Bertha Coolidge

Bertha Coolidge was born in the heyday of the Black Dog Jazz Jam sessions, where all 4 members were the house band for the jam for several years beginning around 1996. Wanting more than just the jazz standards they played every Sunday, they decided to write a handful of original tunes and in the summer of 2000 Bertha Coolidge was born. In less than a year from their inception they did a live recording at Caravan of Dreams (the last recording to ever be made there) and ended up winning album of the year in 2001 at the Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards - A first for an instrumental "jazz" group in that category.

In the fall of 2001 drummer Rich Stitzel moved to Chicago, and bassist Aden Bubeck began touring with Miranda Lambert but still the band has maintained regularly scheduled reunion shows every January in Fort Worth for the past 14 years. The other two members of the band are veterans of iconic proportion in the DFW music scene, Paul Metzger on guitars, and Joey Carter on vibraphone and organ.