Jazz Band Will Launch

WWII Series Of First Thursday Programs

WATERBURY — First Thursday at the Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center on September 6 will be the first in a series of events that focus on World War II. Coinciding with the museum’s new exhibit, “Bombshells, Bond Rallies & Blackouts,” Jack’s Cats, A Dixieland jazz band that focuses on World War II songs, will be featured at First Thursday in September. Two of the band members are World War II veterans and anyone who comes to First Thursday in a WWII uniform, or dressed in period clothes from WWII, will be admitted free.

Jack’s Cats, a group of nine men, are unified by their love for jazz and swing. Their name comes from Louis Armstrong who used the name “Jack” to address any male he didn’t know. He also used to address his audience with, “Hello out there all you Cats.” A Cat, he explained, was anyone — “a doctor, lawyer or a guy in the gutter, but as long as he is there with a good heart and enjoying the music, then he’s a Cat.”

Jack’s Cats often starts off with a salute to the armed forces with a medley of marches. Then the band goes into the Glenn Miller version of “The Saint Louis Blues.” The rest of the program consist of WWII songs and tunes popular on the Lucky Strike Hit Parade during WWII.

Everyone is welcome to join in this special WWII event from 5:30 to 6:30 pm on Thursday, September 6, in the Performing Arts Center of the Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center, 144 West Main Street. There is free admission for those who become a member that night and free admission to two First Thursdays for those who become a member and are dressed in WWII style. Otherwise, entrance for First Thursday is $7 for members in civilian clothes and $15 for nonmembers in civilian clothes.

The Mattatuck Museum has plenty of convenient parking directly behind the museum on Park Place. For more information about this event or any of the museum’s collections or programs, call 203-753-0381, extension 10, or visit MattatuckMuseum.org.