The Pachyderms are a band of thick-skinned, wild and woolly, occasionally amorous, usually broke, and always hungry purveyors of zany swing, R&B, and rock & roll, drawing from our heroes, Louis Jordan, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Chuck Berry.

The Pachyderms (“thick skin”, appropriately) have been herding, migrating, dust-bathing, and entertaining together for well over thirty years. They claim musical roots from before the dawn of Rock and Roll, back to the Woolly Mammoths.

They consist of Augie Sabini on saxophone and anecdotes, Jack Kraft on piano and rebuttals, with Gary Solomon on the bass, keeping a strong grip on the bottom. Abe Speller provides a steady, plodding, shuffling, occasionally urgent, beat on the drums.

A typical evening with The Pachyderms will reveal the influence of Louis Jordan, Chuck Berry, Fats Waller, George Burns, Ralph Kramden, The Three Stooges, the Marx brothers, the Smothers Brothers, Spike Jones, Louis Prima, John Miele, Drew Eastwick, The Elephant Man, and Dumbo the Elephant.

They feature unique original material, including the tasty “I Like to Eat”, the environmentally-conscious “Twilight in Bayonne”, the haunting “Jack Benny (A Cheapskate’s Lament)”, the overhyped “The Coffee Song”, and their unforgettable signature song, “Big Butts are Back In”.

A Pachyderm performance is not something you’d want to miss. And they’ve never sounded better.