Photograph by Robert Scheer
Jazz Society member Jack Cedar puffs his cheeks on the soprano sax.
By Anne Gelhaus
In 1971, about half a dozen local jazz musicians looking for a gig decided to create their own venue and formed a loose organization called "Do-It-Yourself Dixieland." The group first jammed at Sunnyvale's Bold Knight in May of that year.
In the ensuing 25 years, "Do-It-Yourself Dixieland" metamorphosed into the South Bay Traditional Jazz Society, now 600 members strong. The society will celebrate its silver anniversary June 23 at its regular monthly meeting at the Bold Knight.
These "meetings" are actually combinations of performances by a Dixieland band and jam sessions featuring society members. The jazz society attracts both musicians and fans to its fold, and folks from all over the Bay Area attend the monthly sessions to play, dance or just listen to the music.
Sunnyvale resident Tom Howell, a member of the jazz society since its inception, falls into the latter group.
"I'm not a musician: I piddle around with a banjo," Howell says. "I've been a very interested spectator. I just love to go down there and hear good music, have a beer and dance a little. Most members who aren't musicians are in the same category."
Howell's current favorites, the Devil Mountain Jazz Band, are set to play the anniversary show along with the CanUS Quartet from Canada. Howell recalls that in the early days of the jazz society, there weren't a lot of local Dixieland bands: Rather, the society helped bring together some bands that now perform on the international circuit.
Far from being an insular group, the jazz society participates in multiple community activities around the South Bay. Board member Howell is in charge of parade participation. He organized the group that marched in last month's Los Altos Pet Parade.
"I get a Dixieland band together on a fire truck, and we have parasolers strut alongside," Howell says.
Jazz society members also network with people from similar organizations at festivals from Santa Cruz to Stockton to Sisters, Ore., to Seattle, Wash. The annual Sacramento Jazz Jubilee is a big draw and a favorite of Sunnyvale residents Cathy and Otto Mack, who go every year.
"Some of the musicians from other countries are unbelievable," Cathy Mack says of the jubilee's talent roster.
At this year's jubilee, Mack adds, a local band showed up minus its bassist and piano player, and a Russian bass player volunteered to sit in, along with an elderly woman from the audience who played piano.
"It was one of the best sets I heard all day," she says. "It's amazing that people could get together and play like that, especially since they didn't even have a common language."
The Macks have been jazz society members for about seven years. Cathy says Otto plays drums at the monthly jam sessions "whenever they need a drummer. Have drums will travel."
Mack enjoys listening to Dixieland, and she also likes the social aspects of the society.
Like Howell, Mack is a big fan of the Devil Mountain Jazz Band.
"The clarinetist can play bird calls in time to the music," she says. "That blows my mind. It's not your average musical instrument."
Howell says the jazz society has become more structured over the years out of necessity: In the beginning, the group's main method of raising money was to pass around an empty Clorox bottle to collect coins at gigs.
"We didn't used to pay rent [to the Bold Knight]," Howell says, "and bands don't play for nothing any more."
To cover these costs, the group charges annual membership fees of $19 per individual and $29 per couple, and admission to its monthly sessions runs $6-$8.
"That's still cheap," Howell insists. "A lot of our members are senior citizens, and they can't afford a big cover charge."
Although most of the jazz society's members are older adults, publicist Rich Owens says Dixieland music appeals to the younger generation as well. He points out that the Alley Cats, an all-teenager band from Lodi, played at February's jam session.
To "pass the torch" to the next generation, Owens says, the jazz society helps raise money for music scholarships.
Owens, a Sunnyvale resident, joined the jazz society about three years ago. He plays piano in three different Dixieland bands.
"The music has a tendency to cross cultural lines," Owens adds. "That's what's powerful about it. I like Dixieland because it's full of energy. It's something that's definitely American, but there are different styles in different parts of the country."
For Owens, the joy of Dixieland is in the playing of it.
"I also enjoy listening to it and learning about the history behind it," he says, "but it's not as satisfying as being on stage. The beauty of getting together with other musicians is that you get unpredictable mixes of styles, and you can work with other people to make neat things happen on stage."
The South Bay Traditional Jazz Society's 25th anniversary celebration is set for June 23, noon-6 p.m., at the Bold Knight, 769 N. Mathilda. Tickets are $12. Call 247-3794.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, June 19, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.