Queen's Cartoonists swing through tunes and cartoons

            All the way from the lights and sounds of New York City, The Queen’s Cartoonists brought their swing era cartoon inspired show to the George Daily Auditorium in Oskaloosa on Thursday, Nov. 10.

            The sextet, formed by pianist/composer Joel Pierson, drew their inspiration from a deep catalogue of fast paced, comical music commonly known from Looney Tunes cartoons stuck in TV viewer’s heads since the dawn of cartoon animations in the late 1920s. Audience members both young and aged tapped their toes along to instantly recognizable tunes, some of which were played along with cartoon clips projected on the auditorium’s big screen. All six of the musicians, each with a rich musical background in genres including swing and classical, were given a chance to shine as individuals and mainly as a tight group.

            “I formed this group because I was looking for a way to meet musicians in New York, where I had just moved a couple of years ago,” Pierson said. “I had a number of hair-brained ideas, and this was the one I thought would get the most attention. Within a couple weeks, I had a whole band together.”

            Since its inception, The Queen’s Cartoonists has performed coast to coast, keeping the swing compositions of Carl Stalling for Warner Bros alive in much the same way cartoons still do today. The group also performed pieces to original animation created by Oskaloosa grade students, bringing to life paper, shadow and claymation like on the silver screen.

            “We have performed with music students many times in the past, but this is the first time we performed with art students,” Pierson said. “It was great and incorporates so well into our show.”

            Outside of the classic, wacky compositions, The Queen’s Cartoonists took on modern tunes from Stars Wars and Frozen, even dressing as characters from the latter. All the while, audience members chuckled and danced in their chairs to more than 80 years worth of melodies featured in Bugs Bunny clips and for many other unforgettable cartoon creations. 

            “I keep my ears open to quirky music all the time,” Pierson said. “Whatever we can pull together, that’s pretty much what we play.”