The Dixie Ramblers
This Dixieland jazz band plays classics like The Saints, Tiger Rag and Ain't She Sweet as well as standards with a beat for dancing like You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You and Sunny Side of the Street.
The mix can also include 20th century nostalgia like Ace in the Hole, Scott Joplin ragtime, 1890s numbers like Sidewalks of New York, patriotic songs, Civil War songs and Stephen Foster's My Old Kentucky Home.
The
full band includes trumpet, trombone, clarinet/sax, keyboard, bass and
drums. The group is also available for as a strolling trio.
They once led a wedding procession down A1A in Delray Beach, complete with horse-drawn carriage, shown at right just before the procession began.
For a traditional New Orleans funeral at a Ft. Lauderdale church, the band played Just a Closer Walk With Thee as they entered slowly. After the service, they marched out to a rousing version of The Saints. Click images to enlarge.
Highlights
They've played for the Fourth of July at John Knox Village in Pompano Beach and Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach. They played for Mardi Gras at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Tequesta, and for a Wellington Aero Club party at a clubhouse along a private airstrip.
When the Ramblers did a benefit for a youth center in Lake Worth, the band and the city mayor first led a downtown march. They wound up at the open-air bar of the Cottage Restaurant, where the Ramblers took the stage for party time.
At left, a bit of history, the Dixie Ramblers in 1981. From left to right: Phil Hodes, George
DeCarolis, Alan Knieter, Larry Ruda (seated), and Ted Knight.
Ted played for years with his father's Dixieland group, the Gentlemen of Jazz. He has fond memories of restaurant gigs with Dad at Erny's in Delray Beach and Cypress Manor Restaurant in Boynton Beach, as well as for private parties at Gulf Stream Golf Club and the Country Club of Florida.