California Feetwarmers - catch them while you can

The BIB has already recommended the California Feetwarmers (USA) - their sound, though strictly jazz, should appeal to many BIB readers. Since 8 July the Feetwarmers have played eleven dates here in eleven days, then five dates in Britain, including the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, and returned to Ireland this week. Most of their dates over here are part of the north-west's Earagail Arts Festival. Alec Somerville, who saw them in Ballybofey, writes:

Pauline and I just got home from a concert by them - two and a half hours of solid New Orleans and Chicago Jazz. They were short of their clarinet player for some reason, but still did 'High society' and the cornet player did the Alphonse Picou clarinet solo (obligato) on his cornet - which was startling, but very good. The rhythm section of sousaphone, drums, guitar, and (plectrum) banjo was just a solid platform for the interwoven melodies and harmonies of cornet and trombone. They know their stuff, from Jelly Roll Morton to Kid Ory to Louis Armstrong, and 'strutted it'. The audience, at Balleybofey's Balor Theatre, was 'sold out', and no wonder...

Their remaining dates here, both in Donegal, are:

Sat. 28th (tonight): Teach Hiudai Beag, Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore, Co. Donegal), 11.00 p.m., €10
Sun. 29th: The Mountain Stage, Arranmore Island, 10.00 p.m. (part of Swell Festival)