Photo by Lynn Redmile
Danny Tobias and Friends
Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 2pm
Community Arts Center
414 Plush Mill Road
Wallingford, PA 19086
Get ready for "an oasis of joy!" (in the words of our reviewer after Dan's last appearance)Dan last brought his friends to Tri-State in January 2022; today we see the return of Dan leading and playing trumpet, with Randy Reinhart on trombone, Pat Mercuri on guitar and banjo, Joe Plowman on bass and Jim Lawlor on drums.
Band Personnel
Danny Tobias – Leader, Cornet, Trumpet, E-Flat Horn
Jim Lawlor – Drums, Vocals
Randy Reinhart – Trombone
Pat Mercuri - guitar, banjo
Joe Plowman - bass
Background
A 1985 graduate of Trenton State College (now College of New Jersey), Danny Tobias has worked with such jazz luminaries as Kenny Davern, Warren and Allan Vache, Harry Allen, Howard Alden, John Bunch, Marty Napoleon, Greg Cohen, Derek Smith and many other jazz legends. Danny just released a new CD on the Ride Symbol record label, Silver Linings, featuring multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson, pianist Rossano Sportiello, bassist Joe Plowman and drummer Kevin Dorn (all of whom are TSJS alumni).
https://syncopatedtimes.com/danny-tobias-silver-linings/
Jim Lawlor began playing drums after moving from Philadelphia to Atlantic City in 1979, just as the town was beginning its rise as the East Coast gambling mecca. His primary teacher was Chris Columbo, former drummer with Louis Jordan's Tympani Five and father of Count Basie drumming legend Sonny Payne. Jim spent eight years in the Chris Sooy Swing Band, a very popular group that pre-dated the Neo-Swing movement by a decade. He was then hired by Joe and Paul Midiri to play and sing in their small groups and big band. In 2000, the Midiri ensemble landed on the festival circuit and gave Jim a chance to travel and perform around the USA. He is another frequent performer at TSJS, noted primarily for his association with the Midiri Brothers and Danny Tobias.
Randy Reinhart played his first gigs when he was a teenager, making jazz his profession at the age of 18 and becoming an ongoing substitute at Eddie Condon's on 54th street in 1973. He played with some of the finest players on the New York scene including Vic Dickenson, Pee Wee Erwin, Herb Hall and drummer Connie Kay. In the mid 1970’s he began doubling on trombone while touring with Paul Lavalle's Band Of America. You can hear his cornet in many Bix Beiderbecke tribute recording and concert orchestras. The Arbors release, “Celebrating Bix”, places Randy with three cornetists, Jon-Erik Kellso, Randy Sandke and Dan Barrett.
Joe Plowman is a Philadelphia area bassist. An alumni of Temple University’s Boyer college of Music, Joe can often be seen playing anywhere from D.C. to New York. As music director and bassist for Carsie Blanton, he has toured the country opening for acts such as Paul Simon, The Wood Brothers, The Weepies, and Joan Osborne. Joe has performed with Chelsea Reed and the Fair Weather Five, Marty Grosz (at the Mermaid in Chestnut Hill, among other venues), Milton, and the Grand Slam Trio.
Banjoist/guitarist Pat Mercuri is one of the area's most active freelance jazz musicians. As a member of Jerry Rife’s Rhythm Kings, the Midiri Brothers’ and Ed Wise’s bands, he plays for TSJS frequently. Pat has also performed with local big bands, including the ensemble of reed man/composer/arranger Andrew Neu.