The Jazz Therapists Will See You Now
It’s a strange fact that one of the best working jazz bands on the San Francisco Bay Area scene can’t be seen in nightclubs, restaurants, theaters or concert halls. Boasting an illustrious cast of musicians who’ve performed around the world with a dizzying array of talent, from Ray Charles and Taj Mahal to Pharoah Sanders and Bobby Hutcherson, the Jazz Therapists only play for exclusive audiences. Three days a week, the seven-piece combo can be found performing at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and senior centers, delivering a potent dose of healing swing to listeners who grew up hearing and dancing to these standards. Love You Madly, the group’s third album, captures the current combo playing the same material that delights audiences who otherwise don’t have much access to live music.
“It’s fantastic to see the response to our performances, people smiling, clapping, swaying to songs that are deeply ingrained in their memories,” says Anna de Leon, the veteran jazz vocalist who ran various incarnations of the beloved Berkeley venue Anna’s Jazz Island over the years.
“What makes it work is that these are great musicians. It’s a dream come true for a singer. And we love this era of music. Taj Mahal joined us for several months playing banjo. That’s what led to Savoy,” his acclaimed 2023 album focusing on swing band material with a big band featuring two Therapists, trombonist Mike Rinta and saxophonist Lincoln Adler (who also created this album’s cover art).
Joining one of the Bay Area's busiest sidemen David Rokeach in the superlative rhythm section are guitarist Rob Schwartz, pianist Ben Stolorow, and bassist Mark Heshima Williams, who’s worked with a who’s who jazz and blues talent over five decades, including guitar great Calvin Keys, trombone legend Julian Priester, and trumpeter Eddie Henderson. Trombonist and ace arranger Mike Rinta, who earned a 2014 Grammy Award with the Pacific Mambo Orchestra’s eponymous debut album, supplies the majority of the charts. A master at writing for particular players, “I do keep these musicians in mind when I’m arranging,” he says.
“We have a great piano player, and I’ll write things where he’ll play the melodies for the intro. I just try to make things so they’re playable, with two-part harmonies for the front line. Nothing too complicated. The whole purpose is to make it sound cohesive rather than like we’re up there jamming.”
From the opening track, the Therapists cover a lot of ground with easy going authority. The album kicks off with a briskly swinging take on the Ellingtonian title track, a piece inspired by Ella Fitzgerald’s classic rendition with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. It closes with a trad-jazz version of “(Won’t You Come Home) Bill Bailey,” a song that’s been in continual circulation since 1902.
There are too many highlights in between to mention them all, but listen to Stolorow’s rubato intro on the Gershwins’ sublime “A Foggy Day” and de Leon’s deft handling of the verse, which builds subtle tension before the full band joins in on the jaunty groove. Or the Therapists’ Latin-tinged take on the Carl Fischer/Frankie Laine gem “We'll Be Together Again,” which recasts the melancholic lyric as a prediction of future bliss. This is a band that’s clearly enjoying itself, and their pleasure is infectious.
Active at more than six dozen facilities, the Jazz Therapists reach thousands of seniors, but repeat appearances mean that “we’ve gotten to know these folks and these places,” de Leon says. “Some are memory care or assisted living facilities and it’s not unusual for residents to give us requests. If we don’t have a chart, we learn the song and play it the next time. We’ve got ongoing relationships, and we’re dedicated to bringing real music to seniors.”
Behind this singular band was a singular man, Bob Schwartz (1925-2017). Born in 1925 in Chicago, he was a jazz lover who spent his high school and college years playing clarinet and tenor sax, including a 15-piece band, the Techtonians, which he organized as an undergrad at M.I.T. After joining the Navy and serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II he ended up moving to Oakland in 1951, where he founded a successful electronics company.
Schwartz didn’t return to playing music until his mid-eighties, well after his retirement, when a jazz pianist moved in next door. Hearing him practice inspired Schwartz, a restlessly creative philanthropist, to pick up his horn again, and they started playing every Saturday. Instead of remaining a garage-bound hobby, Schwartz’s rekindled love of playing soon turned into a new vehicle for improving the quality of people’s lives. He formed a band. When a neighbor walking by heard Schwartz playing, she invited the band to perform at a senior center where she had worked as an activities coordinator. Before long, the Therapists were in session. Bob named the band and shared his jazz therapy with needy seniors.
“My club had just closed,” de Leon recalls. “I loved the idea. We rehearsed every Saturday for quite a while and Bob found a band rep to secure gigs at senior facilities. Bob hadn’t performed for 60 years, and he sounded great.”
The fact that the rhythm section was and continues to be anchored by his son, the blues and gospel-steeped guitarist Rob Schwartz, enhanced the combo’s family feel. Through his foundation, Schwartz funded the recording of two excellent Jazz Therapists albums, Comeback Jazz and Comeback Jazz with Dance. After his passing, his daughter Margot, who is a professional violinist herself, now ensures that the band can continue Bob's mission.
Love You Madly is the group’s first recording after Schwartz’s departure. Offering a public glimpse at a band that brings pure joy to underserved audiences, it’s an album that celebrates jazz’s power to engage listeners of any age.
“Playing all these gigs during the day with great musicians and having my nights free, this is probably my favorite gig now,” Rinta says. “It’s such a joy. This is absolutely my favorite music to play, and bringing this music to seniors is a high calling.”
Thanks to Bob Schwartz and his family, it’s a calling that The Jazz Therapists continue to answer.
Andrew Gilbert, 2024 (longtime music journalist in Berkeley, Calif.)