Don Neely’s Royal Society Jazzes On

One can’t imagine the vintage music scene today without the influence of Don Neely, the founder of the long-running Royal Society Jazz Orchestra. The California-based bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer has more than 40 years of musical experience playing tunes from the 1920s and 1930s. He expanded the audience for hot syncopated music beyond the Bay area without sacrificing authenticity. Dapper Don, with his silver hair and mustache making him look like the elder statesman he has become, still performs around California with other bands and his own 11-piece Royal Jazz Society Orchestra. At 67, Neely recalls the early days of the RSJO, where he found his audience for retro big-band music when everyone else was listening to jazz-rock or disco. He credits his grandmother for introducing him as a child to the music of such 1930s jazz greats as Fats Waller and Teddy Wilson. She would play stride piano on her living room piano. As is the custom, Neely first played classical piano music he learned in lessons that he began at a young age. The Beatles also swept the nation at that time but Beatlemania held no interest for Neely. Instead of listening to rock, he just unearthed vintage 78 rpm records at a local Goodwill store. “I discovered I really like Victor records,” Neely says. “One of the first records I bought was Paul Whiteman playing ‘Whispering’ whi