Retiring on a high note

By JOHN HOWELL
Posted 10/17/19

By JOHN HOWELL Lloyd Kaplan is calling it a swan song when he and the Aristocats play a mix of swing and Dixieland this Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Pump House in South Kingstown, although Kaplan, as well as his friends, knows he won't put away his

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Retiring on a high note

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Lloyd Kaplan is calling it a swan song when he and the Aristocats play a mix of swing and Dixieland this Sunday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Pump House in South Kingstown, although Kaplan, as well as his friends, knows he won’t put away his clarinet.

Kaplan, 86, says it’s tough for him to be on the road, not to mention standing at performances, so this will be his final public appearance.

Music is part of his being and, as out of place as it may seem, so are puns such as, “during the times of the plague in old Italy, infected sopranos became known as choleraturas” or “when preachers become too impressed by their own skills, they develop altar egos.”

Puns aside, Kaplan has been playing an instrument ever since he attended Sayles Junior High School in Pawtucket. He went on to Pawtucket West, which was later named for Charles Shea, who Kaplan remembers as principal. Kaplan graduated in 1951 and, not really knowing what he wanted to do as a career, enlisted in the U.S. Army.

“I woke up in the Army,” said Kaplan. His talent recognized, Kaplan became a member of the band at Fort Bliss, Texas.

“I started with the clarinet and ended up the tenor sax,” he said. He eventually went back to the clarinet where he feels much more at home.

After serving two years in the Army, Kaplan returned to Rhode Island, where he played in a number of bands including Tony Abbott’s swing band. He also put together his own groups, which led to the Aristocats.

“That’s cats, not rats,” Kaplan said, pointing out that his daughter Marjorie came up with the name.

Band members include Stan Holtzman on piano, Joe Holtzman on drums, Dennis Pratt on bass, Jack Martin on trumpet and Brandon Stubbs, “a kid from Brown,” on the pocket trumpet.

Kaplan said Sunday’s show would be Brandon’s first professional appearance.

Kaplan was shy on details about his career, saying, “I’ve been so lucky, having so much fun doing what I like to do … teach, play music and write corny jokes.”

The corny puns he attributes to a schoolteacher who had a way with words that had him laughing. Kaplan came up with his own puns that found their way into a self-published book “Punderings” and the editorial page of the Beacon under the heading “Kaplan’s Krazy Korner.”

A few samplings:

“If one binged and ate 288 candy bars, that would simply be ‘two gross.’”

“If a parochial school hired someone to teach a sex education course, chances are that teacher would be a ‘lay person.’”

“If the great poet who wrote ‘Songs and Sonnets’ had later become a citizen of Finland, he would be Donne before he was Finnish.”

Kaplan and Sheila have been married for 59 years and, as he says, “I’m still trying to figure her out.” He said she is very patient and a “good roadie.” The roadie, he explains, is the one who carries stands and other paraphernalia needed for performances.

Kaplan’s son, Mitchell, has followed in his father’s footsteps. He is a music teacher. Their daughter, Marjorie Seidenfeld is a pediatrician and clinic director at Barnard College. The Kaplans have five grandchildren.

Kaplan aims to keep teaching at URI and at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in South Carolina, where he has taught for a number of years. The institute is a 4-month gig where Kaplan teaches adults who are 50 years old and older.

“It’s a thrill to teach,” he said. “You learn so much in the process.”

He has similar feeling for music and was not lost for words when asked why he likes playing.

“It’s the best feeling that I get,” he said. “In the process you get charged up so you’re on a high without drugs.”

Kaplan gave a sampling of his passion for playing when he visited the Beacon Monday. He brought along his clarinet, more for a photo than anything. It didn’t take much prompting, however, for him to get out a reed, moisten it, and play a jazzy tune for Columbus Day.

Also, he left a copy of “Punderings.”It was enough to have us wondering what might be in store on Sunday.

Tickets cost $15. Kaplan is quick to add there’s an open buffet. He should have no “treble” filling the place.

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