-- has been playing piano since the age of 12.
After having discovered Trad Jazz, she became a convert of Lil Hardin's
style and has been "beating out the chords" for the
Silicon Gulch Jazz Band for more than 15 years.
Joe Bithell
-- washboard player extraordinaire and leader of the Band. Has lent his
rich blues voice to many of the famous old tunes
adding a new dimension through his charismatic style.
Bill Carlson
-- has worked as a professional musician with Bluegrass Country Western
and Dixieland groups and even Elvis impersonators!!
His rhythm and technique on the banjo and guitar are superb.
John Dodgshon
-- Cornet. Immigrated from England to
New York in 1966 but before that led the “Panama Jazz
Band” in Liverpool which was playing weekly at the
club where the “Beatles” got their first steady job!
John came to the Bay Area in 1969 and played with the
Rose & Thistle J B. Since then he has performed with
many jazz bands including Jubilee, Jazz Cardinals, The
Redcoats, Napa Valley, 52nd Street Revival and made a
world tour with Mike McComb’s Skunk Creek J B. John
has led Marin Jazz for many years. He recently
retired from Hewlett-Packard where he traveled the
world in their behalf and sat in with bands in Europe,
Hong Kong and Japan. John first subbed with the SGJB
in January 1981 and joined as a regular in 1999.
Laurence Hyman
(a past member who is now a frequent substitute)
-- learned jazz cornet listening to his father's 78’s.
At 14 he joined the Musicians Union and played roadhouses
and cruise ships,
appearing at 17 with Rex Stewart at Eddie Condon’s in New York City.
He owns Woodford Publishing of San Francisco,
creators of fine books on jazz and blues.
Marilyn Johnson
-- Vocal. Her first gig was at age 3
singing “Holy, Holy, Holy! She later sang, with her
mother, for funerals in Iowa and was a soloist in
elementary, Jr. high and high school, later singing
folk and classical. She sang in a trio doing black
gospel for 4 years, sang big band 8 years and
continues with country and jazz. An elementary school
teacher (all her life!) Marilyn is now doing special
work with struggling readers. She also enjoys sales,
marketing and advertising. Marilyn has been sponsored
by NASA, FAA & CAP on a national level promoting
aerospace education in public schools for both
teachers and children, writing promotional material
and leading conferences. She also taught Young
Astronauts (after school club). The ever vivacious
Marilyn has been entertaining our audience with a few
impromptu numbers on Tuesdays at the Prince of Wales
Pub, for about ten years.
Dave Kawamoto
-- played with the Honolulu Symphony before moving to San Jose.
After more than 20 years with Pan Am, he now pilots planes for Delta
out of New York. A proficient and moving clarinet and alto sax player,
Dave has more recently added Soprano and Tenor Saxes.
Sam Morocco
-- String Bass. Started as a drummer in
1946 & switched to string bass in 1949. Since 1965 Sam
has played string bass in Bluegrass, Ballroom, Big
Band, Swing, Classical, Church, Combos & duets. Sam
retired from a career in purchasing in November 1998
and joined the band in 99. This is his first
"Dixieland" experience!
Jon Schermer
-- Trombone. First heard traditional
jazz when he was in grade school, when an uncle took
him to The Annual Ragtime & Traditional Jazz Festival
in St. Louis, Missouri. There he saw groups like The
Salty Dogs and Turk Murphy’s band. Several years
later he went back to the festival and heard the Royal
Society Jazz Orchestra. In the early 80’s Jon moved
to the Bay Area, and joined Royal Society and had the
opportunity to play at the St. Louis Traditional Jazz
Festival.
Since his arrival in the Bay area, Jon has played with
many big
bands, theatre groups, combos, and even an occasional
classical group.
Robert E. (Bob) Smith
(a past member who is now a frequent substitute)
-- his colorful solos on the
string bass have been entertaining audiences
of this band for more than 10 years (he has played it for 65).
He is also
a great stride piano player and once substituted for Jess Stacey.
Joyce Taylor
-- Banjo. A native Californian, Joyce grew
up on the Peninsula graduating from San Jose State
University in Music. She is a Kindergarten teacher
and an instructor in mathematics at the graduate
level. Her first music job was with the Big Al’s Gas
House Gang at Big Al’s in Palo Alto. She played for
the Red Garter in San Francisco and New Orleans, and
played at Scarlett La Rue’s in Los Gatos for over 20
years. Her own groups are Joyce Taylor and Friends,
Joyce Taylor’s Tid Bits and The California Republic J
B. She has appeared with many local groups like Apex
Jass Band, Churchill Street J B, Magnolia, Jubilee J
B, Professor Plum, and 52nd Street Revival.
Tom Small (a past member who is now a frequent substitute)
-- has lent his trombone talent to many Bay Area bands and shared
the stage several times with Turk Murphy.
Listen as he varies the tone on different tunes.
Tom also Practices Law in Palo Alto.
