The Barbone Street Jazz Band: Elder Statesmen In Their Prime

The Falls Township 2011 Summer Concert Series closed out its diverse lineup with bee-bop bang The Barbone Street Jazz Band, which took stage Sunday to deliver some of its premium jazz tunes.

TBSJB is a talented collective of world-class musicians whose average age hovers around 60. In that circle, a ripe age is not indicative of looming retirement but rather, it serves as a badge of honor and a hallmark of time-tested quality comparable to wine that betters with age.

Its members are well acquainted and qualified as curators of the music they perform as most were in their prime during jazz’s formative years. As jazz quickly became a countrywide phenomenon, they were right there in the thick of it all seeing each brick of its ensuing culture being laid. The club scene flourished back then and provided ample venues and opportunities for the genre’s creators to display this newly founded art form en masse. This also gave some members of TBSJB an opportunity to perform alongside some of the 20^th century’s great jazz legends.

It was in this era that jazz took on many different forms congruent to the individual styles of each varying artist. This was key and helpful in the formation of TBSJB because each member though working in different creative outfits brought with them a unique palate of tested experiences and skill. Per the group’s own admission they were united by the common goal and desire of "exploring the roots of jazz and traditional jazz modernized by their own inventiveness."

TBSJB was founded with the goal of blending varied individual styles into one cohesive, energetic, distinct and easily identifiable sounding band. In the band’s simplest form it is a six-piece Dixieland ensemble. However, the group is quick to note they are not merely confined to jazz as they play all types of music and organize bands from a skilled pool of about 45 musicians. These guys put in work. It is not uncommon for them to have as many as four different bands simultaneously working separate venues and disseminating grooves ranging from foot stomping jazz to more mellow background toned music.

Bandleader Steve Barbone, as a retired CEO for a multi-billion dollar corporation, is well aware of the need to deliver to clients a top-notch product with praiseworthy service. The goal is simple. Give customers what they want. Their satisfied clientele includes major corporations, jazz festivals, parades, universities, fundraisers, socials, jazz concerts, weddings, municipalities and more. Were you added to the list of happy feet?