New York Jazz Ensemble featuring Woody Allen - The Bunk Project

THE BUNK PROJECT

EDDY DAVIS, MUSICAL DIRECTOR

[1] In the Sweet By 'n' By (V. Bryan, H. Von Tilzar)

[2] The Old Rugged Cross (George Bennard)

[3] Margie (Davis, Conrad, Robinson)

[4] Mecca Flats Blues (Jimmy Blythe, Steve Graham, Alexander Robinson)

[5] Over In Gloryland (James Acuff, Emmett Dean)

[6] Algiers Strut

(Kid Valentine, Van Hulton)

[7] What a Friend We Have In Jesus

(Joseph Scriven, Charles C. Converse)

[8] Sobbin' Blues (Art Kassel, Vic Burton)

[9] Bogalusa Strut (Sam Morgan)

[10] Black Cat Blues (Eddy Davis)

[11] Red Light Blues (Eddy Davis)

[12] All the Whores Like the Way I Ride (traditional P.O.)

[13] Burgundy Street Blues (George Lewis)

[14] Weary Blues (Artie Matthews)

PERSONAL BY TRACK

TRACKS 1, 4 & 10

EDDY DAVIS, banjo

WOODY ALLEN, clarinet

SIMON WETTENHALL, trumpet

DAN BARRETT, trombone

CYNTHIA SAYER, piano

GREG COHEN, bass

JOHN GILL, drums

TRACKS 2, 3 & 12

EDDY DAVIS, banjo

WOODY ALLEN, clarinet

PETER ECKLUND, trumpet

DAN BARRETT, trombone

CYNTHIA SAYER, piano

GREG COHEN, bass

JOHN GILL, drums

TRACKS 5 & 8

EDDY DAVIS, banjo

WOODY ALLEN, clarinet

PETER ECKLUND, trumpet

GRAHAM STEWART, trombone

TODD ROBBINS, piano

GREG COHEN, bass

GIAMPAOLO BIAGI, drums

TRACKS 6, 7 & 9

EDDY DAVIS, banjo

WOODY ALLEN, clarinet

PETER ECKLUND, trumpet

DAN BARRETT, trombone

CYNTHIA SAYER, piano

GREG COHEN, bass

JOHN GILL, drums

TRACK 11

EDDY DAVIS, banjo

WOODY ALLEN, clarinet

SIMON WETTENHALL, trumpet

GRAHAM STEWART, trombone

CYNTHIA SA YER, piano

BRIAN NALEPKA, bass

JOHN GILL, drums

TRACKS 13 & 14

EDDY DAVIS, banjo

WOODY ALLEN, clarinet

TODD ROBBINS, piano

GREG COHEN, bass

PAUL KEIM, drums

The New York Jazz Ensemble

Musical director of The Bunk Project, EDDY DAVIS is also founder and leader of The Turn of the Century Minstrels, a seven piece salon orchestra performing The Roots of American Jazz, and The New York Society for the Preservation of Illegitimate Music, a musical comedy troupe formerly known as The Best of Spike Jones. Davis attended Purdue University, Chicago University and both the Cosmopolitan and Chicago Conservatories of Music as a composition major. Eddy Davis has performed with such jazz greats as Turk Murphy, The Dukes of Dixieland, George Brunis, Wild Bill Davison, Buddy Tate, Jabbo Smith and Freddie Hubbard. He can be heard on Leon Redbone's albums and with Tom Waits on the classic Kurt Weill Album.

WOODY ALLEN started out playing the soprano sax and soon switched to the clarinet. Self-taught, he does not read music and studied for a brief time with Gene Sedric. Turk Murphy insisted that Woody sit in with his band and encouraged him to perform more in public.

DAN BARRETT has played both valve and slide trombone for pictures including The Cotton Club and Brighton Beach Memoirs and performed at Carnegie Hall with Woody Herman and Joe Bushkin.

Dan Barrett appears courtesy of Arbors Records.

CYNTHIA SAYER is internationally acclaimed as one of the leading jazz banjoists, and is also known for her vocal, acting and multiinstrumental talents. Ms. Sayer has appeared at the White House, and worked in films including Purple Rose of Cairo and Sophie's Choice.

GREG COHEN'S credits include works of Dagmar Krause, Tom Waits, Kurt Weill, David Sanborn and Holly Cole.

JOHN GILL performed for 12 years with the Turk Murphy Jazz Band and has played Preservation Hall in New Orleans.

GIAMPAOLO BIAGI has worked with many artists including Chet Baker, Hazel Scott, Major Holly, Warren Vache Jr., Kenny Davern, and Ken Peplowsky.

PETER ECKLUND plays first trumpet with Vince Giordano's Nighthawks and co-leads the Orphan Newsboys with guitarist Marty Grosz.

Born in Australia in 1949, SIMON WETTENHALL migrated to the us in 1975.

After an early apprenticeship playing the music of New Orleans, Wettenhall's musical horizons broadened to include all forms of collective improvisation. Apart from performing, Simon dedicates his time to the expansion of his musical vocabulary, and an intensifying study of the way the great masters play, and write melody.

GRAHAM STEWART was influenced from the beginning by such trombonists as Roy Palmer, Jim Robinson, Kid Ory and Honore Dutrey. Graham and trumpeter Alan Elsdon formed the Graham Stewart Seven which was a success on the British and Continental Europe professional jazz circuit. Graham continues to play in the New York area and appears as a guest artist with the Bostonbased New Black Eagle Band.

PAUL KEIM has spent 20 years as a jazz drummer in New York City. A student of Wes Landers (known in jazz circles as Wally Gater), he has been performing with the New York based group On The Lamb for 10 years.

TODD ROBBINS has performed at a number of jazz festivals including the JVC Jazz Festival and the Jazz in July Festival at the 92nd St Y in New York City, the Boston Globe Jazz and Heritage Festival, The Great Connecticut Traditional Festival and the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.

BRIAN M. NALEPKA is a founding member of the Manhattan Rhythm Kings, who are featured in the three-time Tony Award winning show Crazy for You and have performed with more than 30 symphony orchestras, as well as with Bob Hope, George Burns and Gregory Hines.

Brian M. Nalepka appears courtesy of Sterling Records. ****************************************

You might say that this project began some 30 years ago in Chicago. I had a jazz band in a club on the infamous Rush Street. One block north, going up Rush, the top entertainers of that time passed through another club known as Mr. Kelly’s. one evening a fellow came in representing one of their performers. He wanted to know if his client could “sit in” with us on his clarinet. I said OK, if he could play the type of jazz we were playing, which was traditional. He said he could and he did “sit in” and he played and thanked me and left. Then 20 years passed, and I was in New York City.This time I “sat in” with a band he had formed and soon I found myself performing regularly with them. Through our mutual respect for Bill Russell’s American Music recordings we decided we could try to put together a New Orleans revival Band.We found a large hall, called some musicians, and this is what happened.

--Eddy Davis