Musician's Biographies
Getting to Know... Bob Masteller
At the age of 12 Bob started playing in his father’s band in upstate NY which instilled in him a strong sense of jazz history. Hisfather played “hot” music which was prevalent in the twenties before swing. Bob’s dad had a 14 piece band in 1919 and came through
the depression and into swing as the father of 5 children. Bob was the youngest.
While at Hobart College, Bob led a jazz quintet on campus from 1956-60, then a jazz and dance band in Fulton, NY, for eleven years
after that. Bob came to Hilton Head in 1973 to be VP of Human Resources for Charles Fraser and Sea Pines.
The culmination and high point of his career was opening The Jazz Corner with partner Charlie Swift, a retired International IBM executive.
The Jazz Corner is an extension of Bob’s life in jazz music and represents a collection of ideas since the age of 11, particularly
as they relate to ambiance, acoustics, charm, and the original jazz era of yesteryear.
Bob has performed for Presidents Ford, Bush, Clinton, and Senator Bobby Kennedy. He also did a 26 week stint at Sweet Georgia Brown
in Savannah during the filming of “Midnight in the Garden of Evil”.
Bob plays vibraphone, valve trombone, and a little horn called the Puje. He loves a combination of Louis Armstrong, swing, and Broadway
compositions.
Bob is the highlighted performer at The Jazz Corner on Tuesday evenings. He feels pleased to be the host of our Society and sits in
with DJSLC’s Sunday Jams whenever he can.