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Dear Friends of Novel Jazz
I write this update letter as we prepare to time-travel from February to March during the winter of 2026. The astronomical beginning of Spring is just a little over three weeks away. Spring will jump up before we know it! As Abby Lincoln sang in “Up Jumped Spring”:
I was out promenadin'
And high hopes was fadin'
That dreams ever really come true
When up jumped springtime
I got a look at you…
Yep, we’re almost there! Click on this link and use Abbey Lincoln’s version as a soundtrack as you read through this letter.
To summarize this winter for Novel Jazz, It has been everything from “anxious”, “sad”, “exhilarating” to “crazy busy”.
Things have been “anxious” because when Novel Jazz did their winter solstice concert at Skidompha Library last December 20, 2025, we found out that our dear musical brother and Novel Jazz trumpet player for 22 years, Michael Mitchell, was beginning a long, courageous battle with cancer. Since then, he has spent weeks in ICUs and oncology departments of multiple hospitals across multiple states. We are all sending Mike loving thoughts as he battles his way through this thing and urge you all to do the same. In fact, on Saturday, 28 February, 9am-12 noon (yes, soon!), you can show him a little love at a benefit breakfast at the Manchester Lions Club (see poster below) if you happen to be nearby. If you can’t make that, another way to show him some love is to visit his GO-FUND-ME page to which you can donate in order to help him defray the considerable expenses that are now hitting him. As part of his diagnosis, Mike requested a health leave-of-absence from the band for the 2026 season, so we initiated a search for another trumpet player at the beginning of January.
The winter has been “sad” because at the same winter solstice concert, another musical brother and Novel Jazz bass player, Herb Maine, announced his retirement from the band after 22 years with us. Herb wants to spend more time at his home on Chebeague Island working in his wood shop, being a bass luthier, instead of being a bass player, schlepping his string bass on ferry-after-ferry, from gig-to-gig. Despite our sadness to see him go, we do get it…we really do! We wish Herb nothing but the best on his new adventure. This prompted us to begin a search for another bass player for Novel Jazz, also at the beginning of January.
The winter has been “exhilarating”, as we found some new, topnotch replacements for Mike and Herb. Edward Mitchell, a young trumpet player out of the Portland area (but no relation to Mike!) will be filling out the trumpet section in Novel Jazz. Ed is a trumpeter and performing artist who collaborates with local ensembles and touring musicians, leads his own quartet, and has hosted the long-running jazz jam session at Blue Portland Maine (BPM), and performs with groups including the Portland Jazz Orchestra. He performs regularly throughout the Seacoast area, both on stage and in theater pits with companies such as The Portland Players, Lyric Music Theater, and Biddeford City Theater, bringing versatility across jazz, classical, and contemporary styles. We are ecstatic to have Ed Mitchell aboard!
The winter also has been “exhilarating” as we found Jim Lyden from Kennebunk, who will be filling out the bass section of the band. Jim is a Portland, Maine native, who began playing bass in the early seventies. He studied with both jazz and classical bassists, and gained much performing experience early-on playing gigs with Roy Frazee, Don Doane, Ralph Norris, Joe LaFlamme, and countless other wonderful local musicians. He was member of The Pinetones, Joy Spring Jazz Quintet, The Maine Bones, Portland Jazz Orchestra, Mark Kleinhaut Trio, and also played in the pit bands for many musicals at the Saco River Theatre. He also has a great love of free improvised interactions of which some memorable performances have been with Roswell Rudd, Curtis Clark, Oliver Lake, Titus Abbott, Mike Sarin, and Mary Anne Driscoll. Jim has been playing in the house band jazz jam sessions at the Press Room, Portsmouth, NH every Tuesday for over 25 years. We are ecstatic to have Jim Lyden aboard!
It has been “ crazy busy” as we have been arranging a gaggle of new Ellington and Strayhorn tunes for the 2026 season. While Mike Mitchell may be temporarily stopping his trumpet playing this year, he continued doing his arranging from the hospital bed as long as he could, sending us a bunch of new arrangements of Ellington & Strayhorn tunes to wood-shed and rehearse, which I am delighted to say will be part of our next season!
We also have been hustling gigs for the 2026 season. Our first show will be at the Hill Arts Theatre on Munjoy Hill in Portland on Saturday, 2 May (afternoon matinee beginning at 2PM). We’ll be celebrating Duke’s birthday (which falls at the end of April). As is our tradition, we’ll be performing standard as well as, newly discovered, lesser-known, tunes by Duke and Strays. This concert also happens to be an OFFICIAL Portland, Maine celebration of International Jazz Day, as declared by the United Nations "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe." Hill Arts is located at 76 Congress St., Portland, ME. FMI, call Hill Arts at (207) 347-7177 or visit https://www.thehillarts.me/ for more information. I’m still negotiating shows for the band for the summer and fall and I’ll be providing those show dates on the band website at a later date.
Thanks for reading through this winter update newsletter. We hope to catch you all later this year as we embark on our 2026 season of jazz by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn! As always, thanks for supporting live jazz!
Best,
Barney Balch
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