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Date: 2006-08-31 THE WEST END JAZZ BAND RETURNS TO THE FOX RIVER TROLLEY MUSEUM THE WEST END JAZZ BAND RETURNS TO THE FOX RIVER TROLLEY MUSEUM They're back! For the second consecutive year, the West End Jazz Band brings the sounds of sweet and hot jazz back to the Fox River Trolley Museum on Sunday, Sept. 17. Between 12:30 and 4 p.m., the six-piece ensemble, led by cornetist Mike Bezin, will perform beneath the old oak trees on the museum's grounds, at 361 S. LaFox St. (Route 31) in South Elgin. Like the museum's historic Chicago “L” cars and interurbans, the West End Jazz Band evokes a bygone era. Eighty years ago, Chicagoans danced to hot jazz as the “L” trains rumbled just above the roof of Paddy Harmon's Dreamland Ballroom, which was built beneath the old Metropolitan “L” tracks on Van Buren Street. The museum's “L” car 4451 was one of the newest on Chicago's rapid transit system at the time, and Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban car 20, which ran nearby, was already a veteran. Harmon and the Dreamland are long gone but the 20 and 4451 are still around, and the museum encourages jazz fans to make a day of it. Jazz fans can ride aboard the museum's historic trolley cars Sept. 17, and the band will perform aboard 4451 on selected trips. The West End Jazz Band is based in Chicago and specializes in the hot and sweet dance and jazz music made famous 80 years ago by such artists as the California Ramblers, the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks, Jean Goldkette, Guy Lombardo, Jan Garber, Isham Jones and others, along with other rare and obscure jazz tunes of the 1920s and 1930s. It plays engagements and festivals across the country. The museum encourages riders to fill their picnic baskets with snack food or lunches and to eat at either end of the line -- the museum's Castlemuir depot and gift shop in South Elgin, where performances will occur, or in the picnic grove of the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, on Route 31 in St. Charles Township. There is no extra charge to hear the West End Jazz Band perform - just the standard price of $3.50 for adults, and $2 for seniors and children 3-11, an unbeatable price and close to home. Children under 3 always ride free. The museum is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays during the month of September. An Illinois not-for-profit organization formed in 1961, the Fox River Trolley Museum preserves the colorful heritage of Chicago's historic network of electric railways. It is located at 361 S. LaFox St., on Illinois Route 31, in South Elgin, easily accessible from Interstate 88 or 90 or U.S. 20. For further information, or to charter a train, call (847) 697-4676. ###
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