Lazy Does It

History of the "Lazy Does It" traditional jazz band

 

Lazy Does It got its start in the mid-90's when the leader, Len Yaeger, got a request from the organizers of the annual Pratt School Ice Cream Social in Minneapolis to supply a band for the event. Len had recently played with a pick-up group at the nearby Prospect Park United Methodist Church, and most of the original Lazy Doers were members of that church.  The band has evolved, and Gordy Myers, the regular drummer, is now the only member of that congregation who still plays in the group. Although our basic personnel have been the same for a long time now, over the years we have enjoyed the talents of  many different guest performers. (See the "Meet the Band" photo album for historical details on individual players.)

Navigation hint: Using a new tab while viewing a photo album will facilitate returning to the blog.

Having gotten our foot in the door at that long-ago Pratt Ice Cream Social, Lazy Does It has been a featured attraction there every year since. The event has evolved and grown, over the years, and has benefited greatly from the increased ethnic diversity of the neighborhood. Historically, this event has always been held the afternoon of the first Friday after Memorial Day. However, starting in 2020 it's been moved back a day, starting at noon on the following Saturday.

In August of 2010, Lazy Does It was hired to play at the "Day in the Park" festival in Lauderdale, a small suburb of St. Paul. The gig was quite a success, and the organizers have asked the band to play again every year since. Since 2017, the Day in the Park has coincided with one of the city's monthly Farmers Market gatherings. This has generated larger crowds and resulted in a wider variety of features and events.

Lazy Does It has also been a regular act in the Prospect Park United Methodist Church's Community Concert Series, appearing for the first time during the 2012-2013 concert season. These are always fun gigs with enthusiastic and appreciative audiences. All proceeds from the free-will offerings collected at these events go to worthwhile local charities. 

If you would like to book Lazy Does It for your party, festival, wedding, church, or community group, or if you just want to know more about us, please contact us by phone or email. And now you can like us on Facebook! 

Len Yaeger

(612)-331-8530

yaege033@umn.edu

Schedule of up-coming public appearances:

Our performance schedule, which never has been particularly robust, has yet to recover form the COVID shutdown.

Lauderdale's Day in the Park - July 21, 2022

In keeping with our long-established tradition, Lazy Does It played at this fun outdoor event again this year. This was our twelfth consecutive performance here, the first being in 2010. (The event was not held in 2020 due to COVID.) The weather was glorious - sunny and breezy. We were fortunate to catch a break from the sweltering heat and humidity of the preceding several days. As usual, the performance was well received, and we are already invited back for next year's event. We were delighted to have the accomplished Dave Perry fill on drums, as he did last year. Other than Dave, the band was fleshed out with all the old regulars. Bill Johnson on piano, Garry Peterson on banjo, and Len on bass sax rounded out the rhythm section while the front line consisted of Jeff Olsen on trumpet, Glen Newton on trombone (and slide whistle!), and Jonathan Preus on clarinet.

COVID-19

Due to the world-wide corona-virus pandemic, all 2020 gigs have been cancelled, and no new dates will be scheduled for the foreseeable future.

STAY HOME and STAY SAFE!

On March 11, 2020, after discussing the risks of gathering a large group, Len and the folks at Prospect Park United Methodist Church cancelled a benefit concert scheduled for March 14. We beat MN Governor Tim Walz and his state-wide lock-down to the punch by more than two weeks. This might well have been the first concert cancellation in the Twin Cities, or all of MN - a sterling example of our group's leading the way not only in traditional jazz but also in public health.

Seniors' luncheon at Brooklyn Park Activity Center - November 14, 2019

This event is held monthly, and the November installment was an observation of both Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. It was the first time Lazy Does It played at this venue, and we had a great time performing for the enthusiastically appreciative crowd that filled the large dining area. We played old standards a few originals. Undoubtedly, the highlight of the concert was our finale, John Philip Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever. The famous piccolo obligato was played from the center of the audience by Mary Preus, much to the surprise and delight of the audience. Mary's husband, Jonathan, is our long-time clarinetist.

Personnel for this event: Glen Newton - cornet, Joy Judge - trombone, Jonathan Preus - clarinet, Gordy Myers - drums, Bill Johnson - piano, Len Yaeger - bass sax, and special guest Mary Preus - piccolo

Bill tests the upper range of the house piano.

Joy pumps some slush.

Glen explores the Ab-concert overtone series.

Jonathan can find all the notes - with his eyes shut!

Gordy makes a cymbalic gesture.

This must be the piano solo, since that's the only time Len gets a rest.

Photos courtesy of Eric Andreson.

Lauderdale's Day in the Park - July 18, 2019

This was Lazy Does It's tenth year playing at this fun, family get-together. Although usually held in August, this year's event was moved ahead to July 18. The weather was a bit warm and sticky but otherwise very pleasant, and the crowd was large and enthusiastic. Due to the unexpected change of dates, we had some interesting personnel differences from previous years. Glen Newton played trombone at this gig for the first time. Glen has long been a regular member of Lazy Does It but has managed to have conflicts every other year. We were glad that he could finally fit us into his busy schedule of cat shows. Our regular drummer, Gordy, was in Paris, and we were fortunate to have an old pro, Dave Perry fill in. This was Dave's first venture into our enclave, and he acquitted himself admirably. We look forward to playing with him again soon and often. Fred Richardson stepped in on clarinet, in place of Jonathan, who had another commitment. Fred is well known in the traditional-jazz world as one of the area's top reed men. We were delighted to have him along and anticipate his joining us again when the opportunity presents itself.

Front row (l to r): Len Yaeger - bass sax, Garry Peterson - banjo, Glen Newton - trombone, Fred Richardson - clarinet, Jeff Olsen - trumpet. Back row: Bill Johnson - piano, Dave Perry drums.

Here's a link to the North Suburbs CTV video of the event. Unlike videos produced for this event in previous years, this one really features Lazy Does It. The entire video is laid over the band playing our theme song, Len's 1998 composition Circle Blues. https://www.ctvnorthsuburbs.org/videos/lauderdale-day-in-the-park/

 

 

Lauderdale's "Day in the Park" - Aug. 17, 2017

This summer, Lazy Does It played  at the City of Lauderdale's "Day in the Park" for the eighth consecutive year. As always, it was a fun gig. The weather was a bit chilly, unlike last year, when the gig was postponed due to 100+-degree heat. The predicted rain held off, and the turnout was good. For the first time, Len's bass sax was missing from the combo, due to his recalcitrant  right thumb, although he did play a few tunes on alto sax. Fortunately, Jason Swalley kept the bass lines going and soloed admirably on his tuba. We were fortunate that he was available on relatively short notice. Thanks, Jason!

Jason's tuba was not the sole novelty of the afternoon. Joy entertained us all with a few discreet and tasteful solos on her conch shell.

Here's the front line (plus bass). Len on alto, Jason on tuba, Joy on 'bone (and conch), Jonathan on clarinet, and Jeff on trumpet. As usual, most of our fine back line is pretty much obscured behind the fronters, but I guess that's why we call them "back line." I do catch a glimpse of Garry and the neck of his banjo.

 

Here's a view of the band from the east end. Visible are the other two members of the back line, Bill on piano and Gordy on drums.

 

A close-up of Len and Jason. Len couldn't manage the monstrous bass sax, because of his bad thumb, but Jason clearly had no trouble whatsoever with his big horn.

 

Len's thumb was sore, true, but he was not in nearly as much pain as his expression would suggest.

 

Photos are courtesy of Steven Lang.

 

Here's a the official video of the event supplied by its coordinator, Jim Bownik, Assistant City Administrator.

https://youtu.be/M33cGpBJNi4

 

See you next summer!

 

Woodbury Central Park - March 9, 2017

This was the third time we played in this marvelous, indoor venue. As before, the crowd was enthusiastic and appreciative. The personnel were mostly regulars - Jeff Olsen (trumpet), Jonathan Preus (Clarinet), Glen Newton (trombone), Bill Johnson (piano), and Len (bass sax) - plus two of our favorite subs - Dick Parker (banjo) and Tom Wahlrobe (drums). The custodian apparently missed the orders for set-up, so we had to scramble a bit to get ready. Fortunately, the woman at reception was extremely helpful and found everything we needed. In the end, everything went off without a glitch.

City of Lauderdale's - Day in the Park August 18, 2016

This was our seventh year running playing for this fun community outing at Lauderdale Central Park. This year, the format changed a bit. Instead of holding the event on the third Saturday of August, as in the past, the City Council decided to combine it with the monthly Farmers' Market. July 21 was the chosen date, but the 100-degree weather forced a switch to August 18. The weatherman threatened rain, but it held off, and the show went on without a hitch.

The musicians involved were Jeff Olsen (trumpet), Jonathan Preus (Clarinet), Glen Newton (trombone), Bill Johnson (piano), Tom Wahlrobe (drums), Garry Peterson (banjo), and Len Yaeger (bass sax).

Sorry! We have no photographic evidence of this year's event (or last year's), so you'll have to take it on faith.

Pratt Ice Cream Social - June 3, 2016

For the second year in a row, we got driven indoors by the rain. This time, we moved across the street to the basement of the Prospect Park United Methodist Church, which was a more comfortable venue than the school's gym. For one thing, there were no kids playing basketball or running around  hollering. We started playing to a mostly empty room, but after people figured out where we were, the place was packed.

Present were the usual suspects. Front: Jonathan - clarinet/bari sax, Jeff - trumpet, Glen - trombone; Rear: Len - Bass sax, Gordy - drums, Bill - piano, & Garry - banjo. The audience was far more enthusiastic than our dour back-line seemed to be. I guess jazz is a serious business.

 

Our intent front-liners.

 

Len with his beautiful bass sax, "Marty."


 

7500 York Senior Cooperative - May 23, 2016

On Monday, May 23, 2016, we played for an large, enthusiastic crowd at 7500 York Cooperative in Edina, MN. For this concert, we were graced by the presence of special guest performers Dick Parker (banjo) and Richard Lund (clarinet), both of whom played superlatively. 

Len, Jeff, Glen, & Richard.

Dick & Gordy hiding in the corner.

Bill digging into a solo.

Here are two tunes from the program.

 

 

City of Lauderdale's "Day in the Park" August 16, 2014

The forecast threatened rain this year, but it turned out to be a nice, comfortable day, and we managed to stay dry until the festivities were complete. We were delighted to welcome two new faces (and their horns) to the band: Joy Judge on trombone, and Ron James on trumpet. Both are top-flight Dixielanders and played amazingly well. We hope to see lots more of them both.

Left to right: Gordy Myers, Len Yaeger, Joy Judge, Ron James, Bill Johnson, Jonathan Preus, Garry Peterson.

Gordy may look 45, but this was actually his 69th birthday. Happy birthday, Gordy.