International Jazz Banjo Newsletter

It has been a week since the conclusion of the 15th Early Spring Banjo Fling and as I sit down to write this, I am still attempting to get my brain to accept and process the magnitude of this year’s event for 2007.

Steve Caddick and I decided to change things up a little. In addition to the Thursday evening concert, we added a Friday night show, more lobby performances on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, more food service, better press coverage, and invited the general public to attend the evening concerts. All I can say is WOW! Just for the record, we broke all the records.

Each year the Spring Fling is kicked off on Thursday evening with a Stone Street
Strummers’ free concert for the area Senior Citizens and this year was no different. More than 600 seniors and local folks came strolling into the Holiday Inn’s Buckingham ballroom to hear songs that in the words of the evening’s M/C, Bill O’Neel, “we love to play” and that the folks “love to hear us play“. Thursday’s theme was “A Stroll Down Memory Lane” and The Strummers did not disappoint their fans. Directed by Peter Maher, the Strummers performed a compilation of traditional Jazz and Broadway Show tunes that included 42nd Street, Alabama Jubilee, a solo performance of “Avalon” by cohost Steve Caddick and many more tunes to the delight and applause of the Standing room only crowd. Dick Leggee and Tom Fee each sang their personal favorites Radio and The Torch, with plenty of vocal help from the enthusiastic audience. What a delight it was to see all those smiling faces singing and swaying to songs that brought back memories of good times, a true “Stroll Down Memory Lane”.

Before ending the evening, our Special guest Cynthia Sayer came on Stage to give our audience a small sampling of what was to follow throughout the weekend. Cynthia performed magnificently backed up by Eddy Kebabjian on guitar and Steve Morawiec on string bass. Her cameo performance brought the crowd to their feet in a thunderous standing applause. The Strummers closed the evening with God Bless America to the delight of the still standing and singing crowd. What a start to this weekend of fun friends and music!

Rob Wright, arrived on Thursday, but the airlines had a different schedule for his clothes. Rob used the same clothing for longer than he should have and earned the affectionate nickname “pig pen” until we bought him a few necessities at a local store. But always with a smile on his face, Rob was undeterred. He played banjo until his luggage arrived, just in time for the flight home.


Food Service is a big deal at the Spring Fling. Both Steve & I believe that if you provide good food at a reasonable price, in a pleasant setting everybody is happy. This year we changed the food service to include a Friday evening “Taste of New England” menu in addition to Saturday lunch and Roast Beef or Chicken dinner buffet. The Holiday Inn’s Garden Court provides a visually pleasing setting and the hotel chef set a new standard for great food and service at a very good price. Special meals for special people.

Friday afternoon was time to move the Spring Fling into high gear, start up the “lobby welcome party” The lobby parties began a few years back. At that time the lobby was used only for registration and a spot to mingle while checking into the hotel. How boring we thought, so we got a CD player and started playing music at the welcome table. Roger Sprung asked if he could play in the lobby just for fun. We said OK and the Lobby Party was born. Since then the party has become a little more structured. Selected star entertainers perform 1 hour shows to entertain and get attendees into the right frame of mind. This informal setting is a highlight on the program, a fun part of the weekend where musicians, that come to make music, greet old friends, catch up with others, make new friends, and relax a bit after checking in at the hotel. Additionally, attendees get to listen to and speak with our star performers, in a relaxed and open setting. This year’s
performers were Kurt Abell, Dave Frey, Rob Wright, Jim Rheel, Mike Currao, Steve Caddick and Cynthia Sayer. It was kind of cold outside, but inside the Holiday Inn, the Spring Fling was heating up and the music and performers were already hot!

The Friday night show in the Buckingham Ballroom was new this year and open to the public. The thought was to cut down the Saturday “All Star” afternoon show. The “All Star” show has out grown, with the many talented performers, the available time in the program. Steve Caddick arranged for some of the best performers to show off their talents in 20 minute segments. WOW, what an incredible show of talent. Dr Jeff Grosser got the show started followed by another New England favorite, Mike Hashem. Rob Wright followed up with a performance that was a pleasant mix of vocals and instrumentals that pleased the crowd. Steve Caddick, and California’s budding star performer Paul Doerner both put on unique and entertaining performances and a last minute performance by Peter Mezoian kept the audience glued to their seats. Closing out the evening show with a brilliant performance was Kurt Abell and Dave Frey. Count Banjola performed brilliantly, (as usual), with tunes and a style that keep Kurt on the very top of our all time favorites.

The Saturday Night Show “On the Big Stage”, was the most successful show in Early Spring Fling history. Steve Caddick is always looking to open the Saturday show with something other than Banjo. This year it was “Minor Swing“, a Gypsy Jazz, Django Reinhardt style band that musically massaged the standing room only audience with the sounds from the Quintet of the Hot Club France. Joe Fontaine, Bob Davis, Paul Kolesnikow and Steve Morawiec performed a brilliant 30 minute set as a warm up act for the featured artist, Ms Cynthia Sayer.

What can you say…. …Cynthia Sayer has performed for presidents, toured the world playing jazz banjo, played at the Met and Lincoln Center in New York City……. ……and she can now add to her resume‘ “Headliner for the Early Spring Banjo Fling“. What a treat to listen to, speak with and watch Cynthia Sayer perform. Cynthia put on a one hour performance that included vocals and instrumentals with backup and solos from Steve Morawiec on Bass and Eddy Kebabjian on guitar that were unique and pleasing. Sharing her stage, Cynthia invited young gun Paul Doerner and not so young gun Rob Wright to play "Indiana" with her. They traded solos, and performed to the delight of the
audience. Also sharing the stage was Spring Fling Co-host Steve Caddick. The duo of Sayer and Caddick played “Nobody’s Sweetheart Now”, trading eights, then fours, then twos, and also sang in harmony together. The duo amazed the crowd and rocked the house bringing the standing room only audience to their feet for a standing ovation.

After the Saturday night show was over, the crowds went home and the jam sessions in full swing, my wife Theresa and I invited Cynthia to join us in the bar. We stepped into “Pikes Peak” sat at the bar, ordered a round of drinks and began to chat about the weekend. As I looked around the room, I noticed Linda Lehmann, Marge Baumann, Rob Wright, Kurt Abell and Paul Doerner, jamming and yuking it up. Steve and Cynthia decided to join in. All I could think was, here is a gathering of eagles, top talent having fun enjoying each other’s talent and company. As the night wore on, I noticed Paul Doerner, head leaning against the wall, eyes closed, sleeping but still playing music with the others. What a sight to see.

Finally, The Sunday morning Gospel Jam followed Sunday mass in the Buckingham Ballroom. Tom Fee, in rare form, projected gospel tunes on the big screen for all to play while interjecting some irreverent humor in between. The Gospel Jam was "Jammed" with people and will require a larger room next year. The Gospel jam concluded at 11:00 am but the music just kept on going until the folks just couldn’t jam any more. What a way to end the Early Spring Banjo Fling for 2007, I can ‘t wait till 2008!

2008 Early Spring Banjo Fling
April 3 - 6, 2008
Holiday Inn Mansfield
31 Hampshire St
Mansfield, MA 02048
www.stonestreetstrummers.org

Reported by: Paul Poirier