CASTLE JAZZ BAND, The

CD booklet cover.

Homebase: Portland, OR
Stats: 1944-1960s...
Misc Notes: The Castle Jazz Band was a "Dixieland" group that was part of the "West Coast revival" of traditional jazz music. Their recordings were popular worldwide for a time, although touring outside their Portland, Oregon base was limited. The Castle Jazz Band was Portland's most popular jazz group, both locally and internationally.In the late 1940s, they were among four groups which were leading the traditional jazz movement on the West coast.

The Castle Jazz Band was an all-white traditional jazz ensemble that formed in 1944, as part of a West-Coast revival of traditional jazz that un-apologetically rebelled against then-current developments in jazz. It was composed of top-notch musicians who considered themselves neo-traditionalists; as such they rejected big band music as over-arranged and Bebop as the domain of "drug-addicted crackpots".The band stuck to what they considered the roots of jazz, consisting of trumpet, clarinet, trombone, tuba, drums, banjo, and piano. There were no saxophones or strings. They aimed to emulate the music of Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver The band was reviewed as "rousing" and having the ability to impart "fire" to "cornier" numbers. Of importance to the band's success was the "rhythm and enthusiasm" of Ballou, and Kinch's trumpet which could evoke Bix Beiderbecke.Also important was the "hell of a good time" the band was able to communicate. Individual solos were limited in the Castle band, usually to just a bridge. They were considered to be an "superior, authentic, two-beat" band.

The Castle Jazz Band was based out of a roadhouse tavern (5150 SE Glen Echo Ave., Portland) that boasted some real architectural flair. In later years the stone building became a steakhouse, but was unoccupied by the late 1970s, and was reportedly razed sometime around 2006.

The band, a cooperative venture that never paid its members, was led by banjoist Monty Ballou.The first recordings took place in 1944, and their first issue was limited to 200 copies.Wartime and employment difficulties ensured the band would not record again until 1947, but this record was more widely released, and garnered the attention of jazz fans. Shortly after, Ballou changed from guitar to banjo, and this had a significant effect on the band's sound. The most famous lineup was formed in 1948, and played music at the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park in Portland, dressed as various characters. They were regulars at the Rathskeller Cafe in 1948, and then moved to a more upscale location, the Sportsman Club, where they were a draw not only locally, but also from the traditional jazz fanbase in San Francisco. Their heyday was from 1949 to 1951. This time period included being a featured performer at the 1949 Dixieland Jubilee concert, and a series of recordings on the Castle Records label.George Bruns left in 1950 to join the Turk Murphy band,and was replaced by Rod Levitt. Levitt was considered too "modern" for the band and initially found it difficult to fit in. The cooperative band disbanded in 1951, and Ballou formed a new version of the band that performed in a club he bought called the Diamond Horseshoe, in good part due to the success of the Castle Records releases.Ballou sold the club in 1954, and disbanded Castle, in order to join forces with Doc Evans.Ballou periodically reformed the group for concerts and recordings, including sessions in 1968 and 1972.

Monty Ballou, banjo, guitar, vocals (1944 - 1954, 1957 - 1977)
George Bruns, trombone (1947 - 1950)
Ernie Carson, trumpet (1954 - 1956)
Freddie Crews, piano (1951 - 1954)
Larry DuFresne, piano (1947 - 1950)
Bob Gilbert, clarinet (1948 - 1954)
Bob Johnson, piano (1944)
Don Kinch, cornet (1947 - 1950, 1958)
Rob Levitt, trombone (?)
Willy Pavia clarinet (1944 - 1947)
Bob Short, tuba (1947 - 1954)
Axel Tyle, drums (1944 - 1947)
Homer Welch, drums (?)
SEE ALSO:
1.) MERRYMEN AND THE CASTLE JAZZ BAND, The

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CASTLE JAZZ BAND, The

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