The way it really was
- 4.10. Sunday, Munich
- Chicago
- At 6.40 a.m., flight LH5017 left Munich airport for Frankfurt with five
tired musicians, 3 wives and 8 fans. And no Müso.
Christian was worried. Change in Frankfurt for UA945 to Chicago.
Still no Müso. Christian was very worried. At 7 p.m. an exultant Müso
appeared in the hotel in Chicago
recounting the tale of his odyssey through diverse German and American
airports. And immediately joined the hard core of the band in a blues bar.
The others turned in to nurse their jet lag.
- 5.10. Monday, Chicago
- Breakfast in the Bakery, and then sightseeing: skyscrapers from above (John Hancock
Center or Sears
Tower) or below (Chicago River architecture
cruise). Once round "the
loop" on the elevated (railway), and the first attacks of shop till
you drop. To Andy's
Jazz Club in the evening. The jazz was modern but top notch.
- 6.10. Tuesday, Chicago - Columbus
- The sightseeing continued in spite of the rain. Taxi to the airport at
midday for flight UA578 to Columbus, OH. Somewhere the weather was
boiling over, and the flight was delayed. When we reached Columbus the
entire Toll House Jazz Band was waiting (with almost all the
"groupies" we had met in Unterbrunn) to welcome us with music,
coffee and the delicious and famous Toll House Cookies. In the evening, a
joint gig with the THJB in the bar at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Lane Avenue.
The audience’s enthusiasm swept away Christian’s biggest worry: would
the band go down well with American audiences.
- 7.10. Wednesday, Columbus
- Mike & Linda Evans organized some volunteers to convoy the band and
fans through the countryside around Columbus. Visited the Longaberger
Basket factory and the historic Roscoe
Village on the Erie-Ohio canal. Unfortunately it rained cats and dogs
from midday on.
- 8.10. Thursday, Columbus
- A whole morning in Columbus with
no rehearsals. And they’re off! To the museum in the Historical Center, or the German Village, for example. We took
careful note: Ohio was the 17th state to join the Union, on 1st
March 1803. A concert in the evening at the Heritage Country Club in Hillard
(Holes: 18. Yards: 6,278. Par: 72. Rating: 70.6. Slope: 128).
The American fans surprized the Charivaris with T-shirts depicting the tour
schedule as a rock group’s tour. Mike Evans was
made an honorary lifetime member of the Charivari Jazz Band, and Poldi
became so excited he broke one of his double bass strings.
- 9.10. Friday, Columbus - Indianapolis
- We head West – though in a rented coach rather than a covered wagon –
together with the combined THJB and CJB fan club. The buffalo sighted on the
prairie proved to be a model. And in Indianapolis there weren’t even
any Indians. Instead, waiters dancing to the sound of YMCA in
the Johnny
Rocket's in the Mall. After a brief pause to check in to the Best
Western Waterfront Hotel, Müso and Gerhard accompanied their drummer Rolf
to the Drum Center of
Indianapolis. There to seek counsel from a famous drum kit archaeologist
so knowledgeable he has written a book on the subject. Rolf was in seventh
heaven, and the author so flattered he insisted on presenting Rolf with a
signed copy of his book and giving each of his guests a T-shirt. After that,
the concert in the Jazz
Club of Indianapolis couldn’t help but be a success. Around midnight,
half the band, the fan club, and a number of alcoholic beverages gathered in
(or in front of) Rosy’s comfy chairs.
- 10.10. Samstag, Indianapolis - Columbus
- On the way home, driving past the Speedway
obviously motivated the driver, shortening the journey time by 30 minutes.
In the evening we were back in the German Village in the Columbus
Maennerchor’s clubhouse to celebrate their 150th anniversary.
Although normally dedicated to more classical music the audience clearly
enjoyed the experience. Which is more than can be said of the singers’
feelings about the microphone.
- 11.10. Sonntag, Columbus
- One of the things we Germans hadn’t realized about American houses: the
bricks on the outside are just another way of cladding the wooden frame. In
the afternoon a concert for the Central
Ohio Hot Jazz Society in the ballroom of the Holiday Inn.
The THJB opened the
proceedings as warm-up band, with the CJB, in the blue jerseys, the main
attraction. The blaze of the flashes after the concert was a new experience
for the CJB. The two bands were put up against the wall and photographed by
all and sundry to their (the photographers’) hearts’ content (photo, 33 kB). Then, fond farewells to Müso, Rolf,
and some of the fan club who were off on their own early the next morning.
- 12.10. Monday, Columbus
- The newly-formed travel groups swarmed out of the hotel to seek hire cars.
In the afternoon the band and fan club were invited by Ginny Wise to a
leaving party at her summerhouse on Buckeye
Lake, where she treated her guests to boat trips and a fabulous buffet. We
discovered that Buckeye
Lake is an artificial lake dug in the 18th century as part of the
Erie-Ohio canal system. Afterwards, the remaining musicians gathered in the
nearby Country Club for a massive jam session and a somewhat emotional
farewell.
- 13.10.
Tuesday - 15.10. Thursday, travel to Rockville, MD
-
Trying to keep musicians together is like trying to herd cats. So the CJB
split into a number of different groups. The extreme sports fans Rolf and
Müso and the long-distance travel specialists Manfred and Poldi headed
northwards towards the Niagara Falls and
Toronto.
The
less ambitious group centred around Christian and Gerhard chose the more
relaxed route via the Olentangy
Indian Caverns and the West
Virginian forest
to the Blueridge Parkway, then on to
the Shenandoah National Park. The
common goal for all the groups was the Park
Inn Suites Hotel in Rockville,
near Washington, where not even the inevitable traffic jams could prevent our
intrepid travellers meeting again on the Thursday evening.
16.10.
Friday, Washington,
D.C.-
First thing in the morning we put on our glad rags for a reception by the
(Franconian) cultural attaché at the German Embassy.
Without realizing it, we have apparently made a not insignificant
contribution to cultural exchange between Germany and the US. Wilda, Frank
and Stu, our friendly hosts from the local jazz club drove there with us and
then took us on a quick reconnaissance
of the town. Equipped with this overview, we began the standard training
programme for visitors to Washington: Capitol Hill, the Mall with the National Museum of
American History (and Bill Clinton’s first saxophone), the White House (no comment) and finally
the capital’s good subway
system to White Flint Station. In the evening, Mike, Linda and Marianne
were welcomed from Columbus like long-lost relatives.
- 17.10. Saturday, Washington
- Another day’s training: to Arlington – where America
is very American – Alexandria,
or the National Air and Space Museum on
the Mall. Then some work for a change. Frank drove ahead to the Knights of
Columbus Hall in Silver
Spring, Maryland, to prepare a concert for the Potomac River Jazz Club. In
the ballroom a wedding was being celebrated enthusiastically and noisily.
Nonetheless, the CJB was apparently the first band ever to get the audience
to join in (with Everybody Loves Saturday Night). Marianne’s
efforts to maintain the supply of beer for the band were a major
contribution to this success. We would like to put our especial thanks to
her on record. Thanks also to the Federal
Focus Jazz Band who lent us their cunningly designed music stands and a
sound system which operated perfectly.
- 18.10. Sunday, Washington - New York
-
That’s really the end of our US tour. Mike and Linda drove home to
Columbus, and Christian, Ulla, Manfred and Birgit flew home to Munich. The
rest of the band took the train to New York, after all it’s a must. A mad
taxi ride from Penn Station
to the Hemsley Hotel, right next to Grand Central
Station. Long treks to Broadway, the Flatiron Building
and Times Square.
Dinner at Hoolihans.
- 19.10. Monday, NY
- The standard sights: view
from the Empire State Building
(recommended), subway
to Chinatown
(interesting) and lunch
in Little Italy (excellent).
Then to Central Park and
a minute’s silence in front of the Dakota Building where
John Lennon was shot.
Gerhard, Margot and Poldi booked a table for the evening in the Carlyle
Cafe, where Woody
Allen was due to perform with Eddie Davis’ New Orleans Band. This
turned out to be a disaster for lovers of jazz. Woody plays clarinet
excruciatingly, and the whole thing was over in an hour: not worth a
fraction of the $50 they were asking for the tickets.
- 20.10. Tuesday, NY
- Today’s programme: Brooklyn Bridge
(worth visiting), Wall Street (weeell), Statue of Liberty (enormous
queue, and muscle cramps), and Ellis
Island. Then exhausted back to Hoolihans.
- 21.10. Wednesday, NY
- Munich
- Quick dash to the United
Nations building, then taxis or shuttle bus to the airport. Density of
air traffic delayed take off till 3.30 p.m. but we were still well in time
for UA962 to Munich at 5.30 p.m.
- 22.10. Thursday, Munich
- At 7.10 a.m. the last travellers finally reached Munich.
