THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 6, 1996 TAG: 9604060326
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARSHA GILBERT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
In 1957, Bob Fischbeck and his six friends knew they liked to play New Orleans-style jazz.
So they got together with their instruments and formed the Chesapeake Bay Jass Band (using the old style spelling of the word jazz) and started performing in clubs around Hampton Roads.
On a good weekend, they would play from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club, and then from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Norfolk Boat Club. They worked full-time jobs during the week.
``We played traditional jazz,'' said Fischbeck, 73, a Norfolk native. ``We didn't play the Top 40. We played the bottom 80 tunes that came from New Orleans.''
By 1958, their careers in education and business pulled them in different directions and, one by one, most of them moved to other states.
Some 39 years after they became a band, they are coming back to the church where it all began for a reunion concert.
Saturday, at the Unitarian Church of Norfolk, the Chesapeake Bay Jass Band will raise money for the church while introducing a new generation to the Dixieland beat and reminding older generations of the music they used to love.
``When You're Smiling,'' ``Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree,'' ``Snake Rag'' and ``Sailing Down the Chesapeake Bay'' are the crowd-pleasers in their repertoire.
The reunion lineup includes original members Fischbeck on clarinet and soprano saxophone; Stan Vincent on trombone; Jean Kittrell on piano; Ed Kittrell on cornet; and Bob Giles on banjo. Don Franz will be filling in for the late Ben Splan on tuba, and Bernie Chapel will replace the late Pops Campbell on drums. Special guest performer Tommy Gwaltney of Virginia Beach will play clarinet.
Other than some minor differences - like the church being moved from 15th and Moran Street in 1964 and the band members not being in their 20s and 30s anymore - they are just as excited to be performing as they were in their heyday.
``My daughter Jan started us having reunion concerts in 1992,'' said Fischbeck, whose daughter is Jan Callaghan, the weekend anchor for Channel 3 News.
``She decided to surprise her mom and dad for their 50th wedding anniversary with the reunion,'' Fischbeck said, laughing.
``She rented a hall at Ocean View and, lo and behold, they all came down. My daughter is to blame for all of this.''
Because Dixieland music has structured choruses and the rest is improvised, the band was able to perform well at the last reunion after not making music together in 35 years, Fischbeck said.
``Jean would call out a number, and believe it or not, we remembered it all,'' Fischbeck said, chuckling. ``There was no rehearsal. Spontaneity was the thing. There's no time to practice this year either.
``It's amazing how much time has gone by.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
The original Chesapeake Bay Jass Band, which started performing in
clubs around Hampton Roads in the 1950s, consisted of: Bob Giles on
banjo, Jean Kittrell on piano, Ben Splan on tuba, Ed Kittrell on
cornet, Stan Vincent on trombone and Bob Fischbeck on clarinet.
Graphic
REUNION SHOW
Who: Reunion of the Chesapeake Bay Jass Band
Where: Unitarian Church of Norfolk, 739 Yarmouth St. on The
Hague. Parking is at the Brambleton Medical Center.
When: 8 tonight
Cost: $10 donation
Call: 627-5371
by CNB