...Back from the big apple. It was a great trip, but the killer diller was Kevin Dorn’s Traditional Jazz Collective. The two sets I heard were truly trickerating. Was that the A Train to Harlem shaking the joint up, or was it all the feet stomping the floorboards? Who could tell? These guys are all exceptionally talented. Had a great chat with saxophonist, Michael Hashim between sets, and bites of some extraordinary jambalaya and endless cornbread. Michael is a walking encyclopedia of the New York Jazz circuit, and was good enough to share with me just a little of his vast knowledge on the subject. This genre, Dixieland, is definitely vastly under appreciated, even in a place as progressive as Manhattan. The Cajun drew a good crowd for a Monday thanks in large part to the Collective, but this amounted to just a few couples and jazz aficionados huddled around some bistro tables in the back of the room. On one hand, I told myself, we were lucky to have a front row seat. On the other, I lamented the fact that there wasn’t a line around the block. In another time and place, there certainly would have been. It must be challenging in some ways for the Collective to keep the spirit of Dixieland alive given its limited following, but they manage to do it with a fierce passion that resonates in every note. Their performance leaves you with the deeply satisfying sense that you have experienced something profound, or as Sachmo would have put it, a heart full of rhythm. It seems to me that Dixieland jazz-wise, these guys are one of the most important things happening right now, and I urge fans everywhere to go and see them live when in New York at the Cajun Restaurant, 129 8th Ave at 16th street. Kevin was good enough to send me a complimentary copy of his CD, which I am passing onto all our listeners. Be sure and listen for their tracks. I am proud to feature them in our Absinthe Radio Limelight.

Want your traditional Jazz band featured in our Limelight? Email us at absintheradio@gmail.com for details.