Before Elvis Presley told us not to step on his blue suede shoes, before The Beatles wanted to hold our hand, and before the Beegees told us to stay alive, American popular music wasn’t dominated by electric guitars, but by swinging brass sections, intricate drumming, and bouncing bass lines. This was the era of big band jazz.
The defining musical ensemble from the 1930s through the 1940s, the big band is remembered with iconic names like Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman. These innovators wrote music that spanned genres and also adapted favorites from their yesteryear.
Director of the local ensemble Riptide Big Band, Judy Lindquist, a retired high school band director, knows well that big band didn’t go out of style after rock ’n’ roll took center stage. Generations of American band students study big band jazz styles, from swing to Latin jazz and beyond, she said. Because of this, she explained, composers and arrangers are always setting music for that kind of ensemble, which includes extensive brass sections, bass, rhythm section, and drums.
Thanks to the vast range of music set for the big band—including music that later overtook the ensemble, like rock ’n’ roll—Lindquist has been able to keep the set list for the Riptide Big Band varied enough to keep things interesting at the group’s monthly performances at the Elwin Mussel Senior Center. The group performs each month, usually with a theme uniting the program, she said, which sometimes isn’t too formal.
“We did our October dance on the 11th, and it’s kind of funny, but we were trying to avoid Oktoberfest because we’re not a polka band,” she said, laughing. “We can play polkas of course, but it’s not something most of us really enjoy doing so much.”
They chose the middle of the month to avoid a Halloween theme as well, she explained, and the Oct. 11 concert ended up celebrating Eleanor Roosevelt’s birthday. The group is currently preparing for its upcoming concert on Nov. 8, titled Riptide Plays Broadway and the Movies, which calls for a number of hits already in the group’s wheelhouse, Lindquist said.
Many songs considered jazz standards originate from Broadway, Lindquist said, like “Blue Skies,” by Irving Berlin, which was penned in 1926. As films took off, so did the songs featured in them. Many of these famous tunes were adapted to the big band by composers of the time, and arrangers have continued to tinker with the chords and melodies ever since, Lindquist said.
“That’s what we’re focusing in on,” she said, “the things that people will remember but don’t really realize where they came from or how old they are.”
The lush and rhythmic arrangements Lindquist selects for Riptide include vocals as well, she said. The group showcases two singers, Bob Nations and Holly Williams, who croon the familiar melodies while the band offers support.
The arrangements also include spaces for improvisation—the bread and butter of jazz music—which a number of Riptide’s horn players are more than adept at, Lindquist said.
“We’ve got a mix of professionals, semi-pros, and amateurs,” she said. “We’re just a local group having a good time with our music.”
Though the upcoming concert will showcase Riptide’s skill with tried and true big band repertoire, the group isn’t averse to trying new things, Lindquist said. Another more recent concert the group performed was a 1950s sock hop, which focused primarily on rock ’n’ roll.
“This band has been pretty flexible, and when we say, ‘OK, we’re going to work on some rock ’n’ roll music,’ maybe there are a couple of groans, because it’s not typical,” she said. “But we are a versatile group in a way that we’ve been able to adapt for a lot of that stuff.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne can be reached at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2015.