THE PLAYERS

DON HASSLER has been playing saxophone in swing/dance bands for more than half a century. He played saxophone and clarinet in bands all around Chicago and Cook County through his college days at Northwestern University. He also worked in radio and music related business fields, including eight years with Capitol Records in Hollywood. He owned and ran Hassler’s Audio/Video retail stores in the Phoenix area from 1970 through 1988.

In the year 2000 Hassler completed post-graduate music courses from ASU with a Master’s Degree in woodwind performance. He has been playing tenor and alto sax and clarinet around the East Valley in numerous swing and jazz ensembles of various sizes. He has played on the stages of Tempe Center for the Arts, Gammage Auditorium, and Chandler Center. Hassler plays tenor sax in the Myron Sommerfeld Band which has appeared in every resort and public ballroom in the East Valley. He played in the 2008 Chandler Jazz Festival, and now has organized, manages and arranges music for the Jump Jive ‘N’ Wailers.

Hassler also teaches students in his home studio on sax, clarinet and bassoon. He works hard but loves his work.

CHUCK BELLMAN has performed with professional bands and community groups around the valley. He’s currently playing tenor saxophone with the Jazz Big Band at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, clarinet with the Chandler Clarinet Consort, and baritone saxophone with Myron Sommerfeld’s Orchestra of the Stars. He has played with the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, popular singer Keaton Douglas, and the Lynn Roberts Swinging Saxes band. He has regularly played at the Tempe Arts Festival, Chandler Jazz Festival, and various restaurants in the local area. Bellman has also played for other valley music groups in the past, including more than a decade with the Motorola Dance Band.

Bellman has played in bands whose music varies from Reggae and beach music, to jazz and rock, to dance and swing. He has played tenor sax since high school, through college, and has added other instruments to his repertoire but his Selmer Tenor remains his first love. He loves recording music, and often publishes personal recordings to his friends and family.

KEN HALES has been playing trumpet since the age of 9. In High School he played with the Ygnacio Valley jazz band in Concord California, which played at several jazz festivals including Monterrey, Roseville, Reno, and San Fransisco. His first love is jazz, and enjoys playing at jam sessions throughout the Phoenix valley. On Thursday nights you will usually find him playing at the Pita Jungle in Chandler, with Dave Islenfeld, Pete Gitlin and Gerry Reynolds.

He also is a member of the Myron Sommerfeld dance band and the Chandler-Gilbert Community College big band. Some of his favorite players include Tom Harrell, Chet Baker, and Bobby Shew. He has played in many venues in the Phoenix valley and elsewhere. His brilliant trumpet playing can often be heard at the Greenfield Village Ballroom. He definitely puts pizazz into the Jump Jive ‘N’ Wailers group.