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'Endangered Species' Trying To Form Local Jazz Band
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BY DOUG R UTTER
Staff Writer
Duke Jaynes, Sam Andrews and Tom Underwood
think of themselves as an endangered species trying to
save a forgotten art
Jazz musicians with a liking for the big band sounds
of the 30s and 40s, the three gather every couple of
weeks for a "jam session" and hope to someday be the
nucleus of a local jazz band or jazz society.
"We're an endangered species," says Jaynes. "We're
trying to make a comeback like the brown pelicans."
For now though, their comeback is limited to occasion
al gatherings in someone's living room.
With Jaynes on the guitar, Andrews on saxophone
and Underwood on bass, the trio plays what they refer
to as "vintage jazz." That covers songs made famous by
the likes of Count Basic and Duke Ellington, classic
ballads such as Stardust and even show tunes from old
Broadway musicals.
"Once every week or so we'll get together just for
the fun of it," Andrews said in a recent interview. "We
really do it for our own amusement."
Jaynes and Andrews met about one year ago at a
Brunswick County Band function, and they've been
playing together ever since. "Jazz musicians just find
one another," explains Andrews, who is a long-time
friend of Underwood.
With retirees moving into the area every day, the
trio believes there is more than enough interest to estab
lish a local jazz society. "I think there's a real market
for it," said Andrews. "But it's not so much marketing
as it is playing for our own pleasure."
He adds that there are probably plenty of older
musicians with a big band style living in Brunswick
County. "The thought has occurred to us that buried
somewhere down here arc a lot of retired jazz musi
cians," said Andrews. "There's got to be a few of them
around here."
Jaynes, the "old timer" of the trio at age 66, lives
along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway near Holden
Beach. A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., he retired as a rail
road worker and moved to the area about 10 years ago.
Andrews and Underwood, both natives of North
Carolina, are next-door neighbors at Sunset Beach.
They still spend some time in Durham where they also
own homes.
Andrews moved to the coast about three years ago
after retiring as an administrator at Duke University and
Duke Hospital. Underwood still spends most of his time
in Durham. He recently retired as operator of a small
electronics firm in the Research Triangle Park.
Although all three retired from other occupations,
each of the men has played music since their high
school days or before. They've all worked with various
bands over the years, and talk of their experiences with
well-known musicians in different taverns flows freely
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JAZZ MUSICIANS, from left, Sam Andrews, Tom Underwood and Duke Jayne9 jam to Sweet Georgia Brown!0 0 "
whenever they get together.
All three were young when they started playing
music, but Underwood may have been the youngest. "I
played in the high school band when I was in the third
grade," he said. "I had to play tuba because the high
school didn't have a tuba player."
Though he never made a living playing guitar,
Jaynes comes from a family of professional musicians.
"My whole family is music," he said. "That's how my
father made a living."
Andrews said he started playing before high school.
He was introduced to the guitar by a college student
who rented a room from his father. "All of our wives
agree on this," Andrews says with a smile. "When we
don't play we get frustrated and walk around kicking
furniture."
Jaynes said playing the old jazz classics is an art
that isn't even remotely comparable to cranking out the
"heavy metal" tunes enjoyed by some of today's
younger generation.
He said playing older jazz music requires talent and
more feeling than playing modem music. Young rock
musicians can play fast, he said, but they often don't
play with a lot of emotion.
"We don't set off fireworks or smoke bombs. We
don't bite any heads off bats," explained Jaynes. "We
just play because that's what we love to do."
Adds Andrews, "What we play is a definite art
form. We do it because it gives us an opportunity to
express ourselves."
Anyone interested in playing in a local jazz, band or
helping to form a jazz society can contact Duke or
Peggy Jaynes at 842-9085.
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