Cornet, Leader

Chet put his first jazz band together in 1941. He played in the Pomona College marching band. He also carried his horn with him through three years in the Army Air Corps. In fact, he met his wife-to-be while playing in the USO. Chet and Eileen were married in January of 1946. In their 60 years together so far, they have had five children and 14 grand children (including many musicians.)

Chet played some in big bands and concert bands, but 99% of his playing has been in traditional or dixieland bands. The name "Night Blooming Jazzmen" has been used for all of his groups since 1952.

Trombone and Baritone Horn

Dick is originally from Toledo, Ohio, and has been with the band for all but the first three years.

Jim Richardson

Clarinet and Saxophones

Francis Faye
Don Ellis
The Coasters
Buddy Miles
Johnny Tilitson
Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazzband
Janet Carroll
and, of course, the Night Blooming Jazzmen

Jim has also appeared in many television shows and films including

• T.H.E. Cat
• Frank Sinatra Story
• Watermelon Man
• Torn Curtain
• Naked Gun 2-1/2
• Jan and Dean Story
• The Gong Show (which he won!)

Although some other people can play two saxophones at a time, they have typically mastered only a small number of tunes. Jim can play on any tune and in any key - and he can improvise too. See him do it!

Piano (trumpet, piccolo, alto sax,
soprano sax, sopranino sax,...)

Dr. Leslie J. Deutsch has had a long and broad musical career. His father taught him to play trumpet early on and began instruction in classical organ and harmony at age 11. He taught himself to play several instruments each year so that now he performs on almost all keyboards, brass, and woodwinds. This helps in his work as a composer of classical and jazz music.

Les also studied Mathematics and combined his two interests while working for his father, the inventor of the first digital musical instruments. Les now works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he is the Deputy Director for Interplanetary Networks - which includes NASA's deep space communications and navigation capabilities. He holds over 25 patents, mostly in electronic music. 

Les has been the organist at his alma mater, Caltech, since his sophomore year. While in school, Les worked as a concert and church organist, earning money to buy musical instruments. He has played Dixieland since his undergraduate days and has played with the New Bull Moose Party Band, the Hot Frogs Jumping Jazz Band, and the Tenth Avenue Jazz Band before joining the Nightbloomers in 2001.

Les also still plays at Caltech. He has played trumpet, trombone, alto and bari sax, clarinet, flute, piccolo, tuba, horn, and percussion with the wind ensemble and trumpet, sax, and piano in the big band. He also plays keyboards in the Ka-Band (a bop group) and reeds in his own band, Living Stereo.  He has been privileged to work with some of the top names in jazz including Eddie Daniels, Al Vezutti, Bill Watrous, Gary Foster, and many, many others. Les continues a career as a concert organist and has performed in Europe and Japan.

Visit Les' Space too, to see what else he's doing!

Banjo and Guitar

The Jazz Minors toured the United States in 1977, played twice at the White House for President Carter and played full time at Disneyland for 6 years. Brad began playing guitar while working at Disneyland and he enjoys the unique variety both instruments offer to a Dixieland jazz band. After leaving Disneyland, Brad co-founded a banjo group consisting of three banjos and bass called Banjomania.  Mainly a touring group, Banjomania performed concerts in nearly every state in the Union with television guest appearances on TNN including the Ralph Emery Show, Crook and Chase, The Statler Brothers Show and The Grand Ole Opry. After leaving Banjomania Brad joined the NBJ and enjoys a more family oriented life with his wife Linda and their daughters Noelle and Sophie.

Banjo and Guitar

Lance has played music, of some kind, most of his life. At the early age of 8 he played ukulele with his father who also played the banjo. At 14 Lance took an interest in banjo and has been playing it ever since. Through the years, Lance has picked up other instruments along the way. He plays banjo, guitar, tuba and piano, on a regular basis. Other instruments include the string bass, mandolin, and violin.   

In earlier years, Lance was a seasonal performer at Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm in Southern California. For the past 20 years, he has been playing banjo and guitar on the Dixieland festival circuit. He has performed and toured with the well-known Dixieland group, "The Hot Frogs Jumping Jazz Band" for 10 years. This band was chosen to represent the City of Los Angeles, for the 750th year Sister City Celebration in West Berlin, Germany.

Lance has been a member of the “Nightblooming Jazzmen” since October, 1995, but he now lives on the East Coast, in New Hampshire. He is privileged to be called out to play with the band, for out-of-state festival dates and special trips. You will hear Lance on 15 recordings, with various bands, that span the past 20 years.    

Bass

Don's early musical background was in the field of Western music. He worked at Knott's Berry Farm in the Wagon Camp for many years as a member of The Wagonmasters, then with a group called The Reinsmen for 31 year, during which time he was inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame. Don is listed in the "Who's Who of Country and Western Music" and was a founding member of the Western Music Association. Don continues to work with a Western vocal and instrumental trio called Chaparral, appearing at Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland, etc.

Don became hooked on traditional jazz in 1994 after attending some jazz festivals. He joined the Society for the Preservation of Dixieland Jazz and started sitting in at the club meetings. Since then he has played with several excellent bands including Paradise Cove Classic Jazz Band, Ray Bush's BBC Jazz Band, Coyote Hills Jazz Band, and the Golden Eagle Jazz Band, to name just a few, before proudly becoming a member of the Night Bloomers.

Drums

Larry started playing dixieland jazz in Chicago in 1958 with trombonist Jim Beebe, following Jim's departure from the Scobey band. During the 1960s, he played in he Red Pepper Stompers Jazz Band and The Big Horn Gang. Larry performed several concerts with Wild Bill Davison while with The Big Horn. In 1969, Larry worked for nine months with banjoist Buddy Bob Lee, joining several graduates of the Scobey band. Larry met cornetist Bob Schultz in 1967 and played with him in The Riverboat Ramblers from 1974 to 1977 before moving to California.

In California, Larry played with the Hot Frogs Jumping Jazzband during the 1980s. He began playing on and off with the Night Blooming Jazzmen at this time and joined as their regular (?) drummer in 1989.