Snapshots in Time

PLAYING OVER THE CHANGES

50 years in the Music Business 1976 - 2026
Part 2-B (1979 - 1982)

Intro: Paying More Dues!

By the end of the 1970's and entering the1980's, this journeryman musician should have realized there was a crossroads looming ahead. But Your's truly was too busy going in multiple directions. I wasn't looking at the big picture. Instead I was looking at a lot of different snapshots.

By 1979 - 1980, my path was actually very clear. It just took me part of a decade to realize it. Opportunities were beginning to come my way. There were fill in jobs with Big Bands, Polka, and All Occassion Groups. Also, my Teaching schedule grew significanty thanks to a friend.

A. Private Teaching
My career in Private Teaching began in 1978. In early 1979, a friend from Music School was cutting back on his private teaching. I was glad to accept his offer to replace him at Music Manor in Maple Heights, Ohio. Music Manor was a Rock Store which had relocated to a huge space a year earlier. While they sold Band Instruments, their show room was taken up with Guitars, Basses, Drums, Keyboards, amps and equipment. They did quite a good business in the Eastern part of Cuyahoga County. In their basement were a dozen teaching studios, some of the nicest I've seen. One Saturday morning, in the middle of teaching a lesson, I heard someone playing the great Jazz Standard, "On A Clear Day" on the Piano. " I knew there was a new Piano Teacher, but my schedule was busy. I knew when this new guy was on a break. On A Clear Day would come from across the hall. He wae seriously woodshedding the tune. I finally met this guy.

His name was Doug Dostal. And, like John Brzozowski and Big Al Pavlovich, Doug was another musician who had a significant impact on my life in music, for the next 35 years.

A number of months later, my friend that gave me his Music Manor studens, was on his way out of town and offered me the rest of his teaching schedule. Sadly, I spoke of him a couple of weeks ago. His name was Ken Peplowski. Ken Passed Away a couple of weeks ago on a Jazz Cruise where he was one of the featured Performers. In late 1979, Ken told everone he was leaving to go on the road with The Tommy Dorsey Band, led by Buddy Morrow. It was time for this young man to begin his truly World Class Career. This is no exaggeration. He death has been mourned by the Top players in the world of Jazz.

In January of 1980, I took over Ken's student roster for the Music Extension Program at Garfield Heights High School with the approval of the Band Director, Mike Shively. I remained there until 2008 when Mike retired, Thank you Ken. Rest in Peace.

B. Recording

The Real, Original Cleveland Browns (sadly, now The Baltimore Ravens), had a great Season in 1979-80. This was the year of QB Brian Sipe and the Kardiac Kids, one of their most exctting seasons (even if also hearbreaking) from 1946 through,1995.

I received a phone call to do a recording session for a song saluting Sipe and company. This was one of many done that year for air play on Sports Talk Shows. This was my first time in a recording studio. To show how long ago this was, the song, "Taking It To The Top," was released as a 45! I played a little on the A side. The B side was an instrumental version featuring me on Alto. I have that 45 somewhere in the vaults of The Famed Scalley Collection.
One amusing aside. About 6 weeks ago, I just happenned to look in Marketplace on my page. There was the 45, "Taking It To The Top" on sale for $10. I had no idea that any copies were still out there. I doubt that I listened to it after the Oakland Raiders beat the Browns on the infamous Red Right 88 interception that ended the run of The Kardiac Kids!

C. CSU
While my lesson Roster was filling up, calls were increasing for gigs. At the same time, I was hanging around at Cleveland State University doing post graduate work to add Music Composition to my B.A. in Political Science.

As luck would have it, my timing was right. In March of 1980, The Cleveland State University Jazz Ensemble did a road trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in an exchange program with an urban university in Rio.

We had a good band that year. It was my first time playing the Barritone Sax book extensively. The Jazz Ensemble did a series of Concerts. We also had time to hit all the world class areas and experience the beauty of Rio. Some personal highlights:

• There were 4 of us in the band who were older (mid 20's) and hung out together.
One night the 4 of us went into a Lounge/Restaurant accross from Copacabana Beach. There was a Jazz Trio playing. They played straight ahead American Jazz as well as Brazilian Sambas. We talked to them on break. The Bass player was the leader. His wife was the Piano player and Singer. The Drummer was top notch.

After the break, they did a Bossa Nova Set. Hearing the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto, Luiz Bonfá and Sérgio Mendez in a Club off of Copacabana was breath taking. To hear the singer doing covers of Sergio Mendez and Brasil 66 in Portuguese while feeling the warm trade winds coming off the beach at night is a memory to last a lifetime.

• Watching the Sun Rise while flying over the Amazon Rain Forest, or watching the Sun Set behind Corcovado from Sugarloaf Mountain.

• Being Special Guests at a Jazz Club on a night after playing back to back Concerts was great. We left when the Club closed, around 4 AM. The Club picked up our tabs
as we were their guests.

Leaving the club and going to the band bus, we realized we were at the base of Corcovado. At the top of Corcocado Mountain stands the iconic statue, Christ The Redeemer - overlooking Rio and lit up ovenight. Another image in my travels that will remain with me for the rest of my life..

D. Gigs
From 1980 until 1983, the reality of becoming a working musician really hit me. The successful working musician must be:

• A Good Musician. If you focus on one genre, you better know the music. A Blues player is obviously different from an Orchestral player or a Celtic music player, etc.

• The more versatility you possess, the more work is availabble. This path means your musicianship, technique, knowledge, and mastery of myriad styles of music is essential.

• For Sax players, actually STUDY AND PRACTICE the other Woodwind families. Take some lessons! Learn everything correctly. When playing a Pit job or even a Big Band gig, whatever other Woodwinds you have to play should sound like each one is your primarry instrument. You need to be a serrious reader, sightreader and improviser. Other than that, it's easy.

E. A bit of Show Biz
My first Union call at the legendary Front Row Theater was a good one. Playing for Comedian, Rodney Dangerfield in 1982. The band was a Trio. Piano, Drums and Tenor Sax. Our music was one page. There were 3 short 16 Bar melodies. The rest were cues Rodney would give us to play the next short tune. During the Show, we played a slow, soft Blues. Rodney talks about his band introducing us as Singe on Piano, Sticks on Drums and my new Sax Player, Styles Bitchley. At this point I stand up and blow a bluesy lick on Tenor.

Rodney talks about us, then says these guys (the band) are "effing" idiots! We stop playing. He said, go ahead, tell them. We stand up and yell, we're "effing" idiots!

That was my time in show biz.
I figure I metioned that in front of some 60,000 people over my stint with Rodney. Some have told me that was a prophetic statement about making this my career. The cool part was being called Styles Bitchley for a number of years.

Finally, the Drummer on the Rodney Gig and I had mutual friends but had not met. Tom Fries is a World Class Drummer and Classical Percussionist. Add him to the list of musiciians who impacted my life in music and as a close friend, for almost 44 years now.

F. Coda
Next time, into the mid 1980's and my career does a 180° turn. It began with putting together a 3 Piece Horn Section for a Rock Band heavy into Southern Rock. The 3 of us did a little work with The Ida Red Band. This was a popular band with well known local musicians that were going on to new projects. This couple of gigs as The Ida Red Horns and a few Ida Red holdovers evolved into a 5 Piece Band called Bourbon Street.

Catch you next time.

Peace

- 3/18/26

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