Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band
by Cliff Lamere, a fan 27 Nov 2004, revised 8 May 2007
This webpage was made for my friends in the Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band.
This terrific 7-piece dixieland/traditional jazz group has been performing monthly at the
Fountain Restaurant in Albany, NY since 1971. They perform their toe-tapping music from
10 p.m. to 1 a.m. every second weekend of the month (the second Saturday and the Friday night before).
Skip Parsons founded the Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band in 1956.
The photo shows him with his clarinet and soprano saxophone.
Members of the 7-piece band I saw in 2006
Skip Parsons - clarinet / soprano sax / vocals / leader
Ron Joseph - clarinet
Mo Rancourt - cornet / trumpet / Satchmo vocals
Sam Ponder - trumpet
Woody Strobeck - trombone
Eddy Kebabjian - banjo / vocals
Ron Bill - guitar, banjo
Bernie Mulleda - guitar
Arvid Allen - keyboard
Rich Skrika - keyboard
Ernie Belanger - tuba / sousaphone / electric bass / vocals
Rich Downs - acoustic bass, cornet
Tom Wetmore - acoustic bass
Tom D'Andrea - drums
Tim Coakley - drums
Mike Benedict - drums
Forrest Gabriels - drums
Additional members seen in 2007
Dino Cimino - electric bass
Members I saw at the Fountain Restaurant in earlier years
Paul Monat - tuba (well-known cornetist)
Rennie Crain - keyboard (2004)
Tom Scannell - cornet
Mike Canonico - cornet
Ed Hubble - trombone
Guests at the Fountain Restaurant have included:
Jerry Gordon, washboard (Feb 10, 2006 & Sep 8, 2006)
Oakley Frost, electric stick bass (Nov 13, 2004)
Schedule of the 7-piece Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band at the Fountain Restaurant
They always play 10pm-1am the second Saturday of the month plus the Friday night before.
For more information and other venues, visit Skip's official calendar on his new website.
2006
December 8-9
2007
January 12-13
February 9-10
March 9-10
April 13-14
May 11-12
June 8-9
July 13-14
August 10-11
September 7-8
October 12-13
November 9-10
December 7-8
For some gigs, Skip uses smaller groups. Not all of the players are the same as those in the full group which performs at the Fountain Restaurant.
Clarinet Marmalade - this term is used to mean a band other than the full Riverboat Jazz Band
Examples:
Skip Parsons’ Clarinet Marmalade Trio (usually
clarinet, banjo, tuba)
Skip Parsons’ Clarinet Marmalade Swing Trio
Skip Parsons’ Clarinet Marmalade Swing Quartet
Skip Parsons’ Clarinet Marmalade Swing Quintet
Visit Skip's website if you would like to hire the full band or one of his smaller groups.
PHOTOS of the whole band
|
WEBPAGE |
COMMENTS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band 3 | |
| Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band 4 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Photo with Governor Cuomo. |
PHOTOS and BIOGRAPHIES of recent band members, including alternates
(alphabetical by last name)
|
PHOTO WEBPAGES |
BIOGRAPHIES |
COMMENTS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Ernie Belanger in FL 1 |
|
|
| Ernie Belanger in FL 2 | ||
|
Ernie Belanger at SNCem |
|
Saratoga National Cemetery |
| Ernie Belanger youngster | ||
| Mike Benedict | His new website | |
|
|
||
| Dino Cimino |
 12 Mar 2007
|
|
|
|
||
|
Rennie Crain |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bio
|
||
| Rich Downs 2 | ||
| Forrest Gabriels |
|
|
| Forrest Gabriels 2 | ||
| Forrest Gabriels, MD | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
| Bernie Mulleda | ||
| Sam Ponder | ||
| Sam Ponder 2 | ||
|
Bio is on Skip's website |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Skip Parsons & Fans | ||
| Skip Parsons article | Times Union feature | |
|
|
||
|
Bio contains early photo.
|
||
| Rich Skrika 2 | ||
|
|
||
|
|
Miscellaneous Photos
|
PHOTOS of Clarinet Marmalade Groups |
| Clarinet Marmalade Trio at Funeral |
| Clarinet Marmalade Trio at Normanside Country Club |
PHOTOS of Past Band Members |
|
PHOTOS of Guest Musicians I Have Seen |
| Jerry Gordon at Elks Club, Clifton Park, NY |
| PHOTOS of Riverboat Jazz Band Fans |
Fans
14 Mar 2007
 8 May 2007
|
LIST OF MUSICIANS who played with SPRJB over the years - includes links to online photos and bios. The list has been greatly expanded to over 150 musicians.
Hear the sound of the Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz Band
The following are .rm files. A recent version of Real Player can play them if other media players don't.
Struttin'
With Some Barbecue (0:30) Size 399 Kb. Should begin playing
quickly.
Struttin'
With Some Barbecue (4:39) Size 3.4 Mb (full track). May
automatically be copied to a temporary file
on your computer before play begins.
MUSIC FOR SALE
Skip Parsons - 2 CDs (click on the CD icons)
Skip Parsons' Riverboat Dixieland Jazz Band (CD). Featuring Skip Parsons (clarinet, soprano sax &
vocals).
With Ed Hubble (trombone & alto horn), Paul Monat (cornet & a vocal), Ernie Belanger (tuba & bass),
Rennie Crain (piano), Tom D'Andrea (drums), Ed Kebabjian (banjo, guitar,
and a vocal).
Skip Parsons' Clarinet
Marmalade Trio (CD). Skip Parsons' Clarinet Marmalade Trio featuring Skip Parsons
on clarinet & soprano sax. With Ernie Belanger (tuba & bass), Don LaVoie (banjo), Ed Kebabjian
(banjo), and Dick Hunsberger (tuba). Only three musicians play on each cut.
Eddy Kebabjian - 2 CDs
By
the Sea - The Jazz Banjos of Steve Caddick & Eddy Kebabjian
(CD). You can listen to one track.
Old
Cape Cod
- The Jazz Banjos of Steve Caddick & Eddy Kebabjian
(CD).
Other band members appear on CDs as part of a group. See their individual or biographical webpage for more information. Click on the CD icon following a CD title to get more information about the CD.
FORMERLY RECORDED, BUT NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Skip
Parsons: Joe 'n' Me
(audio tape). Skip Parsons on clarinet & soprano sax. With
Joe Slovak on clarinet,
Ernie Belanger on tuba & bass, Tom D'Andrea on drums, and Paul Mastriani on piano.
MY OTHER JAZZ WEBPAGES
Burial Places of Jazz and Other Musicians
Includes photos of most gravestones and some signatures.
Tom Wickman - a fan's 80 birthday celebration
MY OTHER WEBSITES
Grandpa Cliff's Science Website for Teenagers - using photographs, the goal is to get teenagers interested in science and show them how they can analyze what they see in their own environment. This is very suitable for adults as well.
Albany & Eastern New York Genealogy - emphasizes genealogy of an eight county area surrounding Albany, NY. There are over 1300 links, including more than 500 to online records. The rest are to webpages that are historical or contain information that will help you be a better, and more accurate, genealogist. About 200 of the webpages were constructed by me, many of them with information contributed by other genealogists.
Gardenier - this surname can begin with Gard-, Gaud-, Gord-, Guard-, and Gurd-. It can have an ending of -ier, -ear, -eer, -ere, -iere, and any other spelling variation that sounds like 'ear'. The middle vowel can be -a-, -e-, -i-, -o-, or the vowel can be missing (as in Gardnier). Some of the common spellings are Gardinier, Gaudineer, Gordinier, Gurdinier, and Guardinier. I have done a serious study of this surname complex in New York State.
Read a biography of Skip Parsons.
View Skip's website.
Visitors since 21
May 2004
