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Special Guests
Saturday, April 26, 2003
KUSTBANDET,
which translates as "The Coast Band," originated in 1962 as
a New Orleans style amateur group playing at school balls and jazz clubs.
The 12 member, Swedish band plays "hot" dance and jazz music
of the roaring 20's and of the Swing era and was inspired by the music
of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington and other greats
of the Jazz Age. Kustbandet received international recognition in 1973
when they played at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and since
then they have toured regularly and have appeared in over twenty countries
from Japan to the U.S., and on radio and TV shows, at festivals, clubs
and pubs and even in the streets. Kustbandet has played an important part
in promoting Sweden and its products abroad and their services have been
utilized by The Swedish Arts' Council, SAS, The Export's Council and by
export companies such as ABB, Ericsson and Volvo. Kustbandet's music can
be heard on over 20 albums, their newest release being The Man from
Harlem. Kustbandet's motto is "to give our audience a maximum
musical experience!" and they are so well respected by their fellow
performers that one of Louis Armstrong's last desires was to play with
the band.
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Tom Paxton
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TOM PAXTON
was raised in Bristow, Oklahoma, not far from his idol Woody Guthrie's
hometown. At the University of Oklahoma he studied drama, but started
writing songs as a way to amuse himself during long lectures on Shakespeare.
After earning his BFA, he joined the Army, which took him to the East
Coast. When he was discharged in the early '60s, he stayed on the East
Coast and began his 40-year career as a folksinger and songwriter when
he started performing at Greenwich Village coffeehouses like The Gaslight
and The Bitter End. His early success on the East Coast circuit led to
his first tour to the United Kingdom in 1965. He met other musicians during
his coffeehouse years, musicians like Ed McCurdy, Dave Van Ronk, Len Chandler,
Bob Dylan, and Paul Stookey. "I learned something from every one
of them," he says. "I absorbed everything I could, and it began
to show in my writing." Paxton gradually built his own audience and
an increasingly impressive songbook. In 1964 he signed with Elektra and
released his first major-label solo LP, Ramblin' Boy, the following
year. He had considerable influence on the '60s folk scene and his material
has been covered by Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, John Denver,
Judy Collins, The Kingston Trio, and The Weavers, among many others. Paxton
has since performed thousands of concerts around the world in countries
such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, France, Italy, Ireland,
Canada and in cities all over the U.S. He has recorded over 20 albums,
his most recent being American Troubadour which will be released
April 29th, and in addition to his music, Paxton has recently branched
out to write children's books at his home in Virginia where he resides
with his wife of 39 years, Midge.
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