The Night Blooming Jazzmen (NBJ, or "Nightbloomers") is a traditional, or dixieland band, formed in October 1975 to represent the Society for the Preservation of Dixieland Jazz at the third Sacramento Jubilee. There were very few jazz bands in existence then – not enough to put on a festival. The NBJ was started as an ad-hoc "pick-up band." It was not expected to survive – but the NBJ were so well-received and had so much fun that they stuck together. Since then, they have played thousands of concerts, church services, funerals, house parties, grand openings, jazz clubs, wedding receptions, dances, etc .. AND several dozen cruises and land trips to China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, the Panama Canal, the Amazon, the Mediterranean, and many other parts of Europe.

The Night Blooming Jazzmen is one of the busiest bands in the nation. They have a lot of fun with their audiences and each other and despite this their music is top-quality. They play well and put on a great show. The band's Sunday morning "hymn-a-long" often has the largest attendance of any event at a festival. To quote from a recent festival program:

"The Nightbloomers are certainly the most popular band right here in the greater Los Angeles area despite some awesome competition. Not only does leader Chet Jaeger put on a fine line of patter, but practically the whole band sings. The band is in constant demand. Despite that, the band finds plenty of time to play locally and very graciously for charities and jazz club dates. One specialty of the band is spirituals and hymns. Despite the old jokes, spontaneous nuttiness and musical spoofs, the band puts out jazz of very high quality. No hour or so is better spent than enjoying the Nightbloomers."

Currently, the band personnel is:

Chet Jaeger - Cornet and leader
Jim Richardson - Reeds
Dick Doner - Trombone
Les Deutsch - Piano etc.
Brad Roth - Banjo and Guitar (local performances)
Lance MacLean - Banjo and Guitar (remote performances)
Don Richardson - Bass
Larry Kostka - Drums
In addition to recordings, you can buy additional NBJ merchandise here.
Hire the NBJ for your New Year's Eve party! The NBJ has an extensive set of recordings. A full listing of available recordings is here.
The Nightbloomers are available on New Year's Eve this year. This probably won't last long - so if you want to have us join you for your own party, call or email now. It's "first-come, first-serve!"
Short biographies of each NBJ band member are here.
The NBJ has a very busy schedule. Check here to see where they are playing near you.
The NBJ returns from a magnificent Alaska cruse!
Find out what it was like by visiting the NBJ Alaska Photo Gallery, complete with interesting stories between the photos!
View some photographs of the NBJ under various circumstances here
Listen to some sound samples of the NBJ here
Traveling with the NBJ is a unique, memorable, and totally enjoyable experience. We will advertise upcoming trips on this site as they occur. See what we mean and check out our recent Bavarian trip here. We also have a comprehensive photo gallery of the trip here.
See what Les Deutsch has been doing to create software-based organs
Our pianist has been busy helping to create a new world of classical and theater organs that use computers to generate the sounds. Check out the latest here (mostly for technical gurus!)
To get our electronic newsletter (including up-to-date listings of all our appearances) send email.
What does the music of Raymond Scott have in common with the Night Blooming Jazzmen?
Raymond Scott is a composer no one has heard of - but everyone has heard his music. His way-out jazz compositions of the 30s became the basis for much of the musical accompaniment to Loony Tunes cartoons. The Raymond Scott Archives is striving to capture all of Scott's sheet music - made difficult by the fact that Scott never wrote these down! NBJ's pianist, Les Deutsch, is one of the major contributors to the archive. Listen to one of his transcriptions performed recently by Concordia University in Montreal.
Get our latest CD: Shine Away Your Blusies
This CD contains many audience favorites plus some new material that really pushes the bounds for the NBJ. Of special interest is Les Deutsch's organ solo played on a virtual organ of his own design. See how he did this and hear a sample. Hear some songs you thought you would never hear from this band - done extremely well
Get a CD version of our latest pair of DVDs!
So, maybe you don't own a DVD player. Maybe you don't have one in your car. We have the solution. This is a double CD set with the audio tracks from our latest two DVDs (one of which hasn't yet been released): "Traditional Jazz Favorites" and "Swing That Music". You'll need this even if you already own the DVDs!
Get Our Latest DVD!
See and hear our third commercial DVD, "Swing That Music," filmed live during the infamous Hayward Heat Wave of July 2006 by the Cooper Foundation. This live concert includes 12 NBJ tunes - many of which are only available here. As a bonus, there are two tracks of Les playing jazz on the church's organ
Original NBJ-inspired artwork on cards
Now available: beautiful and colorful original artwork by famed artist Irene Nowicki (who happens top be married to reed-man Jim Richardson) on high-quality cards. There are many images available. Contact Irene directly to find out more.
Downloadable NBJ Hymn-a-Long Book!
Any of you who have attended an NBJ "hymn-a-long" know how much fun it can be to sing along with the band. The custom NBJ hymn books have been a part of this experience for many years. Now you can have your own book simply by downloading here - without having to pay us $2.50!

For further information regarding the Night Blooming Jazzmen, please contact
Chet & Eileen Jaeger, 636 Alamosa Drive, Claremont, CA 91711-2005, (909) 626-1771 or email Chet & Eileen Jaeger