Don Neely

When he was 12, Don Neely bought a Victrola and started a record collection. He was drawn to the jazz/dance band sounds and Tin Pan Alley songs of the 1920s. While in college, he had his own traditional jazz band. Then, in 1975, he came across a set of arrangements from the 1920s and '30s and started to play. They eventually became the book for his Royal Society Jazz Orchestra. It was a struggle to get off the ground for several years, before a big break came when Turk Murphy offered them steady work at his club Earthquake McGoon's. Another milestone was a long-running engagement at the Mark Hopkins Hotel, where many famous big bands played during the 1930s. The RSJO recreated a long and successful series of 1930s Tea Dances with live radio broadcasts simultaneously transmitting over two radio stations. The orchestra starred in an hour-long PBS television special, a superb production recreating an authentic 1930s-style nightclub, with their San Francisco fans making up the dancing audience. A landmark event for the group occurred in 1985 when the City of San Francisco issued a proclamation making October 18 of that year Royal Society Jazz Orchestra Day in San Francisco. Neely and his RSJO continue to perform regularly at West Coast venues and jazz festivals playing their unique blend of 1920s and 30s music made popular by the likes of Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington. ~ Dave Nathan, All Music Guide