Duke Ellington, was born on April 29, 1899 and Novel Jazz and St. Lawrence Arts are teaming up to throw Duke a 124th Birthday Bash! We are going to celebrate the American pianist, who was the greatest jazz composer and bandleader of his time. One of the originators of big-band jazz, Ellington led his band for more than half a century, composed thousands of scores, and created one of the most distinctive ensemble sounds in all of Western music.

The Story of Novel Jazz

The musicians of "Novel Jazz" have been performing straight-ahead jazz around Maine and New England for over three decades. They draw from the Great American Songbook and specialize in the works of Edward Kennedy ("Duke") Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. The band members hail from all over Maine…Belfast, Buxton, Chebeague Island, Gardiner, Newcastle, Vassleboro as well as Westbrook. They perform regularly in mid-coast Maine (the town of Damariscotta, at the Skidompha Public Library; approximately four times per year) as an effort to keep jazz alive in the state. Fifteen years ago, they embarked on a project to go through the massive archive of compositions by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn-- who wrote about 2,500 pieces between them-- transcribe some lesser known gems for the band and reinterpret them with a 21st century sound. Their first CD was released in 2008, their second was released in 2011. The band released their third CD, "Novel and Novelle... More unearthed treasures by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington" in June 2015. Their fourth CD was released in the summer of 2019. Public radio did a special radio news interview on the Ellington/Strayhorn project of Novel Jazz. Miscellaneous press clippings can be foundhere.Several two-hour programs dedicated to Novel Jazz have been broadcast on Maine Public Radio's jazz show, "Jazz Tonight" over the years.

These are all seasoned jazz guys, and the result is a sound that made me sway, smile, groove, slow-dance with myself around the living room and play the air snare drums. Note to self: Bring this disc to work and impress jazz-appreciating boss. — Aimsel Ponti, Music Writer, Portland Press Herald


"There are two kinds of worries - those you can do something about and those you can't. Don't spend any time on the latter." — Duke Ellington


Dr. Barney Balch, Novel Jazz, Newcastle, ME ; noveljazz@gmail.com; www.mainejazz.net Like us on Facebook at "Novel Jazz Septet"

The Members of Novel Jazz are...

Barney Balch-Tenor, Alto and Soprano Trombone; Barney has played in many bands from Maine, Massachusetts, New York, California, and Florida. Barney began his jazz career in Boston in the mid-1970’s withCraig Ball, Dave McMillan andJimmy Mazzy. In 1978 he began performing with veteran stride pianist,Bob Page and the Downeast Jazz Babies (including blues guitarist,TJ Wheeler and bassist Dick Cash). In 1980 Barney moved to Southern California and studied with the Kansas City Blues Trombonist,Jimmy Cheatham (veteran of Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, and Thad Jones orchestras). Barney has performed withJohn Best (original lead trumpet with the Glenn Miller Orchestra),Al Hall (bassist with Benny Goodman, Erroll Garner), the great stride pianist,Don Ewell (member of the Jack Teagarden band),Francine Reed (of the Lyle Lovett Band) and numerous other big bands. Since returning to Maine in the mid 1990s, Barney has had the good fortune to play with some of Northern New England's "swinging-est" jazz musicians: Along with Novel Jazz, Barney performed with Dick Creeden, Muriel Havenstein, Lefty McAuslin, Henry Berry,Pete Collins, Ken Gaspar, Bill Friederich, Nat Balch (Barney's big brother), Dave Page, Jack Tukey to name just a few. Barney lives for playing Ellington, Strayhorn, Basie, Goodman, Waller, Gershwin, Porter and more. The bottom line is, if it swings, he plays it! Along with performing with the Novel Jazz Septet, Barney spends his spare time studying original manuscripts from the Duke Ellington Collection at the Smithsonian and the Strayhorn Collection at the Library of Congress, both in Washington, D.C. and arranging them for the band.

Bill Manning - Drums; Bill attended Boston'sBerklee College of Music on scholarship, and earned a B.A. in Music fromUniversity of Southern Maine. He is currently the Percussion Instructor and Director of the jazz ensembles in Scarborough and maintains a private teaching studio atThe Drum Shop in Portland. He is a seasoned drummer and percussionist, with over 30 years experience and has a wide variety of musical experiences and genres. When not musically involved, Bill enjoys spending time with his wife Pat, dog Sasha and is an avid fisherman.

Herb Maine-Bass; Herb Maine has been a well-known acoustic bassist in the New England region for the past three decades. Originally from North Reading, MA, Herb began playing bass and tuba in the school system there and was playing professionally at age 15. He attended college at Lowell State University majoring in performance. Along with Novel Jazz, he plays regularly around Maine with pianists Mickey Felder and Kenny Gaspar. He has also performed with the late great trumpeter,Herb Pomeroy. Herb resides with his family on Great Chebeague Island off of mid-coast Maine.

David Clarke- Guitar; David “Quick" Clarke began his musical quest on the ukelele at age 3. He started clarinet in the 5th grade, and got serious with the guitar at age 12. At 13 he was performing gigs, and played in the pit band for Waterville Opera House' production of "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris." He did a four year stint with the Air Force Band, playing in rock and jazz ensembles in Mississippi, touring the southern coast; the Philippines, touring Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Guam and Hawaii; and at Travis Air Force Base in California. He moved back to Maine in 1986, opening upDavid's Music, a local retail store where he taught music lessons and performed in local bands. He started a band called DC-3, which won the Belfast Bay Festival Battle of the Bands three years running. Over the next 25 years he has played with such bands as Faceplant, Tonto Lavec, The Willy Kelly Band, The Hemmens, The Bel-Isle Trio/Quintet, and The Elevator Pilots. He completed his Bachelors in Music Education from UMA and UMO in 1995.

Mickey Felder-Piano; Mick Felder can't remember when he wasn't playing the piano. Mick Felder studied classical piano in New York with Charles Ragusa, and jazz withCharlie Banacos andScott Oakley. At age fifteen, his first professional group "The J-Five" performed jazz standards in New York's Catskill Mountains. During the late 60's he took a musical detour into folk music, playing guitar and singing in small clubs in New York. Moving to Maine in 1971, he and four other talented musicians formed the popular bluegrass band "Wild Mountain Thyme" which performed throughout the state for many years. Mick returned to jazz in the late 70's and has been performing in concerts, clubs and restaurants throughout Maine ever since.

Mike Mitchell-Trumpet, Cornet, Flugelhorn; Mike Mitchell has been playing trumpet since his childhood days in the eastern Maine town of Calais. He studied at both the University of Maine at Augusta’s Jazz Studies program and the University of Miami’s Jazz program. He studied trumpet with Chuck Winfield (ofBlood, Sweat and Tears),Don Stratton, andBob McCoy. Although the music of Miles Davis and Chet Baker strongly influences his playing, Mike’s musical interests and experiences range broadly from traditional New Orleans to the outer limits of Ornette Coleman and Lennie Tristano. He is also an avid student of the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, frequently contributing arrangements of their material for the Novel Jazz Septet. Beyond music, Mike is a behavioral healthcare administrator and clinician with a passion for family, fly fishing and good barbeque.

David Harris - Reeds; David began performing professionally at various venues in downtown Portsmouth, NH while attending college at the University of New Hampshire. Upon graduating with an undergraduate degree in Music Performance, David took a semester off to study with Boston saxophonist Tucker Antell before attending grad school in the spring at the University of Southern Maine. While in grad school, David led his own group which focused on fusing jazz with electronic influences. It was with this group that David recorded his first album with titled Earthling Questions. After finishing his master’s in Jazz Studies, David joined the Novel Jazz Septet and began playing the music of Duke Ellington in concert halls throughout Maine. It was also during this time that David was filling in as a substitute saxophonist with the Portland Jazz Orchestra. David continues to perform with a variety of jazz combos and rock bands and has had the opportunity to perform in notable clubs such as The House of Blues, Blue, The Press Room, and Cadenza.