New Orleans Jazz - News and Views - Lars Edegran ske 48 The Imperial Band grew to become common in Stockholm and toured in Sweden andDenmark despite the fact that most of the members were still at school at the time. Lars left Sweden in March 1965 when Bob Koester offered him a work in his Chicago jazzrecord retail outlet. There wasn't considerably jazz in Chicago to Lars' liking so he spent a lotof time in the blues clubs listening to Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, J.B. Lenoir and otherindividuals. He also acquired a chance to meet and hear some of his country blues favorites -Huge Joe Williams, Son Household, Lightnin' Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb. Following 5 months' keep in Chicago, Lars decided to consider the journey down to NewOrleans to hear some of his favorite jazz gamers. He was so overwhelmed by thefriendliness of the people and the interesting music at Preservation Hall and otherdestinations that he proper away made a decision to give up his job in Chicago and try hisluck in New Orleans. He has produced New Orleans his house ever considering that, apartfrom a six-12 months hiatus in New York.

Lars' very first musical actions on the New Orleans music scene was enjoying clarinet inbrass bands and he soon became a standard member of Andrew Morgan's Younger TuxedoBrass Band. On week-ends he played guitar at Munster's Dance Hall with Tony Fougerat'sband and that way discovered a lot of tunes not normally heard on jazz information. On therecommendation of Harry Shields, Lars joined Sharkey Bonano's band, which at that timeplayed mostly private functions. In 1967 Lars found a treasure trove of ragtime orchestrationsin the Tulane University Jazz Archives which led to the formation of the New OrleansRagtime Orchestra, at that time the only group in the nation enjoying classical ragtime - some6 years just before the movie "The Sting". Right after appearances at the very first NewOrleans Jazz Festival and the 1970 Newport Festival, the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestrastarted many years of touring and recording and is even now active today. The WorldwideDixieland Jazz Band (two Swedes, two Japanese and two Americans), below the leadershipof Lars Edegran, held forth at Luthjen's Dance Hall for two many years in the late 1960s andfollowing that Lars started a long stint of doing work in Bourbon Street clubs that was to final till his move to New York in 1979. Throughout the 1970s Larsalso undertook European excursions with the New Orleans Joy Makers, a group of jazz

veterans, and the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra. Lars spent six many years in New York currently being employed by the "1 Mo' Time"organization as pianist, musical director and arranger. "One Mo' Time" was a New Orleansmusical that became a hit as an off-Broadway present even though enjoying at the VillageGate in New York City and then had productive runs in London, Toronto, Melbourne, Sydneyand Washington, D.C., as very well as a quantity of prolonged tours in the USA and abroad.Lars was concerned in all the numerous organizations coaching the vocalists and functioningwith the bands. Although in New York Lars also worked as musical director and arranger invarious other theatrical productions.