The Back Bay Ramblers

The Back Bay Ramblers began in the mid-1980s as a septet that performed obscurities and a few standards from the 1920s. Their four records (for Harrison in 1986 and 1988 and Stomp Off in 1993 and 1994) have found the band gradually expanding to a nonet and sometimes drawing its repertoire from that of the Jean Goldkette Orchestra. Based in Boston and just a part-time affair (although boasting high musicianship and fresh arrangements), the Back Bay Ramblers' original members included altoist Billy Novick, Steve Wright on clarinet and soprano, and drummer Bill Reynolds, and have...