The only live performances of New Orleans/Traditional Jazz that I’ve had the pleasure of hearing were back in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. The group that I had the very good fortune to hear was made up of some of the best Jazz musicians from around New England. They were known as The Tommy Gallant All Stars.
Tommy Gallant was a Jazz pianist, teacher, colleague and a friend.
Besides being a deceptively brilliant, delightfully swinging and always entertaining player, he was, throughout his long career, a tireless promoter and supporter of Jazz in the seacoast New Hampshire area and beyond. His music and his work have been memorialized and perpetuated in the annual Tommy Gallant Jazz Festival, which celebrated its 17th season this past summer as part of the Prescott Park Arts Festival in Portsmouth, NH and in the Tommy Gallant Memorial Jazz Concert held every Spring at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH.
Tommy taught Jazz piano and directed the Stage Band at Phillips Exeter from 1968 to 1998.
Thanks to the kindness of Mr. Charlie Jennison, President of the Seacoast Jazz Society, I have been given permission to share with you the only commercially-released recording (that I know of) of The Tommy Gallant All Stars.
This recording is taken from a 2002 CD entitled: Tommy Gallant and Friends – Live at the Press Room, Volume 1. It was put together by the Seacoast Jazz Society to raise funds for the Tommy Gallant Scholarship Fund.
All of the eight recordings on the CD were recorded live at the Press Room, the legendary (and still going strong) music venue located on Daniel Street in downtown Portsmouth, NH. The Tommy Gallant Trio was the house band at the Press Room most Sunday nights for many years. Besides their own extraordinary, bring-the-house-down performances, they provided first-rate accompaniment to a long list of locally distinguished and nationally known guest artists.
The members of the Tommy Gallant All Stars on this February 18, 1996 recording are: Dick Creeden, cornet; Jerry Fuller, clarinet; Don Doane, trombone; Tommy Gallant, piano; Jim Howe, bass; and Les Harris, Jr., drums.
Click on the blue link below for six minutes and thirty-five seconds of pure joy.
“Shine” – The Tommy Gallant All Stars
Tommy Gallant passed away on September 28, 1998 at the age of 63.
Still miss him.
sixstr stories 
And it was a joy seeing ThevTommy Gallant Trio and guest friends, including Charlie Jennison, play at Prescott Park as well.
Greetings
Thank you sir (I trust we will get acquainted) for your insights and up close histories attributing Tom, his career and ah yes, his humor.
I am one of Toms’ Berklee students, less fortunately for him than for me. We all have a story, and happily he is part of mine. The magic continues, as my poor mother, a mere 15 years Toms’ senior, and marvelous pianist, was “Instrumental” in our connecting. She persevered in financing my early piano study- less so when it came to practice time.
In a nutshell, it’s been a fascinating and diverse road as a musician. Hopefully I:ve inspired my own students, and evidence
shows the arts are alive, and most appreciated in our challenging age.
Just keep going, you’re forever young enough to learn. Again, thanks for your posts, and access to Tom’s music- there’s still hope for me to learn a few more of his key syllables, it seems.
Your
“Dutchman”,
Philip Hoke
Thank you so much for writing, Philip, and sharing some of your history with Tommy Gallant. I hope that Tommy knew that you had carried the lessons learned from him into a life as a musician. We teachers never really know the extent and longevity of our influence on the folks who have been our students. I very much like the line from your comment – is it your motto? – “Just keep going, you’re forever young enough to learn.” That’s so true. Thanks again for your comment and all the best.