Bringing back Sousa's sound

Long before Jerry Ford became one of the most famous musicians in Cape Girardeau, he watched the musicians he admired play at the Southeast Missourian's 50th anniversary.

Ford remembers men like Bill and Freck Shivelbine, Bill Ewing and Tony Carasello playing with a circus band for that celebration.

Playing with circus bands is a grueling experience for wind musicians, said Ford, since the music never stops.

"Circus musicians were held in pretty high regard because they're in really good shape," said Shivelbine. "There's an old saying that they have 'lips of steel.'"

He remembers hearing stories of bleeding lips and fatigued muscles from the oldtimers who sat in with that band.

Those memories will make it an even more special experience for Ford when The Jerry Ford Brass Band provides music for the opening processional and throughout the day at the Southeast Missourian Centennial Celebration Saturday. The Jerry Ford Combo will perform at Old Town Cape's "Roaring '20's" party at Buckner's Brewing Co.

The band is a seven-piece combo that will play in the march style of John Philip Sousa, completely dressed in the old-time fashion of turn-of-the-century municipal bands.

"This will be a little something different," said Ford. "It will be like the old-time concerts for families in the park."

Ford is the big name in music at the centennial celebration. He has gained a reputation in the Midwest since 1957 as a great jazz player and band leader. Ford has played throughout the region to large audience, including a headlining act at the DuQuoin State Fair this year.

But Ford's band is only one of a variety of groups and individuals who will perform at three locations throughout the day Saturday -- all playing the musical styles of days gone by.

Ford will be joined by the traditional bluegrass sounds of The Ezell Family and Alex Riffle and his band; the Creole/Cajun/Zydeco music of Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp; Southeast Missouri State University's Chamber Winds and Studio Jazz Ensemble; the Southeast Faculty Brass Quintet, and the magic of Bill Coomer.

The bands will play on three stages set up on Broadway, at the Common Pleas Courthouse gazebo and in a large tent in the parking lot behind the Southeast Missourian building.

Performers will play on the stages at different times throughout the day, giving visitors a chance to catch each act. All the music will be period music, from the turn of the century to the bluegrass of the 1930s and 1940s.

The entertainment begins after the opening procession that will take place on Broadway beginning at 10 a.m. and ending at 10:20 a.m.

"The groups invited to play at the centennial party were selected according to musical quality and historic authenticity," said Southeast Missourian publisher and co-president Jon Rust. "Place yourself in Cape Girardeau during the early part of the 1900s, and you would hear sounds similar to these accomplished performers -- who are at the peak of their profession today."

The Ezells are a regional bluegrass act, playing traditional bluegrass, country and folk tunes. The band boasts singer Marge Ezell, three-time winner of Midwest Vocalist of the Year with the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music.

Alex Riffle is a 13-year-old bluegrass banjo player who fronts his own band and has already played in Branson and Nashville and has his own CD, "Pickin' Toward Perfection." Riffle has already garnered the title "prodigy" from experienced musicians like Bill Shivelbine.

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp is a national touring Creole/Cajun/Zydeco group. The band honors the French heritage in Missouri and Cape Girardeau in particular with its French-infused New World sound. Band leader Stroughmatt is originally from Southern Illinois, attended Southeast Missouri State University and has lived with the French Creole population in Old Mines, Mo.

The university ensembles -- brass, wind and percussion, and jazz -- will play turn-of-the-century music with brass instruments.

Throughout the day Bill Coomer will perform his magic tricks, sometimes using the Southeast Missourian newspaper. Coomer, who has been a magician in Cape Girardeau for 57 years, likes to tear up copies of the newspaper, reassembling them before the viewer's eyes.

He will also roam around the celebration performing street magic.

Coomer said the point of his magic is not to show off, but to make people feel good.

His slogan is "His magic will blow your mind, his message will open your heart."

Coomer has a long involvement with the Southeast Missourian and the Rust family. He has performed at many newspaper events and taught Gary Rust II magic as a boy.

"Because magicians were a big part of vaudeville and stage in the early 1900s, Bill is sure to delight the whole family within the theme of newspapers and our paper's founding," said Gary Rust II. "Quick to share a story, Bill is always entertaining."

Entertainment will also be provided by Jack Beahan III, a Mark Twain impersonator who will tell about history through Twain's eyes.

Between these entertainment options, a hundred people in period costumes, street theater, special games and other events, Jon Rust said, the centennial celebration will be a great party for the entire family and a fitting tribute to 100 years of newspaper history.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182

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Schedule of entertainment

(featured performers on stages only):

Broadway:

Opening procession -- 10 to 10:10 a.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 10:30 to 11 a.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 11 to 11:30 a.m.

Bill Coomer -- 11:20 to 11:30 a.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 11:30 a.m. to noon

Jerry Ford Band -- noon to 12:50 p.m.

Jack Beahan III -- 12:50 to 1 p.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 1 to 1:30 p.m.

Bill Coomer -- 1:30 to 2 p.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 2 to 2:30 p.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 2:30 to 3 p.m.

Bill Coomer -- 3 to 3:30 p.m.

Gazebo:

Opening Ceremony -- 10:20 to 10:50 a.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 10:50 to 11 a.m.

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp -- 11 to 11:50 a.m.

The Ezells -- 12:10 to 12:40 p.m.

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp -- 1:10 to 2 p.m.

The Ezells -- 2:20 to 2:50 p.m.

Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Stomp -- 2:50 to 3:40 p.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 3:40 to 3:50 p.m.

Closing ceremony -- 3:50 to 4 p.m.

Tent:

Southeast Brass Ensemble -- 10:30 to 11:10 a.m.

Bill Coomer -- 11:10 to 11:20 a.m.

The Ezells -- 11:20 to 11:50 a.m.

Jack Beahan III -- 11:50 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.

Alex Riffle Band -- 12:10 to 12:40 p.m.

Jack Beahan III -- 12:50 to 1 p.m.

Jerry Ford Band -- 1 to 1:30 p.m.

Southeast Jazz Ensemble -- 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Jack Beahan III -- 2:20 to 2:50 p.m.

Southeast Wind Ensemble -- 2:40 to 3:30 p.m.