Jump Street Swing Band

By JOEnE KUNSE
Special to The Oakland Press
The Jump Street Swing Band
enjoys enthusiastic responses
from audiences such as those
attending the
Waterford
Community
Presbyterian
Church con·
cert series.
"1 want to give you four stars!
Thank you for such a wonder·
ful night of music!" was posted
on their blog.
The 17-piece big band was
formed in 2002 by Brandon
Township residents Karen and
Eric Simons.
"The band's instrumentation
remains true to the big bands
of yesterday with five saxophones,
four trumpets, four
trombones, bass, keyboards,
and percussion," Eric Simons
said.
"Singer John Telford handles
the vocals with a wonderful
baritone voice, which is well
suited for classics such as
Wonderful World by Louis
Armstrong," he said.
"Jump Street Band has
played with the middle and
high school jazz bands at
Brandon High School," Simons
said. "We are staunch sup·
porters of the Brandon music
program.
"The Brandon Music
Director subs on the trumpet,"
Simons said.
Most of the band members
began their music careers in
school music programs.
The musicians come from a
wide range of professions, said
Simons.
"We have a Chrysler retiree
that worked in automotive relations,
robotic and automotive
engineers, a retired educator,
a building trades worker, a
student from University of
Michigan, and our drummer is
a retired military band member,"
Simons said.
"Swing dancing is a universally
accepted dance form. It is
fascinating for young people to
see parents and grandparents
dance to the music. There is
a swing dancing subculture
with dances in old ballrooms
with wooden floors such as
the Lafayette Grand ballroom
in Pontiac, which has one of
the best dance floors around,"
Simons said.
The band plays classic
tunes of the 1930s and 1940s.
Contemporary arrangements
for swing bands by the Brian
Setzer Orchestra and Big
Bad Voodoo Daddy add more
energy to the swing pieces, says
Simons. The band also uses
arrangements by Jim Martin,
a trombone prodigy from
Michigan State University.
FYI
For information about The
JumR Street Swing Band,
call (248) 627-1050. vis~
www.jumpstreetswingband.
com or send an e-mail 10
info@jumpstreetswingband.
com.
The band adds show tunes to
their repertoire, which work
well with a big band sound.
"It is most important for us
to please the crowd," Simons
said. "We also challenge the
band with more and more difficult
music. We also like to
play tunes that feature certain
players.
"We just love it when we see
people's faces and hear their
memories of the vocals that are
part of the band performance,"
Simons added.
During their Armed Forces
Medley, their band plays music
from the Glenn Miller, Tommy
Dorsey and Benny Goodman
bands. The program can
include songs such as "Save the
Last Dance for Me" to "I've Got
My Love to Keep Me Warm,"
"What a Wonderful World" and
"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy,"
The Jump Street Band was
adjudicated for the Michigan
Humanities Tour Directory and
a venue can apply for a grant
from the organization to hold a
performance by the band.
"We provide a good family
evening with local musicians,
and that is our gift to the community,"
Simons said.
. The band recently played
at the Waterford Community
Presbyterian Music series
and other engagements have
included Christ of King
Church in Oxford, Canterbury
in Lake Orion, Albion College,
Michigan State Dance Club and
the Elks Club of Richmond,
Ind. The Jump Street Swing Band, based In Brandon Township - Oakland Press