Jim Field started the Mouldy Fig Jazz Band in 1959 when he was a junior at Main Township High School in Parkridge, IL, and they also go beyond that genre. These days, The Bungalow Inn in Lakeland is often the first venue named as a favorite by the award winning group, and is a staple there on many Tuesday evenings. They will be there again this Tuesday, April 4.
A “mouldy fig” is a person who studies and plays old New Orleans style jazz. This term came out of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
Jim and friends had put together a band to play for a Young Life meeting. Then, noted author Studs Turkel entered the practice room and said, “You are a bunch of Mouldy Figs,” Jim recalls about this name that just keeps popping up. Since then they have been a family favorite band in the Twin Cities, playing steady gigs, usually on Sunday afternoons in the area. Rounding out their mix are now a group of venues — including back at the Bungalow for the First Tuesday, Fat Tuesday celebration of each month from 5-8 p.m.
For the last five years, the Figs have played at the Vikings and Twins games and in June of 2007 performed as guest artists with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Figs have played in more than 30 grade schools with “The History of River Boat Music” educational show created by the St. Paul Rotary Club for the Grand Excursion in 2003. The Figs want to continue to add happy thoughts through this wonderful form of “Old Jazz.”
Jim’s exposure to Chicago style jazz in the late ’50s connected him with Mike McKendrick, a banjo player with Louie Armstrong. Mike taught Jim how to play the washboard. Jim still plays that same washboard that he bought for $1.50 in 1959.
Jim relocated to the Twin Cities in 1970 as the director of the YMCA Street Work Program, and continued his musical hobby. He originally formed the Minnesota Mouldy Figs to perform at Fiorito’s on 6th and Sibley in St. Paul in 1973. The Figs played there and the Lower Levy Lounge for eight years, and have performed of course at the Bungalow for another eight years and currently play at the Mainstreet Bar & Grill in Hopkins and Shamrocks in St. Paul.
The band has three professional recordings, including, of course, “Figs Live at the Bungalow.”
“We’re easy! We have played on stages, buses, trains, boats, truck beds, ice rinks and swimming pools,” their bio says. “If you want us – we’ll play! Look at our photos, add a few musicians and a singer or take a few musicians away to match your occasion or budget needs.”