The “Daddios” Evening Jazz Ensembles are comprised of college and high school students, part-time players and professional musicians from around the Bay Area. The name “Daddios” is a nod to the legacy of the late Dr. Herb Patnoe, who founded the evening rehearsal bands in the 1960s as a haven for some of the Bay Area’s best jazz musicians, giving them the chance to get together regularly with their peers to prepare and perform challenging jazz music.

After a hiatus of over a decade, the “Daddios” were reassembled in early 2001 and now rehearse on Wednesday evenings under the direction of De Anza alumnus Steve Tyler. A graduate of Cal State, Northridge and USC, and a former member of Patnoe’s great bands at De Anza in the early 1970s, Tyler has toured as the lead trombonist with the big bands of Harry James, Bill Watrous and Mel Tormé, and worked professionally for over 20 years in the Los Angeles area music industry. Since returning to the Bay Area in 1999 he has been very active as a performer, educator, adjudicator and clinician. He shares with his mentor the same enthusiasm for the big band genre, and the new incarnation of the “Daddios” now includes some of the finest professional and amateur players in the Bay Area, keeping the spirit of “Doc” Patnoe’s musical vision alive at De Anza College.

There are presently two “Daddio” big bands that rehearse on Wednesday evenings. The “Daddios” have made several appearances at the San Jose Jazz Festival and in recent years have performed with numerous well-known guest artists and clinicians, including Carl Allen, Gene Burkert, Jeff Clayton, Madeline Eastman, Scott Englebright, Dave Eshelman, Bob Florence, Warren Gale, Juliet Green, Bill Mays, Ed Neumeister, Tom Politzer, Steve Reid, Marvin Stamm, Kristen Strom, the USAF Falconaires, Mike Vax, Bill Watrous, John Worley and Pete Yellin.

Click here for MUSI-034 "Daddios" Jazz Ensemble course information.