The Boxcar Boys And Jaffe Sullivan Light Up MERA

Apr 09, 2014

At the MERA Sunday Schoolhouse Concert in McDonalds Corners on March 30, ticket holders said to heck with the snow and filled the schoolhouse for a sold out show.

Local fiddler/singer Jaffe Sullivan took to the stage first and played three ballads, accompanying his exquisite voice with an accomplished bow. His first tune, “Geordie”, was a suspenseful ballad that instantly captured the ears (and eyes) of his listeners. In his second, a Scottish ballad called “Tam Lin”, Jaffe played a bowless accompaniment and gave his very theatrical voice a chance to shine. His third and final tune, “O' Shaughnessy's Lament” was the most challenging of his choices and demanded his very close attention to its tuning and time.

The five-piece band, the Boxcar Boys, comprised of John Williams on clarinet, Laura C. Bates on fiddle, Karl Silveira on trombone, Ronen Segall on accordion, Justin Ruppel on the washboard, and fill in Nicolas Buligan playing tuba for Rob Teehan, were an instant delight. The band opened with an original waltz that set a playful and accomplished tone for the show. The original tune demonstrated each player’s skills as soloists and immediately captured the listening ears and hearts of the full house.

The band’s repertoire is mainly inspired by 1930s New Orleans jazz music but with additional elements of Klezmer, gypsy music, and American folk. Uplifting, accomplished, celebratory and funny, their rapid-fire originals and classics made listeners crave for a dance floor, which is appropriate since the band’s circusy sound makes their music so very danceable.

Most of the bands members have studied either jazz and/or classical music at various schools and it shows in their individual mastery of their instruments. Their vocal talents are also impressive, with Bates, Williams and Ruppel taking turns at the mic. Many of the band members also play in the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, whose repertoire focuses on Eastern European folk music from Romania and the Ukraine.

Playing together for just over three years, their gigs have included outdoor weddings, which clarinet player John Williams said “makes the perfect venue since our instruments are portable and we can parade around the audience and venue.”

To date the band has put out two CDs, the first in 2011 titled “Don't Be Blue” and the second, “Rye Whiskey” in November 2012. They've begun recording their third, which is yet to be named and which Williams said is more of a pared-down recording. “We've found that the best way to record the band is with everyone crowding around a single microphone.”

The band will be playing the Tranzac Club next in Toronto on April 26. For those who love the sounds of old world jazz the Boxcar Boys are a must see. To check them out visit theboxcarboys.ca.