Saturday, February 4, 2006

Lookin' Back: Regimental bands gave new meaning to 'military brass'

PAUL L. ALLEN

Tucson Citizen

We of this electronic age take entertainment for granted - TV and radio, CDs and DVDs, ear buds and iPods, movies, video games - the choices are endless.

On the edge of civilization in these parts a century or more ago, though, it was a different situation. That's why the Army's regimental bands were much appreciated, not only by soldiers, but by the civilian community, as well.

Ray Hicks, founder and director of the 4th Cavalry Regimental Band, a Tucson-based, modern day "reincarnation" of the group that played at Fort Lowell in the 1870s and 1880s, has read extensively on such military ensembles.

"Regimental bands were located anywhere a regimental headquarters was posted," he said. "They were used primarily for ceremonies on post - parades and the Sunday morning inspection - but also for military balls the officers would put on, and for holidays and other special occasions for civilians."

A Sacramento, Calif., school teacher, Hicks was asked to form a re-enactment group about 1980, to play at dedication ceremonies for a refurbished state Capitol. The group acquired uniforms patterned after those used by the Army in the Civil War era.

They so enjoyed playing the old martial music, he recalled, that they continued to practice and play at a variety of civic functions for about 15 years.

When he retired in 1996 and moved to Tucson, he missed the music and the camaraderie, and within six months of arrival here he formed a new group. In keeping with local history, members opted for Apache wars-era uniforms. The group, which currently has 22 members, practices regularly and plays at more than a dozen events annually.

"The 5th Cavalry Band was at Fort Lowell during the 1870s, and played for the arrival of the railroad here in 1880," Hicks said. "The 4th Cavalry Band played quite often (off-post for civilian get-togethers) between 1884 and 1887 at Levin's Garden, and was sent to Fort Bowie for the big celebration of the surrender of Geronimo in September 1886.

"They played when Gen. Nelson Miles was presented with an engraved saber by Tucson after Geronimo's surrender, and at the gathering at Levin's Garden afterward."

They were replaced by the 8th Infantry Band, which played here until Fort Lowell closed in 1891.

The players, most of them professional musicians, played brass, woodwind and percussion instruments. But for nonmilitary performances, many doubled on stringed instruments, playing waltzes, quick-steps, schottisches and polkas.

Being an Army musician was usually a full-time job, Hicks said, involving regular parade performances, practice sessions, serenading the officers' mess and civilian events. The musicians usually were spared participation in patrols and battles.

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