Jazz is energetic and exciting.

Les Flat out Strangers play around the Midlands and can often be heard in front of the Lula Drake Wine Parlor at the First Thursday Main Street celebration. Our own Doug Graham is a regular with the group.

The “Columbia Metropolitan” described the music, history and performers in the April 2019 issue. Read it here — https://columbiametro.com/article/music-of-the-midlands/

This is sure to be a fun concert that should not be missed.

Pete is always a welcome addition to our group and he’ll be joining us for our next concert October 6, 2024 at 2:30pm. You won’t want to miss it.
Here’s a link to some info about Pete: https://peteneighbour.com

Aletha teaches full time at Columbia College, where her classes include music theory, piano, choir, and jazz ensemble. She also teaches part
time at USC, directing the vocal jazz group, Carolina Alive.

Also a graduate of both CC (bachelor’s) and USC (master’s), she has traveled the world playing/singing in many different kinds of venues, from
entertaining our soldiers abroad, backing up guest artists in the area, playing touring broadway shows, dueling pianos, and many different local
bands playing beach music, rock, and/or jazz. She has done this for over 50 years.

Events:
April 10 at 7:30 at the USC School of Music Recital Hall Aletha will direct Carolina Alive in concert. This is a free concert. Bring your family and friends.

Growing up in Evanston, Illinois, Ron Hockett began playing professionally with George Brunies, Bobby Gordon and the Salty Dogs while still in high school. A member of the popular youth group, The Windjammers, Hockett took part in rehearsals that turned into jam sessions with visiting greats Bobby Hackett, Bud Freeman and Jimmy McPartland. While a student at Princeton, Ron toured the Orient with the Dukes of Dixieland. From 1970 to 1999, he was the lead saxophonist and clarinet soloist in the “President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band in Washington, D.C., performing throughout the U.S. and Europe, and making regular appearances at the White House. After retiring from the Marine Band, Ron began a 12-year run as the Clarinetist with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band in San Antonio, (from 1999 to 2011) and appeared on hundreds of public radio programs with Cullum in the series “Riverwalk: Live From the Landing” which can still be heard on the internet at https://riverwalkjazz.stanford.edu/

He now lives in Charlotte and is a frequent guest at the Carolina Jazz Society sessions.

Our season got off to a great start in September with a nice crowd despite several other music and theater events scheduled at the same time! Thanks to several renewing members and one new member. Those who made it were treated to quite a show with three stellar clarinets. Hope to see more of our new friend Ron Hockett from Charlotte going forward, and the visit from Pete Neighbour was also welcome.

While our guest clarinets were welcome, we cannot neglect our resident wizard of the wooden horn, Doug Graham, who will be calling the tunes in October.

Our May 1, 2022 show will be a slight change of pace, Jazz of the same era but from across the pond: the Flat Out Strangers will join our fabulous house band with the sounds of “Le Jazz Hot” from 1930’s France. Check out the Strangers on their Facebook page; they play frequently around Columbia and have a following in the swing dance community. The style is sometimes called “Gypsy Jazz” or “Jazz Manouche” because Romani guitarist Django Reinhart, along with violinist Stephane Grapelli in the Quintette de Hot Club de France were innovators and popularizers of this style of jazz.

David Roof – President