Most people have at some time have experienced the phenomenon known as a second wind.
When feeling exhausted after working at a task, they sometimes feel a sudden, mysterious burst of energy called a second wind, which helps them continue exerting energy to finish the task at hand.
There is a group of senior citizens in Centre County which typifies the term, and in fact has adopted that name for their group. They are the Second Winds Jazz Band, a group of 10 musicians who play a mix of swing, big band, pop, and jazz tunes all over the Centre region.
The band was organized 15 years ago at the State College Senior Center, where they still meet for their Monday night rehearsals. Horn player Pat Snyder is proud of the band members’ ages.
“We’re kind of unique,” says Snyder. “There aren’t many bands where 60 percent of the people are over 80 years old.”
The band plays at many venues in Centre County including events in State College, Bellefonte, Boalsburg, and Aaronsburg, among others, as well as in neighboring counties, including performances in Tyrone and Frenchville.
“We play all over,” says Snyder.
It was Band leader Joe Perez who had the idea for the Second Winds name.
“We were just coming up with names and I figured it’s our second time around,” says Perez. “Most of the band had played in military bands, and we all came back together.”
Music is not the only thing to experience the second wind phenomenon in the group. Band vocalist Liz Perez was a widow when she joined the band where she met Perez, who was a widower. A second wind romance developed between the couple and they married.
“He took me out for ice cream, and that’s how it started,” says Liz Perez.
Liz Perez says she received vocal training as a young girl, and was approached by a talent scout who advised her to move to New York to pursue a career in music.
“My parents wouldn’t let me. They said ‘No child of mine is going to New York and live by herself,’” Liz Perez says. “But I always wanted to sing in a band.”
She finally got her chance when she was asked to audition for Second Winds. She shares vocalist duties with trombonist Ted Fuller.
The band has lost some members over the years, but three band members have been with the band for the entire 15 years of its existence.
“We’ve been very fortunate that when someone retires or passes away, we’ve been able to get new people in,” says Snyder.
“We wish we were 18 again,” quips trumpet player Ed Dyke.
The band’s repertoire includes many jazz standards such as “Take the A Train,” “Satin Doll,” “Birth of the Blues,” “All of Me,” “Lady be Good,” and others, as well as some 1960s classics such as Van Morrison’s 1967 hit “Brown-Eyed Girl.”
For more information on the Second Winds Jazz Band, call the State College Senior Center at (814) 231-3076.
