We always appreciate a band that has a bit of fun with what they're doing, and Penguins on Broadway certainly had a LOT of fun with what they did. Ostensibly a big band revival, the Penguins weren't afraid to mix in a few unexpected gems into the mix - including a great version of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog." [img width=682.562px]//7ca49eb9f67ba1319ef136f9d52cd8b8.cdn.bubble.io/f1728177525731x630712345378785900/richtext_content.jpeg[/img] Jazz fans get cookin' Festival kicks off with party mongers and the rising sun By James Muretich (Herald writer) The sun rose in Bankers Hall West as the Calgary International Jazz Festival got underway Saturday night. Literally. It rose on 15-foot stilts. It also sang in a falsetto voice and was draped in a brilliant yellow, red and orange costume. It also goes by the name of Dean Bareham, a member of the talented performance troupe Green Fools. The Fools shed some much needed color on a rather sedate Cookin' With Jazz crowd (the event was a nice com- bo platter of music and scrumptious Cajun food prepared by Sunterra Mar- ket). Aside from the sun, there was al- so an evil-looking moon on stilts and a man dressed as an insect (no stilts here, though he did perch on a small ladder). The performance was intended to celebrate the official arrival of summer. When asked how any act could possibly top a 15-foot performer on stilts, Penguins On Broadway drummer Scott Lauchlan replied: "Sixteen feet." The perennial party-mongers, Penguins On Broadway, did succeed in getting the Cookin' With Jazz crowd off its chairs with its mix of big band faves, standards like Summertime and campy covers like the Batman Theme (alas, Michelle Pfeiffer did not make a special guest appearance). The group also unveiled its "hot off the presses" inde- pendent cassette entitled (deep breath required here): 15 Favorite Non-Stop Chart Topping Explosive Dance Hits For Lovers. While the semi-formal dancers had first shot at picking up a copy, lead singing Penguin Brad McIntosh said Fidelio Records will carry the cassette at both their stores. "And it's available for $9.99, GST in- cluded. Not ten bucks. $9.99. . . . They should really abolish the penny," said McIntosh. Other acts performing at the Cookin' opening were Klingers Klassic Jazz Band and The Swinging Bovines, a cool little saxophone quartet. Outside of the music, however, the most impressive thing were the two cast iron pans Sunterra Market had on hand, filled to the brim with sausage jambalaya and chicken gumbo. "They're about a metre in diameter and weigh 125 pounds empty," said Sunterra executive chef and all-around Scotch connoisseur Judy Wood. And full? "About 175 pounds." Hernia anyone? Oh yes, in the realm of officialdom, Ald. Ron Lee as the "official" representative of the city - "officially" declared the jazz festival open. And where was the mayor? "Busy." said fest publicist Bob Haslam. Meanwhile, due to a reggae band performing at La Cueva Saturday night, the Norm Marshall Villeneuve Sextet took its act upstairs to Mescalero. It didn't matter where this band played, though, this was superb jazz anchored and inspired by the brilliant bebop drumming of Villeneuve himself. The group was so good that even those not aware of the jazz festival's existence were digging the band, people like model, actor and rodeo man Mark Wight who was decked out in his best western duds. "No, I didn't know there was jazz here tonight... but this is real good. I like all sorts of music and at home I get to listen to some jazz, but I don't get to hear a lot of it on the road." In the evening, guitarist Brian Hughes performs at La Cueva (yes, in the actual club below Mescalero) along with his Quintet. He cites guitarist Pat Metheny as his mentor. As well, the film Oliver Jones In Africa will be shown at the W.R. Castell Public Library Theatre at 8 p.m. Dr. Phillip Barker will also give a lecture. Other items of note, local fusion band Shadoplay performs at Chandler's Restaurant & Bar, the Paul Shewcuk Trio is at New Cafe Calabash, and the John Thiel Quartet offers up a jazz jam at Pancho's Restaurant. No, it's not too often jazz and rodeos come together. Day Three of the Calgary International Jazz Festival gets underway with Big Daddy And The Dixie Cats on And of course, the cool blues sound of Luther 'Guitar Junior' Johnson is going down at the King Edward Hotel.
