Toe-tapping Dixieland - Florida style with a touch of Hawaii

Bob Leary and Davy Jones

Bob Leary's sextet, also known as The Moral Imbeciles (so he said), had toes a-tappin' Monday night throughout the Charlotte Cultural Center at the Charlotte County Jazz Society's Artists Series.

The banjoist, guitarist and singer's genre is Dixieland, and the Florida musicians in his band spent a large portion of the night mining classics from New Orleans. Their Hawaiian shirts were an interesting informal touch.

This crack band included cornetist Davey Jones, clarinetist Bob Draga, trombonist Pat Gullotta, bassist Don Mopsick and drummer Dick Maley. Their first set included a romp through "Muskrat Ramble," which was the very first tune played at the Newport Jazz Festival debut when guitarist Eddie Condon's all-star traditional jazz septet opened the event on July 17, 1954.

The Bob Leary Sextet