5 QUESTIONS WITH ... Alex Marshall of Ulysses S. Jasz

12/23/05

You're walking down State Street on a Saturday night, snaking your way through the bar-hopping mob, when suddenly you hear it: that old-timey riff of a wailing clarinet, breathy brass stomping and a drum kit that won't quit.

It seems like yesterday when what was old was made new again by an eclectic group of local musicians united by their love for traditional New Orleans jazz. During open jam sessions at the James Joyce Pub, the roots enthusiasts bonded and formed the resident band, which plays weekly under the billing of Ulysses S. Jasz (an amalgamation of Joyce's experimental novel, U.S. Gen. Grant and an early moniker for jazz).

The band will celebrate its seventh anniversary with a jazz party featuring guest musicians and a free buffet at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the James Joyce, 513 State St. Information: 962-2688.

Founder and band leader Alex Marshall, aka Frank Franks, took a few minutes to talk to us in his soft Scottish brogue.

Q. Why did you start playing at the James Joyce?

A. I knew the owner of the pub, an Irishman from County Kildare by the name of Tommy Byrne. I bumped into him at another pub. He was visiting here from New York before he opened the James Joyce. When it came time to start jazz there, he said that's what he wanted to have on a Saturday night. ... It was a dream come true for me -- a banjo player from Scotland having his own band in Santa Barbara.

Q. What are some of the group's favorite tunes?

A. "Georgia on My Mind," "Dr. Jazz," " 'Deed I Do," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "Original Dixieland One Step," "Fidgety Feet."

Q. In light of Hurricane Katrina, has the music has taken on another kind of resonance?

A. Yes, absolutely. I think it's done a lot to rekindle people's appreciation of New Orleans jazz. We've played several New Orleans benefits.

Q. Do you have a group of regular fans?

A. Right from the start we had enthusiasts who came all the time. Some of them drop out for a while, but we still have people who are there every week. Can't get enough of it. And it includes all ages. I keep getting compliments from 20-odd-year-old people who think the music is wonderful and they go out of their way to tell me. Jazz tends to become popular in times of national strife. Like depressions and so on. And there is quite an amount of strife right now with the Iraq war.

Q. Why is that?

A. It's dance music first of all. It's very rhythmic and has a definite beat, which people like to dance to. And most of it is happy. When I'm playing at the James Joyce, I see nothing but a sea of grins coming back to me. People tune in to it because it's a joyous sound.

BY KARNA HUGHES, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER