Big Band Bucks Blowing at Mayflower

Next Monday, September 30th from 3:30 to 4:15pm, Mayflower residents, John and Pasha Buck will be presenting an instrumental performance in The Mayflower Community Carman Center. Their big band music will be numbers such as “Five Foot Two,” “Blue Skirt Waltz,” “Tennessee Waltz,” “Harbor Lights,” “Jada,” “Just Because,” “Among My Souvenirs,” “Blue Hawaii,” and “Now is the Hour.”

Included will be some traditional hymns, including “Abide With Me,” “God Will Take Care of You,” “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” and “Amazing Grace.” A song leader will be present to assist those who wish to join in singing.

John played trumpet and baritone in junior high and high school and stand-up bass viola for the Lucky Seven Dance Band in the 1950s. Since then, he has played tuba and guitar.

Pasha grew up playing piano and learned organ in college. She has performed as organist for churches in Nebraska and Kansas. When John and she married in 1994, the old Lucky 7 band members would come to the farmhouse and play in the living room. They never had used music in the 1950s, so didn’t start doing so later in life. Thus, Pasha joined in with them using a borrowed tenor sax, learning to play by ear.

John and Pasha have played in the West Marshall Community Band, in their own “Remnants of the Lucky Seven,” and in various performances at the Veterans Home in Marshalltown and other local venues.

Pasha says, “John and I play both by note and by ear, but with eyesight changes, we chose not to play in the Grinnell Community Band this summer, although (Director) Levi Dressler keeps us on the email list just in case!! So we play by ear—that really means that our fingers have learned what to do!”

— Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director