The roots of the Elkin Big Band (EBB) go back to the fall of 1961…

when a new band director arrived at Elkin High School (EHS). The Elkin High School band was a struggling group at the time with only a handful of players and little interest by the student body or the community, but a man named Roy Russell would change all that. Earlier, Roy Russell had led several high school bands, including the Elizabeth City, NC band, before coming to Elkin. He took that band to the Lions International Parade in Chicago, so band members knew they had good things in store for the future. At the time, N.H. “Skinny” Carpenter, the Elkin City Schools administrator, called all band members together and challenged the group, saying that with Mr. Russell’s hiring there would no longer be any excuse for not having an outstanding band, and he warned band members to get ready to work hard, as Mr. Russell’s reputation was that of a stern and demanding bandmaster. This proved to be accurate. It isn’t clear exactly how the school board located and recruited Roy Russell, but this action came to affect dozens, maybe hundreds, of local people, and Roy Russell’s influence is still felt today, fifty-some years later.

At the time, Elkin High School had only a small room off the school cafeteria as a band room, a completely inadequate facility, and one of Mr. Russell’s early priorities was to secure a new band room commensurate with his plans for an outstanding band program. There were a lot of local people involved in the building of Dixon Auditorium at Elkin High School and the excellent band facilities it contains, but no person worked harder to make this happen than did Roy Russell. The creation of this excellent facility was one of the crowning achievements of his tenure, and it is still enjoyed today and likely will be for many years to come.  

Roy was an excellent alto sax player, and like many band directors, he longed to play the music as well as direct it. He particularly liked jazz of the thirties and forties, and he also liked what came to be called Swing or Big Band music, i.e., the music performed by the famous swing bands of the late thirties, forties, and early fifties, like the Glenn Miller and Dorsey brothers’ bands. His love for early jazz, however, didn’t extend to its next iteration, what has come to be called Be-Bop or just Bop. Roy called this “progressive jazz,” and he couldn’t stand it. Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk were definitely not his favorites. Instead, he preferred melodic music that appealed to the masses, at least before the masses discovered rock and roll. And of course, this was the kind of music he taught his jazz students to play.

Roy was also a composer and arranger. EHS band alumni of that period well remember playing Maggie and Opus 7 3/4, two of his compositions the bands played regularly. Band members always wondered who Maggie was, since Roy’s wife was called Jessie. Opus was just a little dose of disrespect for the powers that be in music, and students understood this well.  

Many will remember that Roy Russell started the high school jazz group, the EHS Stage Band. This group which was the source of most all the old music the Elkin Big Band played for many years and still plays. This was the second jazz band Roy started, the first being the Pieces of Eight combo, a five to eight-piece group a few students played in. This small group played for parties and dances in and around Elkin for several years and actually stayed pretty busy. They had a regular, once-a-month gig at Ray’s Starlight Restaurant in Mt. Airy for a couple of years and became well known in the local area. The combo played the soft jazz and dinner music Roy liked best, music that fit perfectly with his soft and pretty playing style. They played from three collections of music, including the old Combo-Orks books which are now so hard to find. Some of the early players included Roy, of course, on alto sax; Sandy Biggs, Steve Freeman, or Roy Lee Prevette on trumpet; Maurice Bumgarner on clarinet; Harold Brown on guitar; Ralph Cooke on trombone; Joe Freeman on piano; and Robert Van Antwerp - whom Roy always called Sizemore for reasons no one ever understood - on drums. There were also several vocalists including pianist and local attorney, Joe Freeman, who did a great “Big Boss Man,” a departure from the traditional music the band mostly played. By this time young people wanted more lively music than Roy liked to play, so he began trying to include some rock n’ roll songs. It was a hard thing for a dance band to do, and results were mixed.  

While the Pieces of Eight satisfied Roy’s need to be a player, it didn’t provide the orchestra needed for the various productions then being done at Dixon Auditorium, so Roy created a new group, the Elkin High School Stage Band. The two groups later merged when Roy realized he didn’t have the time to keep both going, and this was the end of the four-part-harmony music the Pieces of Eight had always played. While Roy missed the small group, the Stage Band gave more students an opportunity to play, and Roy was always one to try to include everyone he could. He was a grouchy old cuss, but he loved the students and they knew it. 

The arrangements Roy first bought for the Stage Band, a dozen or so old and easy favorites such as Autumn Leaves, September Song, Mood Indigo, and Tuxedo Junction, became the core music for the band, and it was played often until Roy’s death in 1972. After that, it fell into disuse since Roy’s successors didn’t have an interest in playing jazz. The Elkin High School jazz program, one which had brought so much pleasure to so many people, was at its end.

After Roy’s tragic death from cancer in 1972, all the music was filed away and forgotten. There was no one to carry on the tradition he had started, and it appeared the folks in Elkin would never hear this type of music again, at least as performed by local musicians. It was a sad ending to such an incredibly rich tradition. The players from that era moved on with their lives, some leaving the Elkin area altogether, and hardly anyone at the time could have imagined a rebirth of Elkin’s jazz scene. All that changed some ten years later.

Before Roy Russell’s early death he had begun, in concert with the Foothills Arts Council, a local theatre group, the Foothills Theatre. There had been an interest in providing a vehicle for the several very talented people wanting to do local theatre productions, and the Foothills Theatre did just that. Then, in the early eighties, the idea of having a local orchestra play for these productions came to life. There were a number of local instrumentalists hoping for an opportunity to play, so all the necessary resources were in place. 

A small group consisting of Larry Irwin, Randy Tulbert, Gene Glace, Sandy Pierce, and a few others had already begun playing some jazz at the time, but they needed music. As it happened, the current EHS band director had no plans to use the old Stage Band arrangements, and somehow Larry Irwin was able to get hold of them. The group decided they would try to bring the old music back to life with a band like the EHS Stage Band but with the best players they could round up from all across the local area. They already had several key players, and they began recruiting. As a result, several other local musicians joined the group at that time, including tenor sax player Ken Eaton, drummer Don Kanak, bass player John Hall, guitarist Jim Westbrook, and perhaps others but memory fails me. The Elkin Big Band had come to life.  

Both Larry and Randy had played in the band at UNC-Chapel Hill when they were students, and both had maintained their interest in instrumental music, particularly jazz, throughout their college years and beyond. They never got beyond it, and thankfully so. Now they had formed a band. Over the years many people have contributed to what was to become the Elkin Big Band but none more than Randy Tulbert and Larry Irwin. Absent these two men, the Elkin Big Band wouldn’t exist today.

The group’s first performance as the Elkin Big Band happened in February 1982 when they played with the theatre group in its production of “June Groom,” performed in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church. It was fitting that First Methodist be the venue of this first performance, because the church was so generous in later years in allowing the band to practice there. First Methodist was only one of many local organizations to befriend the band, and without this local support, the band could never have achieved what it has.  Organizations such as The Foothills Arts Council, the Foothills Theatre, among others have played a large part in the band’s success, and their friendship and generous support will not be forgotten. 

The Foothills Arts Council had provided the grant money that helped get the group off the ground, and soon the Elkin Big Band was performing for local theatre productions and the Arts Council’s annual auction as well. By this time Larry Irwin had assumed the role of band leader, a role he would continue to play for years to come, and the Elkin Big Band was off and running.

Over the following four decades, the EBB performed well over a hundred times at all kinds of events, including dances, parties, auctions, weddings, banquets, and other gatherings. Venues include Cedarbrook Country Club, Bermuda Run Country Club, Greensboro Country Club, Cross Creek Country Club, Starmount Country Club, Olde Beau Country Club, High Meadows Country Club, Mt. Airy Country Club, The Greystone Inn, the Andy Griffith Playhouse, the Elkin National Guard Armory,  Parkwood Place, the Smith House Museum, the Foothills Arts Council, Elks Lodge in Mt. Airy and North Wilkesboro, the Moose Lodge in Yadkinville, the Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel in Raleigh, the Yadkin Senior Center, Under The Elms in Winston-Salem, the Elkin Creek Winery, the Wilkes Communication Pavilion as well as many outdoor events, private parties, and churches in the local area. 

Many of the early players remember the multiple performances at the Under The Elms site back in the 90’s as some of their favorites. This facility was in the basement of a downtown Winston-Salem hotel, and dances were held there regularly for several years. Playing for folks doing ballroom dancing was the forte of the group, and the audiences there in Winston were always lively, appreciative, and always dancing.

During this time, musicians came and went, but a core group has been with the band almost from the beginning. Those players include Larry Irwin, Randy Tulbert, Ken Eaton, and Ralph Cooke, who all have played with the band for over thirty years. Over the years, most band members have come from the larger Tri-County area (Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties), but players from other communities have participated as well, including Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Sparta, North Wilkesboro, Mt. Airy, and Independence, VA. 

While the band has had many good players over the years, a couple of old-timers deserve special mention, Leo Arnaud, and George Hildt. Both these men have since passed away but they provided great music and some interesting history when they were active in the band.  

Leo Arnaud was a Frenchman and a long-time professional musician in both France and the U.S. Somehow, details remain a mystery, later in life he ended up married to a local woman from Hamptonville, and even though long retired, he participated in the band for a time. Leo was a fine trombone player but was perhaps better known as a composer and arranger, working for years in Paris and Hollywood. Perhaps his best known work is the familiar theme for the Olympics. Everyone recognizes the tune, but few realize a member of the Elkin Big Band actually composed it. George Hildt was also a professional player for many years and played piano with Red Nichols and the Five Pennies, among other groups. His talent, along with his engaging personality, made him a favorite of band members. 

Larry Irwin, lead alto sax player, has done most of the heavy lifting for the band over the years. For many years Larry served as the music librarian, securing additional music for the group and maintaining the existing music. He also obtained all the hardware the band requires, such as mikes, amplifiers, stands, etc., and organized and transported all of this equipment to the various gigs the band played, whether close to Elkin or in other locales. Altogether, a lot of work. And last, but certainly not least, Larry has been the leader of the group for most of its years and has conducted practices since the inception of the band. Everyone has contributed in his or her own way, but Larry has probably committed more of himself to the band than anyone else. 

In recent years, the band has benefited from the playing and leadership of Michael Beres. In addition to playing a fine baritone sax and clarinet, Michael has assumed some of the leadership duties of the band and has personally invested a sizable amount of his own money and time, buying dozens of new musical arrangements and completing a total upgrade of the music catalogue. This new music has allowed the band to offer some more modern jazz numbers as well as the traditional swing pieces they have always played. Michael has also taken over most of the publicity and scheduling of the band, resulting in numerous new gigs. He has also revitalized the group with his energy and commitment to the band.

As the band has grown and evolved, so has Elkin. The renaissance of downtown Elkin has provided the EBB with new performance opportunities. The band has played numerous gigs in Coley Hall, the outstanding facility located at The Liberty. Additionally, we have been thrilled to have the opportunity to play at The Reeves Theater which is easily one of the finest live music venues in northwest North Carolina. We look forward to continuing to support these local live music venues as well as others in our area that provide such an important underpinning of our local arts communities.

There is every reason to believe the band will continue to practice and perform into the distant future. Some really fine musicians have joined the band in recent years, and the sound of the band has never been better. For the first time in its forty-year history, we have a full 18-piece ensemble and the difference is palpable. It is a remarkable thing that a community of Elkin’s size is home to the Elkin Big Band. After nearly half a century, we are still going strong and hope to continue performing America’s only true original art form for generations to come.

-Ralph Cooke (EBB Trombonist from 1982-2019, Band Historian, Gentleman & Scholar)

Some of the performers, past and present, are listed below: