"Clippers, poets and gardens"

Jazz is the invigorating answer for at least a few Buffalo musicians and patrons.

A mature quartet of Dixieland jazz musicians called the Nickel City Clippers were jammin' up and down the aisles of the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Sunday.

The weekly free event was part of an ongoing series entitled Concerts in the Conservatory and opened with about an hour of poetry readings from local poets. The program is largely sponsored by the Community Music School and is currently in the fourth week of its second year of operation.

"These get better every week, who says there's nothing going on in Buffalo?" said Marie Laehy of Buffalo, one of the spectators.

The full audience responded well to the musicians.

The small event took place in a large, shaded greenhouse. Large square pieces of cream-colored vinyl reflected the sunlight away from the audience as ceiling fans provided a light breeze. The result was a very pleasant temperature balance suitable for a long sit-down performance.

The local poets who opened for the jazz band consisted of Verneice Turner and some of her friends, who filled in for poet Anna Walsh, who was unable to attend due to illness.

Turner opened with a poem entitled "To Make," a metafictional poem about the creation of poetry. She then read from a selection of assorted works and allowed her friends to share some of their pieces.

The vast majority of the pieces read seemed to touch on the personal experiences of the poets. The poems included themes of nature, political oppression, feminism, God, male/female relationships, war, racism and religious truth.

Turner's own work incorporated elements of song and chant in a gospel music-like performance. There were also humorous moments in her work, such as the poem in which she complained that her lover wouldn't rub her "peaches and buns."

Attendance to this pre-show reading was rather low and perhaps 30 people had wandered in towards the end of the performance. Turner was grateful to the people who showed up and thanked everyone for being there.

After a short break, it was time for the main event. The Nickel City Clippers have been together for about 27 years and four of their six members played at the Conservatory on Sunday. They consisted of Ted Howes on coronet, George Kane on guitar and banjo, Sam Scamacca on clarinet and saxophone, and John Werick on the string bass. The program included pieces from the '20s and the '40s.

Although the band was dressed up in white shirts, black pants and vests, they projected an informal atmosphere.

"With small groups like this, we like to do more of a jam session than anything organized," said Howes.

And indeed, the musicians seemed to be able to play anything off the tops of their heads, including requests from the audience.

Some of the pieces played included, "Sweet Georgia Brown" (the theme song of the Harlem Globe Trotters), "Bye Bye Blackbird," "Just A Closer Walk" (hymnal-type music) and "When the Saints Come Marching In."

The actual performances of the pieces were consistently well done. The players showed a vitality of spirit that contradicted their appearance. Despite the improvisational style of the music, it remained smooth and the transitions were seamless. Each of the four players took turns doing solos in almost every piece and they were applauded individually.

Sam Scamacca was a particularly vibrant and colorful character, his eyebrows went up and down as he danced and bobbed down the aisle while playing. He also seemed to be the main vocalist for the group singing in the deep jazz style.

The whole afternoon was a spectacular blast from the past with these experienced jazz performers. Those interested in attending one of the events in this series can visit www.buffalogardens.com for more information.