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JERRY
WOOD (alto sax) — He doesn’t like to make a big deal of
it but the rest of the band sure appreciates his experience and dedication
to the band. He’s band treasurer, Jerry Wood. Jerry grew up in South St. Louis and graduated from Southwest
High School. He was given a “C” melody saxophone to play in grade school.
"A “C” melody saxophone (which is pretty rare today) was the only one
available in grade school because you could read violin music", Jerry
explained. After a couple of years, he switched to Eb alto sax, which is
his primary instrument today. Jerry was just one member of a very musical family. His mother
played piano and his father played guitar. He had uncles who played
mandolin, guitar and cornet, and a grandfather who played violin and tuba.
"They were country musicians in southeast Missouri, playing hoedowns,
as they used to call them", added Jerry. "My mother had a great
ear and could pick up the melody of any tune right away. She used to play
for silent movies in East Prairie, Missouri as a young girl." At the age of thirteen he started playing with dance bands
around St. Louis. He learned to play other reed instruments as the need
arose – clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax, baritone (bari) sax and bass
clarinet. Over the years Jerry has performed with many local band
leaders including Gary Dammer and Russ David, as well as playing
engagements with the 5th Dimension, Tommy Dorsey Band, Buddy Morrow Band and
Jan Garber Orchestra. He was a member of the 571st Air Force Band (Air
National Guard) for 32 years, retiring in 1998 as the unit’s
Superintendent, and playing the lead alto book for 30 of those 32 years. Jerry’s non-musical career included being a Tech Illustrator
of maintenance manuals at McDonnell Douglas in 1958. He went to civilian
flight school in 1966 planning to be a commercial airline pilot. When that
didn’t work out he went to Mosby Publishing where he was Director of
Manufacturing when he left after nearly thirty years. He still enjoys
flying, especially with his son who he taught to fly. And he flies heath care missions for the
needy for the Wings of Hope. Jerry and wife, Ann, also have a daughter and three
grandchildren. Jerry had heard about the Gateway band over the years but
didn’t realize a current band member was working with him at Mosby in the
mid-90s. Karen Sharp (trombone/vocals) and Jerry started swapping stories
about their musical backgrounds and Karen passed his name on to the sax
section leader at that time, Jim Knox. In 1996, Jerry started coming to
rehearsals and substituting for full-time members, eventually joining the
band full time when Will Dyer retired. "I have enjoyed it thoroughly. It’s something that came
along at the perfect time in my life. My concern was what playing
opportunities I would have when I retired from the Guard Band." In 1999 as Jim Knox was planning his retirement from Gateway, he asked Jerry to be the
saxophone section leader. In July of 2002, Jerry became president of the
band and in February of 2008, Jerry retired as President and took over as
Treasurer. Jerry would like to see the band work with younger musicians
to give them the opportunity to hear and play with a "working"
band, giving them a different dimension to their education. He believes the
band may also want to explore some different types of literature and venues
to expand the band’s experiences. "However, I don’t think that we
should ever lose sight of the fact that we are a dance band. That’s first
and foremost." |
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