Sing, sing, sing! Peoria band shares joy of big band music

PEORIA (25News Now) - “Music is a healer,” River Valley Big Band Director Tony Jones said. That band is striving to bring that healing and helping power to Central Illinois through live performance.

Now in its seventh season, RVBB started as a way to entertain seniors in independent living or nursing facilities during the winter months. Susie Dunnan, manager and one of the founders of the group, said they do it to play old favorites from composers like Glenn Miller or Benny Goodman.

“When we are playing, the feet are tapping, the hands are clapping. The smiles come back and sometimes we see tears,” she said.

The group focuses on bringing the big band sound, filled with brass, saxophone, and a consistent jazz beat. For the seniors they play it for, it brings back memories of dancing in local clubs, Dunnan said.

“This is music that brings back memories,” she continued.

Residents at Saxony Court in East Peoria enjoyed one of those performances earlier in March.

“If I was still able, I would have gotten up to dance... you bet,” resident Donna Heath said. She used to teach dance classes when she was younger. “Me and Cal, me and my husband we used to dance a lot, and I really miss it.”

Dunnan and Jones say the stories are endless from their older audience. One man requested to play his tenor saxophone with the band, and they let him join in for a song. Another man actually arranged one of the pieces they played, with his name printed on the music.

Studies from Johns Hopkins, Harvard Health, and more show music can have a positive effect on mood, mental acuity, and memory. Those benefits extend to players and listeners.

“It’s just so great to see their faces light up. I hadn’t really worked with seniors that much until I had this gig and it’s just so great to watch them,” Jones said. He currently works at Illinois Central College and tunes pianos.

Jones is the third director and conductor of the RVBB. The group consists of 19 players, with around 80 substitutes ready to hop in for a performance. They also have a vocalist. There’s a player in his 20s and another who just turned 86.

While performing for seniors still makes up half of their performance calendar, they’ve expanded out to performing for the public in the winter months.

“I didn’t realize until the second year we were playing together... we were not only giving our time and our effort to an audience, but we were creating an environment, a family if you will, of community amongst the band members,” Dunnan said.

The group started playing outdoor concerts at the Peoria Heights Tower Park after outdoor events were deemed safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. They watched the audience grow with each performance, and now do about 15 outdoor concerts in their summer season.

They’ve been bringing the big band sound to some more recent hits, to appeal to a younger audience.

“We’re starting to put in things like Stevie Wonder, Sweet Home Chicago, tunes that even the younger crowds start to like,” Jones said, adding his daughters have picked up on it.

They hope the more recognizable tunes will draw people in to hear the big band classics.

The group travels across the River Valley, with players from all over the area, including Monmouth. They place at venues like the Elmwood Strawberry Festival and for events with Jon Young Dance and their swing dancing students.

RVBB doesn’t make a profit from their performances. Whatever they do make goes back into purchasing sound equipment, and music, or reimbursing players for travel. Dunnan said she, the manager, and Jones have never taken a reimbursement check.

“There’s no money to be made in River Valley,” Jones said. “Which is fine because everybody there wants to play, and we want the audience to have a good time.”

Dunnan, who picked up her saxophone again after 37 years, found it’s just as important to make a space for people to play and practice their instruments as it is to have an audience that enjoys it.

“They’re dedicated musicians who love this music,” Dunnan said of her bandmates, “and when we pay for an enthusiastic audience, we just blow the roof off.”

You can watch 25News - any newscast, anywhere - streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can get connected to 25News streaming live news here.

Copyright 2024 WEEK. All rights reserved.