Intro: I have put this together from a letter from Bill Armstrong and a CD jacket. If you have any material suitable for inclusion here, please email it to webmaster@southbayjazz.org

Band History: The CSJB started with Palo Alto High School Students in 1974 and was meant to be a platform to introduce and expose young people to the “land of Jazz”. Of the original seven players, six are still performing.

Playing note for note arrangements is good, but Bill Armstrong wanted the members to listen to the original performers and develop their own feelings and style. Thanks to the arrangements of Lu Watters, Charlie Sonnenstein, Robin Wetterau, and Turk Murphy, those wonderful songs from the era of 1920-1930 were preserved and able to be presented in the on going search of jazz. Much of the band’s repertoire and style is patterned after the Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band and Turk Murphy Jazz Band.

During its 20 year history, the CSJB has played for many of the Bay Area jazz clubs and numerous Jazz Festivals, including the Sacramento, San Diego, Monterey, and Pismo Beach Festivals. They were also invited to play at the West Seattle Festival, the Puget Sound Jazz Club, and the Greater Connecticut Jazz Festival.

For 11 of those years (1981-1992), the band played every Sunday at the Flying Lady Restaurant in Morgan Hill. The Flying Lady Restaurant is now closed but the spirit of the music and its former members still lives on through these annual reunions.

Personnel From the original band, Paul Price, and Tom Small will be joined with long time regular,Tom Gates and John Stringer (52’nd Street Revival). Other regulars include Dave Richoux, Tom Brozene, Rick Siverson, Michael Kuntz, Sue Kroninger, and guests Manny Alcantar, and Andy Parker.

Joe Hopkins (Mesa AZ), Cal Abbott (Sun City, AZ), Chris Calabrese (Las Vegas) and Steve Apple have prior commitments and unfortunately will not be with us.