5&dime's bio

JACK WOLWORTH
aka 5&Dime

"Wolworth is truly a musical renaissance man.” - The Week, News Magazine, USA

“Legendary” - Cultureartsmusic.org

“I couldn't have wished for a stauncher associate.” -Andy Roberts, Composer, England, UK

“Jack is not only technically impressive, but plays every note with feeling.” - American Harmonica News Magazine, USA

“Fabulous performance at the Atlanta History Center.” - Richard Cohen - Music Critic, USA
Jack Wolworth aka 5&Dime, is a self-taught professional Guitarist-Composer-Orchestrator/Arranger, and Songwriter.
In 1990 Jack was nominated for an Arts Midwest Jazz Masters Award. As a Self Taught Freelance Musician, 5&Dime developed the same skill set band arrangers like Onzie Horne Sr with BB King, or Joe Scott with Bobby "Blue" Bland used, and has performed with international Jazz and Blues musicians. Blues Musicians:
Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Maria Muldaur, John Primer, Pine Top Perkins, Sam Carr, Phil Guy, Billy Branch, Jimmy Johnson, Floyd Murphy Sr, Odie Payne Jr, “Little Smokey” Smothers, Louisiana Red , “Weepin'”Tommy Brown, Major Henry Hamberlin, Allen Batts
Jazz Musicians:
Ashley"Superbone" Alexander, Sax Mallard, Bobby Roberts, Tony Scodwell, Chuck Hedges, George Pritchett, Mike Alongi, John Baney, Eddie DeHaas, Warren Kime, Willie Thomas, Dave Remington, Jack Brand, Kay Berigan…and many more
As Orchestrator/Arranger, Jack's published works include Broadway favorite Charles Strouse's (Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, film Bonnie & Clyde) musical adaptation of Charlotte's Web, Liverpool’s renowned poet/lyricist Adrian Mitchell and composer Andy Roberts' (Plainsong, Pink Floyd The Wall) adaptation of The Patchwork Girl of Oz, and Emmy award winner Allen Jay Friedman's adaptations Winnie the Pooh and Shakespeare and the Indians. In 1998, Blues legend Billy Boy Arnold requested Jack to write manuscripts of Mr. Arnold's songs.

In 2018 Jack wrote an orchestration/arrangement for a special performance of BB Kings hit The Thrill Is Gone at The Great Lakes Steelpan Festival scored for seven steelpans and vibraphone to accompany his juke joint style duo The Original Delta Fireballs. “Later in the concert, about seven pans will be joining them, and its more of a traditional Blues band, but with steelpan in it”, {Matt} Potts said. “I think everybody is going to be blown away by that. It's going to be so cool. As far as we know, there isn't anybody else who's ever done this before.”- The Northwest Herald News Paper

During 1997 and 1998, Wolworth was hired by the Hofner Company of Germany ( a Boosey & Hawkes company) as a freelance consultant for their Jazzica Special, and Nightingale Special model guitars.

He has played top Blues festivals across the nation, including three of the most important blues festivals in the most historical Blues locations in the world: The Chicago Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, AR., and The Sunflower River Blues Festival in Clarksdale, MS.

Jack performed on the soundtrack of The Art of Heflin, a video documentary of artist/painter Tom Heflin. He is featured on The Original Delta Fireballs at The Hotel Mead a video production of River City Community Access, and has appeared in TV commercials for the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau. He has appeared on news programs of NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox networks.

Jack has appeared on print music magazine covers of Big City Rhythm & Blues and IL Blues (Milano, Italy), and has appeared as well as been featured in many more.

Jack has performed at some of the most revered Blues/Jazz nightclubs in the world:
The Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago, IL
Buddy Guys Legends, Chicago, IL,
The Back Room, Chicago, IL
B.L.U.E.S., Chicago, IL
Rosa's Chicago, IL B.L.U.E.S. Etc., Chicago, IL Ground Zero, Clarksdale, MS The Delta Blues Room, Clarksdale, MS The Blues Station, Clarksdale, MS
Huey's, Memphis, TN Blind Willie's Atlanta, GA Zoo Bar, Lincoln, NE Key Palace Theatre, Redkey, IN

A Record Producer, Jack produced a Geneva Red and the Roadsters 45rpm single In 1996 for Full Cyrkle Records. Then in 1997, producing Geneva Red and the Roadsters compact disk Alley Ways for Full Cyrkle, followed in 2005 by their CD Gettin' Cocky for Bottle Cap Records. In 2006 he produced The Original Delta Fireballs CD, Come On With It - LIVE released on Bottle Cap. He has recorded at some of the most notable studios including the historical Sun Studio in Memphis TN, and Shade Tree Studios at the original Playboy Club Resort in Lake Geneva WI, among others.

In 1989 Jack created, produced, and hosted Jazz Works, a sixteen program radio series for Getzen Musical Instruments Ltd.

He has been interviewed live on various radio stations around the U.S.A. including the longest running Blues music program in the world King Biscuit Time, with legendary host Sunshine Sonny Payne on station KFFA in Helena AK..

He has performed for musical instrument manufacturing industry events, including the companies of Yamaha, Boosey & Hawkes, Getzen Musical Instruments Ltd, being featured as well as backing their guest artists. A few other well known corporations he performed for are Pepsico, S.C. Johnson, IDM Hospitality Corp, and The Marcus Corp.

Jack's work has included pit band and orchestra performances, playing guitar and banjo for classic musicals like Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, The Sound of Music, and Grease to mention a few.

Jack moonlights as a Dixieland Banjo player working with popular regional Traditional Jazz bands like The Monday Morning Dixie Band.

Supporting music education in our school systems regionally as well as nationally, Jack has been a guest speaker/performer and as an Artist In Residence, conducted many music workshops for young people and adults. In 2018 he was commisioned by The Blues Commitee in Lima OH, to write two 17 piece steelpan band arrangements, adding pans to Geneva Red's Harmonica Artist In Residence at the Liberty Arts Magnet school in Lima, OH. On March 1, 2019 these pieces were performed in a public concert by the Liberty Arts Magnet student steelpan band in combination with Red's residency harmonica students. This was the first time in history that a large orchestrated steelpan section was added to accompany a Blues band, The Original Delta Fireballs, in an academic institution, breaking new ground in not only the Steelpan genre, but Blues education, also.

Jack is a member of both Geneva Red & The Roadsters (since 1994), and The Original Delta Fireballs (since 2000), and continues to freelance when he can. He has written many songs for these two bands, and their recordings have charted on Blues radio play lists around the world.

Jack was a founding member of the southern Wisconsin regional ensemble The Jazz Players Big Band. He held the guitar chair, and composed arrangements for the band from 1980-1995. He has performed in The Madison Jazz Orchestra under the direction of founder Dennis Oliver.
Jack is a member of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.).
At two to three years old, Jack had already found an affinity for music. It was then that he first began to "noodle away" on an old Kimball grand piano that sat in the parlor of his Aunt and Uncle's Milwaukee apartment above the family-owned funeral home. The only rule was, he had to stop playing when the organist began playing downstairs. Moving to the university town of Ann Arbor MI in 1960, young Jack was exposed to the Folk music of Pete Seeger and the Kingston Trio when his father, through the encouragement of a banjo playing college staffer who lived across the street, took up trying to play a brand new Kay acoustic guitar. Jack learned to sing songs like Irene Goodnight and 500 Miles, singing along with his mom and dad. A few years later he even tried to learn to play that big Kay guitar by studying the Pete Seeger folk guitar method book his dad had, but he was to young to finger the chords well. Instead of being frustrated, he made a few of his own chords with a couple of notes he could reach and even made fingering diagrams like he saw in the Seeger book, making up his own letter names like the chord of Z. Years later, and now living in New Jersey, Jack received a $37 electric guitar for his twelfth birthday that he plugged into an old RCA television console. The TV worked fine as his first amplifier. It was Blues and Jazz that drew his interest from here on out. His first official performing engagement was for the local branch of the Future Farmers Of America at age sixteen. By twenty one he was already an established professional musician and he has constantly broadened his abilities through the years achieving success not only as a fine instrumentalist, but as an accomplished composer, orchestrator, and arranger also.
Some 5&Dime photos

Gallery

Bobby Roberts gtr, Eddie DeHass b, and Tony Vitale d, with Jack Wolworth gtr, Don Deal and the Jazz Players Big Band.
Jack Wolworth gtr, John Baney b, Kay Berigan t, Chuck Hedges clr, and Charles McFarland d.
The Jazz Players Big Band -Woody Herman memorial tribute at the Phister hotel Milwaukee WI
The Jazz Players Big Band with Getzen artist Warren Kime. Jack Wolworth gtr, Warren Kime t, Dennis Oliver b, Tom Palmer P, and JJ Jenkins d.
Jack Wolworth at Victoria amps, taking delivery of the 5&Dime model
Charles Strouse and collaborator Jack Wolworth
Victoria's Mark Baier trying out 5&Dimes setup at his shop
Hofner consultant Jack Wolworth gigs with a Jazzica Special prototype