Poudre River Irregulars: About the Band

Photo, Poudre River Irregulars, May 2006

The Poudre River Irregulars in May 2006 (Left to right) Oscar DeSoto (drums), John Leisenring (trombone), Bob Cooke (cornet), Gene Libbea (bass), Ted Turner (banjo), Clark Burnside (clarinet).
The lineup has changed since this photo; see below for musicians' bios.

The Poudre River Irregulars are a colorful New Orleans and Dixieland jazz ensemble noted for their exuberant energy and sound musicianship. Drawing much of their inspiration from Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton, they play a wide variety of traditional jazz, from ragtime through the classics of the twenties and thirties up to early swing. Whatever they play, their music is always upbeat and joyful.

Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, this popular band plays for concerts, dances, and private engagements all over the Northern Colorado region. Their best-known gig is at Avogadro's Number, a hangout near the Colorado State University campus, where they play on the first Friday of each month to sellout crowds. (See Gigs for current info about where you can hear them play.)

They also have recorded two popular CDs. You can hear samples of those here, and there's also a printable form you can use to order if you're so inclined.

For candid snapshots of the band, see their Photo Album. And for a press kit and downloadable photos of the band, click here.

About the name: The Cache la Poudre River was named by early French explorers who stashed gunpowder at intervals along its banks. Its upper reaches now provide recreation for kayakers, rafters, and fishermen, while supplying water for Fort Collins and surrounding agricultural areas. The local pronunciation is "POO-der."

As to "Irregulars": when the band was forming in 1994, personnel changes were frequent and abrupt. The group has long since stabilized but keeps the name because it suggests the free and easy spirit of their music. (Think of a motley militia ready at a moment's notice to take on an engagement with deftness and high spirits.)

Bob Cooke (leader, cornet) helped found Denver's Queen City Jazz Band in 1958 and formed the Platte River Jazz Band in 1974 before moving to Fort Collins where he started the Poudre River Irregulars in 1995. He is an imaginative cornetist and a leader who inspires enthusiasm in the band and joy in his audiences.

Leonard Kellogg (trombone) teaches music in the Loveland schools and is Band Director at Conrad Ball Junior High School. Before that he was a band director in Jefferson County, and has played with well-known trad jazz groups all over northern Colorado.

Clark Burnside (clarinet) is an exciting player who began playing Dixieland jazz in high school and was featured with the UCD Claim Jumpers (the University of Colorado's Dixieland jazz ensemble) at the Sacramento Jazz Festival.

Ted Turner (banjo) is a student of banjo styles and adds interest to the band's arrangements by blending different traditional jazz styles in subtle ways. He has a strong commitment to the rhythm and is also valuable as a blues and jazz vocalist.

Gene Libbea (pronounced "Luh-BAY") (string bass) played with the Nashville Bluegrass Band for 10 years (when they got four Grammy awards). A versatile and widely experienced musician, he anchors the band with his powerful and rhythmic bass style and attention to harmonic details.

Tim Clarkson (drums) is a dynamic young percussionist from Denver, where he studied trad jazz in high school and played in college with the UCD Claim Jumpers under Bill Clark (leader of the Queen City Jazz Band). Now he performs with a variety of trad jazz bands in Denver and northern Colorado.

Bob and the band are blessed with good friends from the traditional jazz community who are happy to come and sit it when regular members are gone, or when a fuller sound is needed, or just to add extra pizazz to a gig. Some of the great trad jazz musicians who often appear with the Irregulars are:

BANJO: Dennis Condreay, Joe Petrucelli, Rory Thomas, Jim Tracy, Maury Walker

BASS: Dave Dale

CLARINET: Lance Acker, Roger Campbell, Bill Pontarelli

PIANO: Mark Flory, Ray Leake, Hank Troy

TRUMPET: Bob Jackson, Tony Pierce

VOCALS: Mary Buirgy

So, true to its name, the Irregulars' lineup is often in a state of creative flux, and it's always worthwhile to see who's in the area and might be sitting in with the band. As a patron at an Avo's First Friday gig said recently, "We never know what to expect, but it's always good!"