They’re called REEB, which stands for Real East End Brass, but this eight-piece ensemble is more than a real New Orleans-style brass band. They’re also all real East End teachers, retired and current, who decided to come together after a music educators conference in 2018. If the name REEB sounds familiar — it’s BEER backward they like to say — it’s because they’ve been playing all over the East End this summer, with no plans to slow down before school starts this fall.
“We initially got together for dual reasons. One, we thought a collection of music teachers playing music was just something to really keep in the community. What do you do with your instrument after high school? You can join a band with your friends. And the second, for me in particular, is playing New Orleans brass band style music. It was always something I wanted to do. It’s songs that I use in my classroom every day, so I wanted to do it at a higher professional level in addition to the beginner entry level,” said Tye Granger, who plays tenor saxophone and is the music teacher at the East Hampton Middle School.
“Over the years, we’ve branched out. We’ve put out a full-length album. We’re working on a whole bunch of other tracks of originals, kind of infused with the New Orleans sound, but also funk and pop and rock,” said Christopher Mandato, the East Hampton School District’s music department coordinator and high school band director, who assembled the group. “What’s driven our success over the years is the trifold approach -– one-third core New Orleans, one-third originals, and the rest of it is pop covers that everybody enjoys and dances to.” The Real, in REEB, he says, is for “The Real Book” — a compilation of lead sheets for jazz standards created by two students at the Berklee College of Music in the 1970s, which is now one of the best-selling jazz reference books of all time.
“I’ve been to New Orleans. I love the vibe and I love bringing it up here,” said Nick Silipo, the guitar player, and the only member of the band who isn’t currently working in a local school district. He has an even more important job these days, staying home with his 14-month-old daughter, but he still teaches private lessons and finds time to play the music he loves.
This summer, REEB headlined Share the Harvest’s Summer Soiree, for the second year in a row, and played gigs on both the North and South Forks, from Salivar’s Clam and Chowder House in Montauk to Claudio’s in Greenport. They’ll be at the Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton next Thursday and Duck Creek Farm in Springs on Aug. 24. Both concerts are free.
“We have a wide range of gigs. Sometimes it’s a bar gig, sometimes it’s one that serves the community. That’s what we love to do — have our hand in a little bit of everything,” said Meghan Kelly, who plays baritone saxophone and clarinet. She taught at Springs School for four years, and now teaches music to kindergartners through fourth graders in Riverhead.
“It’s a different kind of muscle,” she said. “You teach the little guys all day and it’s the best job in the whole world. Then you come and make music with your friends and it’s different and it flexes all those muscles.”
Very often the two worlds collide when they bump into students and parents at their shows.
“Almost every gig,” Mr. Granger said. “Happens every time.”
“It’s really nice,” said Dylan Greene, their vivacious lead singer who teaches elementary music and middle school chorus in Springs. “I’m actually a Springs School alum, so I’m an Osprey through and through. I love going to the store and bumping into families and playing at a show and seeing a student and their friends. It’s really special because we have a chance to be an exemplar of what an ensemble can look like. Music comes in many forms, shapes, and sizes, but it is a lifelong pursuit that you can enjoy well into your adult years. We want to inspire everybody in that way.”
Troy Grindle, on drums, vocals, and the fiddle, has been inspiring young music students for generations. Now retired, he taught music in East Hampton for 32 years.
“The staff was great. We had a fantastic board. We had great administrators,” he recalled. “By the time I had been there maybe 10 years, I knew the entire student body, which was fantastic. When I started, I was teaching grades four through 12, so I would see a kid for eight solid years. By the time they graduated, we were like family.”
REEB’s trombonist, Shawn Ward, a music teacher at Montauk School, was one of Mr. Grindle’s students.
“It’s incredible to say Troy was my teacher. It’s really full circle for me,” Mr. Ward said, smiling. “It makes it even better that we’re all local musicians and local teachers because we really enjoy the same passion of teaching the students and we want to show them that you can bring this to your life with starting your own band. I’ve been teaching 10 years now and some of my former kids are playing at the Talkhouse. I’ve played with some of my former students. It’s really a full circle experience.”
Joseph Randazzo, the band’s newest member, teaches at Riverhead High School and is REEB’s sousaphone and bass guy.
“One of the messages we really try to promote is that anybody can participate in music. Anybody can be musical. Anybody can keep playing,” he said. “If you used to play an instrument you can pick it up again. If you never played an instrument, it’s never too late. And as educators, that’s something we really try to advocate for.”
Updates on REEB’s upcoming performances can be found on Instagram, at @reeblongisland.