The Back Bay Ramblers

Formed during the mid-1980s, the Back Bay Ramblers started out as a seven-piece group devoted to rare numbers plus a handful of familiar pieces from the 1920s. Across four albums issued on Harrison in 1986 and 1988 plus Stomp Off in 1993 and 1994, the ensemble steadily grew into a nine-piece unit whose book occasionally drew on material associated with the Jean Goldkette Orchestra. Although the Boston-based collective operated strictly part-time, its performances reflected polished execution and inventive charts; charter members comprised altoist Billy Novick, Steve Wright on clarinet and soprano, and drummer Bill Reynolds, while later sessions spotlighted banjoist/vocalist Jimmy Mazzy, cornetist Peter Ecklund, trombonist Bob Connors, bass saxophonist Vince Giordano, violinist Andy Stein, singer Karen Cameron, and pianists Butch Thompson, Mark Shane, and Bob Pilsbury.