08/04/2009

Arkansas Jazz Experience


Arkansas Jazz Experience: Clyde Pound, keyboard; Shirley Chauvin, vocals; Jay Payette, drums; Bill Huntington, bass

The Hot Springs Jazz Society in collaboration with the Quapaw Baths & Spa sponsor the "Arkansas Jazz Experience" on the 4th Friday of each month in Hot Springs, 413 Central, Hot Springs. 6 until 8:15. Featuring the "Arkansas Jazz Experience" jazz combo with pianist Clyde Pound, drummer Jay Payette, bassist Bill Huntington and vocalist Shirley Chauvin. The admission is $10 and includes snacks. A cash bar is available. A guest artist is presented each time and will include Allen Rogers on bass while Bill Huntington transfers to guitar for the Friday, August 28, performance. Please come early as this has been a sell out for the preceding 4 months.

A jazz musician, who has done it all! He began playing banjo at the age of 12, and at 16, he recorded traditional jazz with Percy Humphrey, the leader of the Preservation Hall Band in New Orleans and Ken Colyer, the British trumpeter.

He switched to guitar at 16, influenced by modern jazz recordings of Charlie Christian, Bud Powell and others. In 1960, he was featured in Down Beat magazine as a guitarist, described as "the recapitulation of the history of jazz itself."

In the 60’s and 70’s, a scarcity of guitar gigs, led him to switch to bass on which he has done numerous shows with jazz notables such as Carmen McCrae, Helen O’Connell, Mel Torme, Cannonball Adderly, Woody Shaw, Herb Ellis, Lockjaw Davis and many, many more.

He has toured with Ellis Marsalis, Al Hirt, Johnny Mathis, Jack Jones, Bennie Wallace, Pete Fountain, and the big bands of Jimmy Dorsey and Woody Herman, to name a few.

He has recorded with Ellis Marsalis, Bennie Wallace, Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., Al Hirt, Pete Fountain, Mose Allison, Banu Gibson,Mose Allison, Dr. John, Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton (Grammy winner) and hundreds of others.

He taught in the department of Jazz Studies at Loyola University and UNO for over 25 years.

Recently, he played a concert in Little Rock with Herbie Hancock for the Opening of the Wind Song Performing Arts Center.

He was on tour in Europe when Katrina hit and is currently living in Hot Springs Village.