Grammercy Records

Frank “Big Boy” Goudie, Bob Mielke, & Bill Erickson Combo - Live at Monkey Inn, 1961-62 Volume 1: The Quartet

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This four-piece combo features dynamic musicians of the Frisco jazz revival who jammed weekly in a Berkeley dive.  At the peak of their powers were 6’ 5” Louisiana-via Paris clarinet player Frank “Big Boy” Goudie, young trombonist Bob Mielke, then leading his own popular Bearcats jazz band, and piano player Bill Erickson, a brilliant but now forgotten talent who led combos and jam sessions on both sides of San Francisco Bay.

Their adventurous style and repertoire were more influenced by New Orleans, Harlem and Kansas City swing than by the Trad Jazz of Watters and Murphy.  Goudie’s masterful Creole clarinet shines luminously, forged by thirty years playing with the jazz elite of Europe, 1925-55.  In vivid stereo, these are the best performances available by the elusive Goudie or Erickson.

To read the full album liner notes please click here.