New Reformation Jazz Band Brings Big Sound to CTAC

Jan. 1, 2016

Forty-five years ago, Saginaw musician Dave Oppermann was in a two-man singalong nightclub act with his pal Bob Gunther. The Rev. Gary Miller of Saginaw’s First Congregational Church would often show up with his trumpet and sit in with the duo.

"One day, he said he’d like to do a Dixieland worship service, and asked if I’d help," remembered Oppermann. "So we put together seven guys, including my brother Nick, and played at that service, with people singing along."

That church held between 400 and 500 people.

"And a lot of them showed up just to see what this "˜jazz in church’ was all about," Oppermann said.

What it was about was creating a whole lot of glorious music; in addition to the group Oppermann put together, the regular organist played along and there was a 40-person choir.

"It was such a sound," he said. "After the service, we all gathered in the dressing room and we were all like, wow. And just like Peggy Lee sang, we were asking each other "˜is that all there is?’ So we stuck with it, started playing pubs, and it grew from there."

COOL COMBO

Today, the combo has gone through a few lineup changes and is known collectively as the New Reformation Jazz Band. They’ve performed everywhere from jazz and country clubs to the legendary Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival in Iowa.

"Our big break was really our performance at the Beiderbecke fest," Oppermann said. "It was filmed and aired on PBS. On our 20th and 25th anniversaries [as a band], we recorded shows for PBS again, one taped at the Heritage Theater and one at the Temple Theater, both in Saginaw."

Focusing primarily on traditional jazz, the band leans heavily on the Dixieland sound as well as big band classics. They started out releasing their albums on vinyl long-playing records, then cassettes, then CDs – 16 albums total to date.

"Dixieland is just such a happy kind of music and it’s very danceable," Oppermann said. "It also has a formula: you start with the trumpet on melody, add a trombone harmony below and a clarinet harmony above. And there you have it!"

BAND OF BROTHERS

Oppermann cites Dixieland fans as being as enthusiastic as the players, which feeds right into the band’s love of camaraderie.

"As we traveled around, it really became like a fraternity, although a very small one," Oppermann laughed.

After 45 years as a band, much of which was spent on the road, the New Reformation Jazz Band is finally starting to wind down, so if you love solid Dixieland jazz and classic sounds like theirs, you’ll want to catch them live sooner rather than later.

"We’ve done a couple of national tours recently and we used to play every weekend," Oppermann said, "but after four decades, it’s just become too grueling, both the physical and the mental challenges. So we’re more selective now."

"But any time you can get people to laugh and smile and get up and dance – well, that’s what we’re really after."

The New Reformation Jazz Band will be in concert on Jan. 8 at 7:30pm at the Crooked Tree Arts Center in downtown Petoskey. Tickets: $10 students/$25 members/$35 nonmembers. For more information about the show visit crookedtree.org or call (231) 347- 4337. For more on the band, visit newref.com.