From the Wareham Courier April 13, 2014
So, a 17-piece jazz orchestra walks into a bar …
That’s it. No joke.
It might be an unlikely place to find such a large ensemble, but turns out Gilda’s Stone Rooster on the Marion/Wareham line is one of the best places to play.
Musicians from the Southcoast Jazz Orchestra, which makes regular appearances at Gilda’s on 27 Wareham Road in Marion, say they can feel the difference when they perform there.
“You can hear every single instrument in here with the low ceiling and carpeted floors,” Marcus Monteiro, a teacher at Music of the Bay in Wareham and leader of his own four-piece quartet, Monteirobots, said.
It might be an unlikely place to find such a large ensemble, but turns out Gilda’s Stone Rooster on the Marion/Wareham line is one of the best places to play.
The SJO, started in 2009 by trumpeter Bob Williamson and drummer Neil Sylvia, is a traditional 17-member jazz band with trumpets, trombones, saxophones, and a rhythm section.
The SJO’s two-hour performance also featured vocals and additional instruments, including strings, French horn, and vibraphone, to enhance its sound on stage.
Gilda is 92. She owns a dive bar in Marion, MA. It’s often filled with pick up trucks and motorized cycles. One Monday a month, Gilda’s turns in the the premier jazz club in the area. Last night was the South Coast Jazz Ensemble and they raised the roof. But not before Gilda gives her prep talk.
Then the music began.
A Midnight Rider 