The Peninsula Banjo Band is an American musical group and 501(c)(3) non-profit foundationRetrieved from online archive, www.Guidestar.com, February 11, 2011. dedicated to preserving the musical legacy of the four-string banjo as well as raising money for cancer-related and other notable charities. The group is based in Northern California, around San Jose and San Francisco and has performed publicly every week since 1966 (over 2000 performances). One of its other contributions is in the form of music education (scholarships), frequent free public performances, and the hosting of an annual jazz festival that has featured the best of the professional and amateur banjo community since the 1970s. Formed in 1963, the PBB is known worldwide as one of North America's premier banjo jazz groupsRossi, Frank. The Resonator, 2000 that has headlined numerous times over its history and been the opening act for notable entertainers and musical groups of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
History
Formation and early years The band that eventually became the Peninsula Banjo Band was formed by Chuck Ray Sr. in 1963. Ray was a music teacher and local musician in the South Bay area.Sandberg, Gene. "History of the Peninsula Banjo Band", PBB News & Views, January, 2000Reprinted in The Resonator, quarterly publication of Banjos Unlimited, March, 2000. Ray could often be found performing with his plectrum banjo at the Shakey's PizzaStaff writer:Music-Dance, Night Spots. Newsweek Magazine, Volume 57, Number 1, pg. 85–86, 1961. and Big Al's pizza parlors in San Jose, California.
In 1962 a group of Ray's students approached him about forming a band. Ray agreed and an informal group was formed. As the group practiced together and improved they were eventually asked to entertain in public. They called themselves the Cupertino Banjo Band and the original nine members were Glenn Atkinson, Jerry Deerwester, Don Flora, Pearl Nicolino, Chuck Ray Sr., Manuel Rodriques, Steve Sedlak, Sidney Steele, and Merle Wilhelm. Later, as the group increased in size, they temporarily called themselves the Golden Gate Banjo Band. Then in 1971, as an acknowledgment that band members came from a much larger area than Cupertino, they came up with the name Peninsula Banjo Band. The band included members from as far south as Santa Cruz and as far north as Burlingame.
New band leader
In 1964, the owner of the Sakura Gardens restaurant in Mountain View, California was in Tokyo for the summer Olympics and discovered a young devotee of famous banjoist Harry Reser. This young performer was Zenzo Tagawa. The restaurant owner was so impressed by Tagawa's skill with a tenor banjo that he offered him a contract to play at his restaurant in the U.S.
After reaching the United States, Zenzo Tagawa was rapidly Americanized to Charlie Tagawa and soon after he was discovered by numerous restaurant patrons as well as other banjo players in the area. Tagawa played regularly at Sakura Gardens and its successor restaurant, Imperial Gardens, for fifteen years. On many evenings, one or another of Tagawa's banjo or gutbucket-playing friends would drop in to listen or to jam with him. As word traveled of Tagawa's playing skill, he was asked to join the Cupertino Banjo Band. He did so and became their leader in 1966. He has remained so for all but two of the subsequent forty-six years.Zhang, Jennifer: Charlie Tagawa has plied his melodic trade for a half-century, page 1. The Cupertino Courier, SVCN, LLC., 2002. After taking up residence in Cupertino, Tagawa became a banjo teacher that specialized in teaching young children and teenagers to play the 4-string banjo.
Non-profit incorporation In 1974 in preparation to apply as a charitable nonprofit California corporation the group elected Tagawa as president. This filing was a first step towards gaining 501-c-3 non-profit status. The group was awarded non-profit status by the Internal Revenue Service in 1976.
Past presidents Succeeding presidents have included Leo Campey, Glenn Atkinson, Cas Stockard, Bob Delaney, Chuck Daley, Terry Bull, John Goulais, Carl Adams, Paul Nearhood, Tom James, Gene Ripley, Helen Wick Martin, George Thum, Ray Ferrie, Flo Lewis, Floyd Oatman, Steve Adkins, Jim Strickland, Bob Lasley of Scarlett LaRue's jazz club, and Christopher Bracher. Notable contributions by band presidents are the overseeing of the band's four recordings. Leo Campey accomplished the inaugural recording in 1975 with the production and release of Just Because. This was followed by a recording made by Tagawa's Junior Banjo Band in 1976 with the assistance of Glenn Atkinson. Chuck Daley followed suit respectively with More! More! More! in 1981 and Just One More Time in 1996. In 2008 Jim Strickland accomplished what no other previous band president had achieved, he convinced music director Charlie Tagawa to make a professional recording of several of his virtuoso performances. That Charlie Sound is the result and is the only professionally produced recording capturing Tagawa's skill as a soloist.
Jim Strickland in addition to having the band's longest tenure as president, nine years, is responsible for the organization and production of the band's first concert hall symphony-style performance to exclusively feature the PBB. On March 28, 2004, the band performed at the Le Petit Trianon Theater in San Jose, California for just over two hours.Retrieved from online archive, www.artsopolis.com , February 11, 2011. Fans were presented a historical journey through the various eras of banjo music that was narrated by Strickland with a short verbal introduction to each piece and mention of its historical significance. Special guest performers were Bill Lowrey, Kevin McCabe, and Steve Peterson. The session was recorded and in keeping with band tradition limited edition CDs were distributed to band members.
There have been notable contributions by non-president band members as well. The late Gene Sandberg is credited with the restart of the band's newsletter, titled "PBB News & Views", in 2001. It was originally distributed in printed form and mailed to each band and auxiliary member plus selected fans and people in the banjo community. Gene compiled, edited, and published the newsletter for several years until retiring from his post. The duty was then taken over by Jim Strickland. Around the same time Strickland starting researching and writing a series of articles about the history of the music and lyric writers for the songs in the PBB's library. These became known as the banjo music story books.
Charitable giving The earliest known charitable donation by the band was made to the Braille Fund. Two members of the band were blind, Emil Hakkila and George Chung. Charitable contributions then and since have always favored those organizations having some emotional connection to the group.
In 1970, band member Keith Pinckney, the 10-year-old son of fellow band members Bob Pinckney and 12-year-old brother Doug Pinckney was diagnosed with leukemia. Keith Pinckney died from this disease a year later. During that time he was treated regularly at Stanford University Hospital by Dr. Jordan Wilbur, a pediatric oncologist on the full-time faculty. The band's donations were made for the next twenty years to Dr. Wilbur's research efforts at the Stanford University Hospital.
Starting in 1994, the band has broadened the scope of its donations to other kinds of groups and organizations. As band members became ill or died, donations were often made in their name to organizations or causes designated by their family. Some of these organizations include the Diabetic Society of Santa Clara, the American Diabetes Association, the San Jose Visiting Nurse's Association, and the Ronald MacDonald House in Palo Alto.Rossi, Frank. "Band News", The Resonator, January, 1999
The foundation portion of the organization, separate from the musical group, has established a scholarship program for banjo lessons and washtub bass (gutbucket) training. In memory of band members Ray Ferrie and George Seeband who bequeathed their banjos to the band, those wishing to learn to play the plectrum banjo are awarded a "Ray Ferrie Scholarship" and those studying tenor are awarded a "George Seeband Scholarship". Both are granted the use of their respective banjos during the term of their scholarship if they do not have an instrument.
Notable performances and recordings Although there is no official record, the song "Just Because" has been the theme song of the band since roughly 1966. It has been the opening number for the PBB at every performance including weekly practices, jazz festivals, TV shows, and bookings since the 1970s.
The band's primary source of funds permitting charitable donations and scholarships has been playouts or bookings - "gigs" in musician vernacular. The band's popularity in this endeavor has varied considerably over the years, but since 2000 this has amounted to about two to four playouts per month. In addition to the standard and recurring array of local playouts, the band has enjoyed numerous unique engagements in around the South Bay; e.g., playing the National Anthem at a San Francisco Giants baseball game at Candlestick Park, the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, the De Young Museum, numerous Cherry Blossom Festivals in San Francisco's Japan town, Black and White Ball's, the grand reopening of San Francisco's cable car line, for President Bill Clinton and later Vice President Al Gore at Democratic Party fund raisers in Portola Valley, California, and the Conference of Mayors (where then Mayor Willie Brown directed the band for a short stint and did a little cakewalk). The band was also on the program for the completion and grand opening of California state Highway 85, the opening of San Jose's McEnery Convention Center, the opening ceremonies of San Jose's The Tech Museum of Innovation (The Tech), and Martin Luther King Jr. library.
Additionally the band has had several notable engagements where they were the opening act or participants in the kickoff of events. These performances include opening for Patti Page (1981), the Captain & Tennille (1982), the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (2005), the Duke Ellington Orchestra (2006), and the opening ceremonies of the MLB All Star Game Fanfest (2007).
Filmed in June 2001 (airing in October), the band was featured along with Charlie Tagawa in a segment of the television show Bay Area Backroads hosted by Doug McConnell and produced for Bay Area station KRON, an NBC affiliate. This is in addition to appearances on KPIX's Evening Magazine from 1976 to 1991 and other San Francisco Bay Area television shows.
The band made its first recording in 1975, The Peninsula Banjo Band presents - Just Because, released on LP. It recorded in 1981 More! More! More! which was released on both LP record and audio tape. Then in 1996, Just One More Time was released on tape CD. A fourth was recorded in 2008, That Charlie Sound, and is the band's most involved effort to date. The CD includes fifteen tracks by the main band and features music director Charlie Tagawa with a small combo that includes his sons Nori and Leon with Bill Lowrey.
The Banjo Jubilee Jazz Festival In 1972 the band started preparations for the first of a series of annual banjo celebrations. This annual show debuted in 1973 in Palo Alto, California and became the band's premiere musical event to showcase the banjo talent of the world to the San Francisco Bay Area. The band also sponsored its 1st International Banjo Jubilee in San Jose in 1975. Headliners included Peter Meyer (Germany), Clem Vickery (England), Maurice Bolyer (Canada) and Charlie Tagawa (Japan).