by Drew Minton

It all started in the fall of 2019. Lena Morano, a close friend and former band student of mine, asked me if I knew of any bands looking for a lead singer. I responded that I had been planning to create a jazz/songbook band that employed a lead singer with a fancy microphone, that played smoky, piano heavy music; something different and unusual. She was in, and we started making plans. We had worked together for years already and even without her status as a Conference All-State vocalist, I knew she had the chops for the job. We got together several times, started working out some old songs and exploring new ones, and were beginning to build a repertoire… and then the world shut down.

Over a year later, in the summer of 2021, Lena and I started to meet up again, outside, on my porch, socially distant, with hand sanitizer aplenty. We picked up where we left off and had asked local legend and musical Swiss army knife* Kyle Gustafson to join us. He obliged, and has been playing guitar and trumpet with us ever since. That fall, two other close friends, musical juggernauts and fantastic teachers to boot, Roger Chagnon and Chris Wakefield joined our group on drum set and trombone, respectively. Still in the pandemic days, we got together with caution a few times and started to explore what we could do with my original concept in mind.

We had something, we all knew it, and although life didn’t allow for regular rehearsals, it was clear that we were all on the same page. That Fall, I told a local organizer that I had a new band who would play swing-style Christmas songs for a local Holdiay festival. We needed the gig, and would do it for free. She took me up on it! I wasn’t lying- I just hadn’t told the band. And, I didn’t have the music. We figured it out though, had a few crash rehearsals, I asked a friend to sit in on bass and made a band. We all came out on a FREEZING, windy, sunny and completely western New York winter Saturday to what we learned was an outdoor gig, and played our Christmas swing tunes huddled, with frozen fingers and frozen faces, to a very warm (hearted) crowd of craft shoppers and family/friends. We had our first gig, and it was awesome.

Shortly after that, David Niles from Roger Tory Peterson institute called and asked if we would be interested in playing at their “Art after 5” series in February. I was exhilarated and took the job, again without a two-hour set (Christmas was over), without a bass player, but with the belief in us and our plan. Roger knew a guy, Chris Tiberio, that he said was an adept and powerhouse jazz bass player who was also an All-State heavy hitter in high school. They play together in the awesome band “The Danny Tanner Orchestra”. Rio came to a rehearsal, and was, as of that get together, in. He quickly came up to speed and we all played our hearts out that night at RTPI. We were so new that Chris (“Rio”) met our trombone player Chris W. on stage as we were setting up.

David and RTPI will forever hold our gratitude for that opportunity. We played there again in May. That summer, Miki Girts invited us to play in the Whirlybird festival in Jamestown- a full circle moment; that set took place on the same Wintergarden Plaza stage that we had played almost a year before, without our full band realized, and in what felt like sub-zero temps.

For the past year and a half or so, we have spent our rehearsals learning how to play together and how we each spoke musically, building a set and sound, and stretching our abilities and versatility by DIS-assembling and created some smaller ensembles by request and to seek more playing opportunities. We have played for private parties, bar gigs, a music festival, wedding cocktail hours, and small, intimate settings and have forged a band that communicates so incredibly well, and shines one another’s incredible talents so cohesively, there is nothing but smiles and fantastic sounds on the stage.

I have played my whole life, and love and deeply respect everyone I have ever played with. For The Assembly I made a new plan, for a few phase- one that I would create and see to its success, personally. This band is the culmination of something I needed to manifest, and they are IT. They say to improve, you should surround yourself with people who are better than you and I have absolutely done that. In every rehearsal and every gig, we push one another and grow measurably, both individually and as a band. We each work to raise the bar and to meet the bar set by others. This band is excellent! We are now working on writing material for what will become our first original album, and have a bright future ahead. If you are looking for something new, exciting, and unique, check us out.

* “Musical Swiss Army Knife” coined by C. Tiberio