Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Reed.
Hi Steven, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Since this story is basically about my involvement with the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band, I’ll only need to go back ten years rather than the nearly 70 years I’ve been on this earth! Although growing up in a musical family certainly has something to do with my career choices, hobbies, and interests which have ultimately provided the opportunity to lead an adult jazz band like the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band.
I taught instrumental music in the public schools for 35 years retiring in 2010. With trumpet as my major instrument, I started out teaching band and jazz band in Southwest Michigan. My secondary instrument has always been the guitar which I played for my own enjoyment in high school and college but never professionally. The trumpet gave me a wide range of performance opportunities, including rock bands in college, jazz bands and combos, symphony bands, and symphony orchestras. Orchestral music eventually became the emphasis in my teaching career, and I was lucky enough to be in a school district that supported the development of a thriving Orchestra program culminating in four European Concert tours and a full-length performance in Carnegie Hall in New York in 2010.
Upon retiring from the public schools, I put together a jazz quintet with some old friends who had played together in the past. It wasn’t long before I got the phone call from a local adult jazz band that was looking for some leadership. The call went something like this – “Steve, now that you’re not doing anything, can you come and help us with the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band?” That was ten years ago, and it’s been a blast. Literally! My brass section has some of the most talented people around, and we make a lot of noise – good noise! Along with some excellent saxes and rhythm section players, some of whom were my jazz band students in high school; the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band is one of the area’s top performing groups. We also have two amazing vocalists, both male and female, who can do everything from Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder to Ella Fitzgerald and Diane Schurr.
Lake Effect Jazz works mainly in the summer performing in jazz festivals, parks, pavilions, yacht clubs, and even churches for special events. “Our mission is to promote the art of JAZZ through performance, education, and community outreach.” The band has been in existence for 22 years, and some of the members were in it from the start. These are committed musicians who come to rehearsal once a week from March to September and perform 12-15 concerts during that time frame. We have band directors, choral directors, engineers, business professionals, and retirees like myself who love to perform and work together to make some incredible music.
My job is to pick the repertoire for each performance and rehearse the band. It’s a full-time job during the summer when the band is performing practically every week. I also give myself the opportunity to play a solo or two from the front, but honestly, I never want to take solo spots away from band members who deserve their special moments as well. We’re a 22-member team with plenty of personalities, but the end result is always about the music.
What do we play? I try to make each setlist a variety pack of styles. We’re not the traditional Glenn Miller-sounding 30’s big band group although we sometimes reach back and play some of the old music. We like to play modern arrangements and compositions that are exciting and challenging for the band and the audience. Jazz music has a tremendous history with truly American roots, but it’s still alive today in many forms. We try to emulate as many of those styles as possible in our shows. One of our most popular performances is a Frank Sinatra tribute which we do at local college we call “Fly Me To The Moon.” We turn the place into a nightclub for an evening of music, dance, food, and beverage. It’s become an annual fundraiser for the Citadel Dance and Music Center in Benton Harbor. The band is featured along with both of our vocalists.
The old adage that ‘music keeps you young’ is certainly true with the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band. When we hear the positive response from our audiences, and people dancing in their seats, we’re energized. Big band jazz is exciting to play and exciting to listen to and if done professionally is extremely rewarding. That’s our goal and my goal in leading this band.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the reasons I responded positively to the request to lead this band was that it was already a very organized group. There was a very capable manager who booked the gigs, handled the money, kept track of substitute players, and handled the contracts with venues. That’s huge! Brad Jenson was one of the original members and had kept the fires burning for all those years. His wife, Anne, plays 2nd Alto and handles the library tasks. That is also huge! Filing the music, stuffing the folders each season, handling extra parts – library work is labor intensive. Anne also handles much of the publicity and printing. The two of them are critical to the success of the group and I wouldn’t have taken the job if they hadn’t been willing to keep doing their jobs.
Our keyboardist stores all the PA equipment at his house and brings all of it to each performance. He also helps set it all up. Very valuable. And one of our former members who still subs with us occasionally owns a sound company. Expertise that is so very important to a performing band like ours.
So, from an organizational standpoint, we’ve been fortunate. The struggles have to do mainly with personnel. When someone suddenly can’t make a gig and has to pull out at the last minute it becomes a nightmare sometimes to fill the spot. Everyone is important! Each player has their own part, so we literally cannot go without someone.
A most recent example was our bass player testing positive for Covid at 3:00 pm on a Tuesday, our rehearsal night. That wouldn’t be so bad, but we had three performances the same week, so he was quarantined for the entire week missing the rehearsal and all three gigs. Our backup bass player was in the hospital. It required a very special player that could read some very difficult charts on no rehearsal and somehow be available the entire week. We got lucky! A former student of one of our vocalists came through at the last minute. He hadn’t played much after graduating from college, so by the end of the week, he had blisters over all of his fingers from playing the string bass. But he did a fabulous job and had a blast!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I would say one of my strengths is getting along with people and in particular other musicians and motivating them to up their game within the musical context of whatever group I’m working with. I still work with high school students in the Fine Arts program at the high school I taught at for over 30 years. I’ve also been asked to help with the Varsity Tennis Team as well. These are great kids who respect adults and want to improve in whatever they’re doing.
With the adult big band, I feel like we’ve come a long way in ten years from the aspect of professionalism and style. I learned from some of the best players and teachers in college and in professional arts organizations after graduation. Applying that knowledge to the rehearsing of the adult group has been beneficial to our sound and our audience response. I feel like it’s also more rewarding to perform with a band that actually rehearses!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Join professional organizations. I was president of the Michigan American String Teachers Association, Vice President for Orchestra Activities for the Michigan Band and Orchestra Association, and president of the St. Joseph Teachers Association. These are professional groups with members that have unlimited resources and knowledge. Learn from those that came before you! Steal their ideas! They will be honored that you have done so.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lakeeffectjazz.org
- Facebook: lake effect jazz big band
