Outcast Jazz Band

Chicago, IL

About

The Outcasts emerged from the Beverly area of Chicago in the early 1980's. Founded in the summer of '81 by the late Gilbert "Smokey" Robinson, the original OJB (actually Gilbert's Social Outcast Band) was comprised of ten kids ranging in ages from 13 to 17, and was put together solely for the purpose of entertaining at the St. Margaret of Scotland Summer Day Camp. What began as a summer diversion blossomed almost immediately, and they soon found themselves playing in a seedy bar on West 111th St called Sawyer's Liquors. Whenever a fight would break out, they had to hustle everything out the back alley entrance before the police arrived, because how do you explain high school kids in a bar at midnight on a Saturday? Within a year, they had doubled their repertoire and their personnel. Since that fateful summer so long ago, the Outcasts have been swingin' their way through some of the most prestigious ballrooms and events in the Chicagoland Area. Why "The Outcasts"? It's their most often asked question, next to "Do you do any Snoop Dog?" (No - drop it like its hot.) What else would you have called 16 year olds who form a 40's era swing band in 1981? The name says it all, even today. They are not your average big band. It is their mission in life to have a good time, and that goal sets them apart from even the best big bands. Sure, Harry Connick, Jr. has a great band, but do his trombones play "In The Mood" while traveling up and down the escalators at the Evergreen Plaza? We don't think so. Yes, they take certain liberties, but that's what makes it fun for them, and unforgettable for their audiences.

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