About Noel

I was born in the State of Utah on June 18, 1940 of Mormon Pioneer stock and my family were all musical.. I grew up in a musical environment as my mother & father and a few uncles formed a Swing band to play for church & school social functions as well as a few Elks and Moose clubs and the local Country Club in Price, Utah. We would also cross over into Colorado and New Mexico to play for farmers and Indians.

I joined the band at the age of 12 playing clarinet and saxophone, mainly to save my parents from paying baby-sitter money! The band, known as the Jewkes Orchestra, was a favorite in a country that was basically known for cowboy and country western music. People liked to dance to us because we had a good beat.

I later went to college and studied privately, and as I grew older, I felt that I had to come to California in order to grow musically, and I've been here ever since! I sometimes miss the simpler ways of Utah, and perhaps I shall return there someday and teach or just grow old.

But, in the meantime, I do enjoy the multi-faceted lifestyle of California and the wealth of musical talent in this area, and so I'll stay as long as I can hold out and continue to seek new avenues of expression in my favorite music: JAZZ!

- Noel Jewkes