Sentimental Journey Jazz and Swing Band

The Beginning

What is jazz? "If you gotta ask, you’ll never know" --- Louis Armstrong.

One evening after The Believers Concert Band’s rehearsal of an arrangement of Glen Miller’s Little Brown Jug, several of the band members expressed a desire to play more of this style music.  They liked the big band sound and wanted to explore playing some arrangements by the Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey bands as well as Stan Kenton and Duke Ellington.  Out of this and following sessions grew the idea that we wanted to play the same songs we had listened to all of our lives including rock-n-roll and even country music.  We wanted to develop a large ensemble with a complete rhythm section so we could perform almost any kind of music we enjoyed, including big band, jazz, swing or rock-n-roll and country.

The band was formed with 9 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, piano, guitar, bass guitar and drums.  Only two of the band members had ever played this type of music.  We chose Sentimental Journey Jazz and Swing Band for our name after the popular 1944 song written by Les Brown and Ben Homer, and with lyrics written by Bud Green, Sentimental Journey.  We liked this song because it sounds good in a variety of styles and tempi plus it featured the style of our lead vocalist Kerri Martin.

Appearances

The band performs four or five times a year for civic functions and nondenominational church related events.  The band also sponsors a free, open to the community, Valentines Dinner Dance each year in the MAC at the Gainesville First United Methodist Church.

Some of the songs we enjoy playing at most appearances include:
Sentimental Journey, Satin Doll, Crazy, Stompin' At The Savoy, Moon River, Rock Around The Clock, A String Of Pearls, Unchained Melody, Basin Street Blues, Could I Have This Dance, Proud Mary, Route 66, In The Mood, Old Time Rock-n-Roll, Perfidia, Swingin' Shepherd Blues, In The Midnight Hour, Ja-Da, Song Of San Miguel, Fly Me To The Moon, What A Wonderful World, Can't Help Falling In Love, The Look Of Love, Can't Buy Me Love, Just In Time, All The Way, Misty, The Nightingale Sang In Berkley Square, My Girl and others.

Valentine Dance - 2010

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Richard Hunt,  Assistant Leader of The Jazz Band

Richard is a graduate of Georgia State University and a retired banker. He served for many years as President & CEO of Gainesville Bank & Trust.

He has been very active in the Gainesville Community, serving at various times as Chairman of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the North Georgia Community Foundation, President of the Kiwanis Club of Gainesville, President of the Arts Council, District Chairman and Council Executive Board member for the Boy Scouts of America and served as a director of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Gainesville Redevelopment Authority, the Gainesville-Hall County Development Authority, Elachee Nature Science Center, United Way of Hall County, Brenau University Advisory Board and the Northeast Georgia Medical Center Foundation.

His interest in playing music began while in middle school where he played violin in the school orchestra and trombone in the school band. He started playing guitar in high school, and for many years he and his brother who plays bass guitar and clarinet had a five piece dance band that enjoyed being in demand throughout north and middle Georgia.

With the demands of his business career, Richard drifted away from playing trombone until he joined the Believers Concert Band several years ago.

He is very appreciative of Richard Petty and The Believers Band for giving him the opportunity to play again. Because of the opportunities provided by the Believers Band, Richard also plays with the Northwinds Symphonic Band. Richard has always been a fan of jazz and swing music, and has a special affinity for Traditional Dixieland Jazz. He is excited to be part of the Sentimental Journey Jazz and Swing Band and the Chicken City Stompers Dixieland Jazz Band as well as the Fabulous Green Street Parade Dixieland Jazz Band which includes his two sons on tenor sax and guitar, and his brother on clarinet.

Richard and his wife, Sandra, attend Lakewood Baptist Church. They have four children and seven grandchildren which include a guitar player, a tenor sax player, an oboe player, a vocalist and two drummers.