The Yellow Dog Jazz Band

The Yellow Dog Jazz Band is a New Orleans Jazz revivalist band, playing traditional "Hot Jazz" from as early as 1890 until as late as 1930.  Lots of this music was written and performed by artists such as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Sydney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, W.C. Handy, Scott Joplin, and others.  

 

In the 1940's, a man named Lu Watters in San Francisco began a revival movement of the music and put together the Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band.  Lu Watters not only played the music, but he also composed several pieces that the Yellow Dog band plays.

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In the 1950's, a trombone player named Charlie Sonnanstine invited a piano player named Robin Wetterau to form the Dixieland Rhythm Kings in Ohio.  Sonnanstine and Wetterau would go on to arrange and transcribe nearly 240 tunes in the King Oliver style of two trumpets.

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Charlie and Robin went their separate ways, and Robin eventually retired in Bradenton, FL where he met current piano player Aaron Ferral when he was just in High School.  Robin shared his music with Aaron and taught him about the traditional jazz style before Robin passed away in 2000.  

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In 2006 Aaron introduced the music to a jazz band in Tallahassee, FL who is still playing it today.  In 2010 Aaron moved to Lexington, KY where he put together a new group in the Bluegrass.