Charles City Alumni Jazz Band performs Wednesday night at Derailed

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

“We’re getting the band back together.”

After a two-year COVID-19-caused hiatus, the Charles City Alumni Jazz Band is getting back together, “warming up” with a performance on the night before Thanksgiving, then planning for additional performances this summer.

The band will play from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at Derailed in Charles City, 1130 N. Grand Ave.

Mitzi Gower DeGroote, one of the organizers of the band, said a number of members had been wondering when they could get back together.

“They hadn’t played for so long they were really jonesing to play, so I kind of threw it together at the last minute. There will be some new faces. And a couple of new ones that weren’t alumni but are helping out. Friends,” she said.

Degroote, the daughter of the late Bob Gower, head of the Charles City High School  music department for nearly 20 years in the 1960s and 1970s, said the band members won’t have a chance to practice together before the performance, but they should all be familiar with the music.

Some of it is music they have performed before, and everyone has the sheet music to practice on, mailed out by DeGroote.

“Hopefully it all works out,” she said, laughing.

DeGroote said some of the band members wondered why they can’t perform more often, and so the plan currently is to perform at least twice this summer in addition to Wednesday night’s gig.

“In July we plan on playing outside, which would be fun because we haven’t ever done that. We’re going to be coordinating with the city and playing outside, like down in the park, and the night of the fireworks, also,” she said.

For the July 4th performance, the Alumni Band would perform just before the Charles City Municipal Band, “and then they’ll have the fireworks,” she said.

DeGroote said anyone interested in playing in the Alumni Jazz Band can contact her at 515-491-6172 or mdegroote24@gmail.com, or can contact any other band member they know.

“Anyone who is ever interested in playing, if they’re interested in playing this summer or whenever,” she said.