Dixie Doodlers
of New Berlin
About Dixie Doodlers
Dixie Doodlers - Click for Larger PhotographDixie Doodlers may be a funny name for a top rated 1920s style Dixieland Jazz Band in Wisconsin. Music with bright melody, awesome harmony and energetic rhythm, played by musicians who strive for perfection.

There's no doodling around when the Dixie Doodlers perform, work, record or practice. Their weekly rehearsals include learning new tunes and reviewing their incredibly huge repertoire of 546 tunes. You could say they doodle with jazz styles, but only their band name has Doodlers in it. They can perform on the main stage, in the background, in a street setting, roving around, or even for special Dixieland funerals in cemeteries. They have kazoo musicians, a recorder player, vocalists who know many tunes by heart, and multi-instrument talented musicians who love to entertain. Dixie Doodlers' musicians also perform in other musical groups from restaurant bands to classical ensembles, jazz groups to theatrical pit orchestras.

Dixie Doodlers - Click for Larger Photograph

Enjoy a Dixieland program at your anniversary, birthday, ceremony, concert, corporate gathering, dance, dinner, event, festival, mall, parade, party, picnic or special occasion. Keep Dixieland Music Alive. Reasonable rates. Please hire the Dixie Doodlers - Mark Kranz at 262-679-9475, New Berlin, Wisconsin.

New CD Recording
Dixie Doodlers Between RecordingsDixie Doodlers on September 29, 2008, between recording tunes for their second CD. There are 8 microphones. Front Row: Rich Regent, clarinet; Gary Lavann, trumpet; Andy Schumm, cornet; Dave Bock, trombone; Back Row: John Knurr, piano; Mark Kranz, tuba; Ken Olson, banjo. Jack Clark, washboard, is in a different part of the studio for better sound separation.

Recording EquipmentThis is a 1/2-inch, 15-inches per second, Tape Recorder with 8-Channel Mixer. Greg Kalkhoff operates the controls during recording. Next, tunes are selected, then the audio is processed by computer, and finally the master recording is used to make the CD.

Dixie Doodlers CD
Per Your Request - Meet the Doodlers
  1. Mahogany Hall Stomp 4:13
  2. Sidewalk Blues 5:30
  3. Coney Island Washboard 5:23
  4. Dixie Doodler Stomp 2:36
  5. Big Lip Blues 4:40
  6. Tia Juana 5:50
  7. Hot Tamale Man 5:44
  8. Louisiana Fairytale 3:25
  1. Chattanooga Stomp 6:05
  2. Ma - She's Making Eyes at Me 4:30
  3. Mandy Make Up Your Mind 5:53
  4. New Orleans Shuffle 5:19
  5. Take My Hand Precious Lord 3:27
  6. San 4:23
  7. Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down 5:26
  8. Take Your Tomorrow 6:39
Dixie Doodler CDOne hour and 19 minutes of Dixie Doodler music.
Buy online for only $18.
Includes domestic Shipping and Handling.
Greg Kalkhoff in Recording Studio Greg Kalkhoff works to record, mix and master tunes. We have sold CDs in Germany and Slovakia! Here are a few unmixed samples made while recording for our first CD.
  • Kansas City Kitty, Walter Donaldson - 1929 in G. Popularized by Rudy Vallee. Some sections have six or seven sharps for trumpets and clarinet. Andy and Gary take dueling solos on trumpets. Time 4 minutes (MP3, 5.6 Megabytes)
  • Mahogany Hall Stomp, Spencer Williams - 1929 in Eb. Named for Madam Lulu White's "Mahogany Hall," one of the finest bordellos in Storyville. Time 4 minutes and 23 seconds (MP3, 6.2 Megabytes)
  • New Orleans Shuffle, Whitmore - 1920s in Ab. Recorded by Bob Wilber's Wildcats 1948 and the Titan Hot Five 1996. (MP3, 5.0 Megabytes)
  • San, McPhail and Michels - 1920 in F. Time 4 minutes, 25 seconds (MP3, 4.1 Megabytes)
  • Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down, Howard Quicksell and Ray Lodwig - 1927 in Bb. Quicksell was banjoist with Jean Goldkette Orchestra, Beiderbecke, Trumbauer, etc. Also wrote Sorry. Lodwig played trumpet on some of Bix's sessions c. 1930, such as I'll Be A Friend With Pleasure. Recorded by Bix Beiderbecke 1927, Pee Wee Russell, Gene Krupa 1938, Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra (Sy Oliver arr.) 1934, etc. (MP3, 5.0 Megabytes)
  • Take Your Tomorrow, J. C. Johnson and Andy Razaf - 1928 in F. Recorded by Frankie Trumbauer and His Orchestra (Bix, Lang, Bargy, etc. Vocal: Trumbauer and possibly Austin Young) 1928. (MP3, 6.1 Megabytes)

  Energetic New Orleans style Dixieland entertainment for your event!
Gary LavannGary Lavann, trumpet. Began music with accordion, clarinet and trombone; plays trumpet and cornet since 1954. Plays Dixieland at Potawatomi. Army Veteran. Mukwonago.
Rich RegentRich Regent, clarinet. Plays clarinet since 1954, enjoys Dixieland, jazz and classical music with a variety of bands, theatrical groups and ensembles. Restores old radios. Web Site. Master of Science in Physics from UWM, Licensed Professional Engineer, Army Veteran. Greenfield.
John KnurrJohn Knurr, piano, tuba, trombone, kazoo and vocals. Plays with New Rampart Street Paraders. Retired HS Music Teacher, historian and musician's musician. Biography. Master of Arts in Music from California State University. Milwaukee.
Mark KranzMark Kranz, tuba. DD Founder and Manager, plays in the Milwaukee Letter Carrier's Band, Brookfield Community Band and others. Collects records, cylinders, radios and Victrolas. Machinist. New Berlin.
Jack ClarkJack Clark, washboard and various musical gadjets. Began playing trumpet in 1948, also French Horn and drums. Biography. Former grain elevator supervisor, Army Veteran. Franklin.
Dave BockDave Bock, trombone, tuba, trumpet and piano. Awarded 2004 Jazz Unlimited Scholarship and WCM Jazz Camp Award. Plays in Bix Beiderbecke concerts, Rhythm Aces, collects 78 RPM records, and is a Jazz Historian. Biography. Web Site. Mukwonago.
Andy SchummAndy Schumm, trumpet, piano, banjo and drums. Teaches at music camps. Plays with West End Jazz Band, Rhythm Aces, Austria, and many states, including Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks in New York. Bachelor of Music from University of Illinois. Web Site. Milwaukee.
Ken OlsonKen Olson, banjo, kazoo and vocals. Retired Muskego HS Music Teacher and directing music for 35 years. Clarinetist with the Palmyra-Eagle Community Band. Master of Music Education from University of Illinois Champaign. Eagle.
Gigs and Facts
  • Dixie Doodler Gig Schedule.
  • Dixieland music is a style of instrumental jazz associated with New Orleans, characterized by a relatively fast two-beat rhythm, and played as a group and by solo improvisations.
  • 2009 Bunny Berigan Jazz Jubilee at Fox Lake, played two programs.
  • Brookfield July 4th Parades, we met Fox6 Celebrities Tom Pippins (2008); Beverly Taylor (2007); Brad Hicks (2006).
  • We played on August 19, 2007, for the political congressional rally of Jim Burkee and Jeff Walz at the American Legion in Cedarburg. Was on TV 6 and 58.
  • Greendale Gazebo Dixieland Program on June 30, 2007, for an audience of 500.
  • The Madison Jazz Society enjoyed our program on March 25, 2007. Here is their letter.
  • Caribbean Beulah Brunch 3 hours on July 9, 2006.
  • Bix Fest 2006 on March 11 at the Racine Marriott, and released our new CD. WLIP-AM (1050 Kenosha) broadcast the program live. Photo 1, Photo 2.
  • Read the Dixie Doodlers special newspaper article written by staff writer John Schultz with photographs by Bob Bailie, in the New Berlin Citizen and Frankln Hub, December 8, 2005, editions. Also an article and photographs of our Fall In to Art Festival music in Thiensville on September 9, 2006.
  • Three Dixie Doodlers have Masters Degrees, another has a Bachelor of Music degree, two are retired High School Music Teachers, and three are Army Veterans.
  • Gary Lavann and Rich Regent were in the Walker Junior High School Band with Henry Canitz. Photograph taken May 3, 1956. Rich, clarinet, is on riser 2nd from left. Gary, trumpet, has blond hair.
  • We can play over 546 tunes in The Firehouse Jazz Band Dixieland style. But especially enjoy these 244 tunes. One lady in an audience, requested the Just Because Polka followed by Happy Birthday, which is not on our list. But we capably played both with delight.
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