Auld Lang Syne

When I was four or five, my older brother got a new radio, and I was handed down his General Electric clock radio. My bedtime must have been 8 o’clock because I remember lying in bed, listening to Eric in the Evening (a jazz show) on WGBH in Boston every night. He always began the show with Tommy Flanagan’s recording of Horace Silver’s song Peace. This was my introduction to jazz, putting the names and sounds of the masters in my ear to “discover” later. I also heard Robert J. Lurtsema’s classical music show in the mornings, both on my radio and the radio that played in our kitchen.

It was the 1970s. There was a station close by on the dial that played disco. I quickly learned to go between the two. There is a funny story of a family vacation to Bermuda (I was in kindergarten or first grade) in which we went into an ice cream shop, and “Freak Out” by Le Chic was playing - I sang the entire song to the amusement of the girls working behind the counter and complete shock of my parents. Years later, in college, I had an experience hearing Kool and the Gang in my friend’s room, knowing all the lyrics but having no idea who it was or how I knew them.

In June 1997, after completing a year-long run on Carnival Cruise Lines ship the Inspiration, I traveled to San Luis Obispo, California, to see my friend and drummer, Mike Curtin. He was putting a band together for his girlfriend’s mother’s wedding. The band included Inga Swearingen on vocals. From the first note she sang at our first rehearsal, I was like a moth circling the light she emanated—a voice from another dimension. We became fast friends, and I always appreciated the chance to share a bandstand with her during my time in S.L.O. Years later, I loved hearing her (a fan favorite) on Prairie Home Companion. And I was overjoyed when she said yes to hanging in Venice Beach and recording two songs on the Gumbo Family Holiday Album on a trip to L.A. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and “Peace” feature Inga with Peter Marshall on bass, Vinnie Caggiano on guitar, and Matt DeMerritt on tenor sax.

“Inga has a gorgeous voice, very fresh and evocative and note-perfect, and that’s the sort of person you want to sing harmony to…” – Garrison Keillor, A Prairie Home Companion.

If you’re in Venice Beach, strolling on the boardwalk near Brooks Ave., you may see Vinnie playing and looping some fantastic guitar around midday. And there’s a good chance Matty D. will be with him. These guys are consummate pros and stellar human beings. I loved playing music and hanging out (in the courtyard) with both of them. If you see them, please buy them a cup of coffee and tell them I say hello.

Silent Night closes the holiday album and includes many of the folks featured on the album in the choir. Another excellent singer, songwriter, and human being, Kristen Toedtman, arranged the first part, and Inga arranged the last chorus. The whole thing is tracked, so they didn’t meet. However, a few years after its release, they toured with Moira Smiley (Vermont folks might know her) as part of her VOCO project.

December 17th was the last Big Easy Tuesday of the year—The 126 will be closed on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and also for the first two weeks of January. We’ll be back on Tuesday the 14th—and I’ll be celebrating my next trip around the sun! I will join Ted, J.D., and Dwight (and some special guests). As 2024 draws to a close, I am grateful for a year filled with family, vocation, music, and the community sustained by those pursuits. If you are reading this, you have been part of it—thank you!