Horns are in style this weekend

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October 8, 2009

Music Notes

For those who are into New Orleans-style funk and brass-band music, the North Shore is the place to be this weekend, as one local band will celebrate its 10th anniversary and another group will travel up from the Crescent City to toot their horns.

The Boston Horns will mark a decade as a band tomorrow night at the Knights of Columbus in Salem, where the band will be joined by a special guest, Brenda Williams, a soul singer from the Midwest who has shared the stage with the likes of Ray Charles, The Beach Boys and Lee Greenwood.

Two bands will open for the Boston Horns — the Follow Hymn Gospel Choir, out of Lynn, and Eric Reardon's All Star Blues, led by Reardon, a young guitarist from Salem.

"I honestly feel so fortunate to have played with the musicians that have been members of the Boston Horns over the past 10 years," said Henley Douglas Jr. of Salem, the band's saxophone player and one of its founders, along with Garret Savluk (trumpet) and Jeff Buckridge (guitar). "Most of the current line-up has been together over the last five years. They are by far some of the best musicians I've ever played with, and I consider them all world-class musicians."

The band recently added a trombone player, "Squantch," making it a seven-piece.

"Squantch has played with Topaz and the Groove Collective. He's an excellent musician who plays with a lot of soul," Douglas said "He's made the horn section sound bigger and better."

I've been doing this a long time and I still get excited to play with this band," Douglas continued.

"The Horns" will continue its 10th-anniversary weekend with a show at Johnny D's in Davis Square in Somerville on Saturday night, when Williams will again join the band. The night will kick off with a performance by the Nat Simpkins/Henley Douglas Jr. Soul Saxophone Quintet. Simpkins is an accomplished saxophone player from Manchester.

Finally, Williams will appear at In a Pig's Eye restaurant in Salem with the Henley Douglas Jr. Cool Time Quartet on Sunday night.

For more information or tickets, go to www.bostonhorns.com.

NOLA connection

Marblehead Summer Jazz will welcome the Leroy Jones Quintet to the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Marblehead on Saturday.

According to Gene Arnold, the head of Marblehead Summer Jazz, the nonprofit added an additional fall show to extend its 25th-anniversary season. Jones, a jazz trumpeter, last played the concert series in 2003 and the show was a success, Arnold said.

Arnold added that Craig Klein, Jones' regular trombonist, won't make the performance (he's on tour with his other band), but he'll be replaced by a capable player — Jones' wife, the Finnish-born trombone player Katja Toivola.

"Leroy always comes with great musicians," Arnold said about Jones, who recently has appeared with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Dr. John.

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Staff writer Larry Claflin Jr. writes his Music Notes column regularly. Contact him at lclaflin@salemnews.com or 978-338-2681.