About Us
Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies is an Austin, Texas based collection of talent and artistry that seeks to embody, in today’s terms, the very essence of the hot jazz and swing music prevalent from the 1910-1940’s. Each Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies performance is a family oriented event filled with dancing, romance, educated humor, and cosmopolitan sophistication. The Babies are not a retrospective, sentimental group that longs for days gone by. Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies is a spontaneous and passionate band that celebrates the sheer joy and treasures of living through song for the enjoyment of everyone.
The Individual Members of Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies are:
- Grand General Ryan J. Gould – String Bass
- Tartan Purry – Clarinet, Saxophone
- King Crazy Oliver Steck – Trumpet, Accordion
- Mark “Speedy” Gonzales – Trombone
- Professor Joseph Cordi – Piano, Accordion
- Frank Lee Devine – Guitar
Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies are a diverse collection of talented, fun-loving, and knowledgeable personalities. The following are individual biographies for each member of Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies. Please click on the “Our Adventures” link at the right side of this page to learn more about the Babies, our extraordinary adventures, and incredible friends.
 Grand General Ryan J. Gould |
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| The world renown warrior and musician, Grand General Ryan J. Gould, hails from Pennsylvania and retired from active duty at the close of the Civil War.Traditional Appalachian folklore places his discovery of the Fountain of Youth in Virginia during the Civil War and indicates he placed a sampling of its waters into hiding before the Fountain was accidentally destroyed and forever sealed by advancing Confederate Soldiers.General Gould has written numerous books regarding combat tactics which all still hold the Top Secret security classification and is the world’s foremost expert in the field. General Gould’s love for black eyed peas, which were unavailable in his native Pennsylvania during his early formative years, compelled him to relocate to the Republic of Texas at the close of the Civil War. | ARSJB | This hardy mountain climber from New Orleans, Louisiana has performed extensively with various Roma gypsy clans throughout southern France and is also known as the Oracle of Delphi. Tartan’s historic ascent to the crest of Mount Everest accompanied by his grandfather and their New Orleans brass band ensemble, an accomplishment that predates Sir George Mallory’s ascent by three years, is routinely omitted from modern history texts.J. Edgar Hoover’s declassified personal files conjecture that Tartans’s exchange of a fruit for a vegetable while cooking Aunt Ruby’s Funny Bubbles in 1956 ultimately led to what has come to be known as the “Hippie Movement” in the United States. There is presently no official record of Tartan’s comments regarding this matter. |
 King Crazy Oliver Steck |
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| King Steck’s masterful trumpet tone has its origins in the spirited speakeasies of his native Chicago, Illinois. A naturally gifted Shakespearean actor and vaudevillian troubadour, King Steck’s legendary stage and cinema roles during the 1920’s and 1930’s, all performed under a pseudonym, captivated the civilized world and catalyzed the creation of the entertainment industry.King Steck single handedly developed public relations strategies and coordinated their execution with the United States Government when an alien spaceship crashed near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. He also conceived of and discretely orchestrated the relocation of the purported Roswell alien spaceship debris to Antarctica for technological harvesting by the premier scientists of all first world nations. | ARS | Master craftsman, artisan, independent consultant, and certified blonde Italian, Professor Cordi has played for a multitude of political leaders and intellectuals on all continents and the seven seas. His historic voluminous recordings made at the fabulous Chateau de Bordeaux in the early 1930’s remain a highly sought afterand seldom seen commodity on the antiquities black market. Professor Cordi was also responsible for the very first recording of Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies on magnetic tape captured from the Nazis during the Babies’ travels with the French Underground. That classic Babies recording has not been located to date. Professor Cordi endowed the Cordi Trust which routinely provides wood related consulting services to first world countries and educational institutions. |
 Mark "Speedy" Gonzales |
Gifted musician, programmer, arranger, and inventor, Mark “Speedy” Gonzales was raised in Pennsylvania. He originated the beloved horn arrangements that have become synonimous with the “motown” soul and funk styles of James Brown and George Clinton. His travels along the west coast during the 1940’s and 1950’s brought him into contact with Merve Griffin, who needed a host of sound effects for his game show “Jeopardy”. Mark quickly developed the now ubiquitous game show “buzzer” for Griffin, an effect which is now the mainstay of the television industry. During this era, he met Mel Blanc, who modeled his portrayal of the famous cartoon character “Speedy Gonzales” after Mark. His glorious tone and personal charm endear him to the ladies – for this he is known as the “Landmine of Love”. Ladies who stand too close to Speedy may be overwhelmed with passion. | |
 Frank Lee Devine |
Mr. Devine was born in international waters off the coast of Galveston, Texas and raised by itinerate Romanian fishermen. Mr. Devine’s groundbreaking space vehicle research with the U. S. Government has earned him world acclaim as a scientist and an engineer. Although sought after by world leaders, rapscallions, and various thrill seekers, Mr. Devine lives quietly in a secluded hillside bungalow on the outskirts of Austin, Texas and periodically consults for the United States Government. His public appearances are limited to those involving his research interests and musical activities. | |
Because the Babies have amassed a wealth of stories and experiences spanning multiple decades, it is unfortunately not possible to relate all of them on this website. Snippets of this additional historical information are always provided at each Babies public appearance in order to help resolve the historical record and urban legends.
Some Famous Quotations Concerning the Babies
“You are incredibly talented and such a refreshment from the other Austin junk. Thank you for resurrecting my belief in the entertainment industry.” – Lisa Howard, 2006.
“Die Babies sind in Deutschland verboten” — Adolf Hitler, 1939 (English: The Babies are forbidden in Germany)
“Every song from Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies is a, how do you say in America, monumentum aere perennius !” — Dominic Perikretes, Minneapolis Museum of the Antiquities, 1917
“More ! More ! Give us more Babies !!” — Z. Ferd Goldsmith, 1984
“When I was only a boy living in Galveston–a nobody, I learned all about the human soul, and music, and how to combine them into an innocent and beautiful golden love cupcake from hearing the sweet sounds of Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies purring through my Mother’s radio.” — Barry White, 1993
“…catching Aunt Ruby’s Sweet Jazz Babies is all that matters to me now…” — J. Edgar Hoover, 1963.
“Vive la Babies!” — Charles De Gaulle, 1944
“I wish I was Aunt Ruby.” — Mae West, 1931.
“The first time I heard them boys play “I’m Coming Virginia” in 1928 made me so homesick that to get my mind off Momma I fried up some chicken. But I couldn’t eat it all, so I gave the leftovers to my neighbor and now I’m a millionaire.” — Colonel Harland Sanders, 1967.
