You ask: “Don’t we play Jazz?” Actually, our music is traditional Blues, Rock & Roll and Hip-Hop, as well as original compositions of our own, inspired by “old school” forms. 

2024 is our fortieth-year. We have connected directly with 50,000 young people. Happy Birthday to us.

Our idea of “Professional Growth”  2024

  • As has happened in the past 38-years, with our program there is always an opportunity to create new musical ideas for Saturday Night Bath.
  • “Grooves” are played with the students on the spot when they join the ensemble; the Rap is called “flow”, or “house”.
  • The song composition process stays fresh and exciting. We supply the tempos, beats, chords, or styles; the only requirement is that the language be appropriate.  Usually, three different students perform on an instrument or sing at each event.
  • Before the concert students are coached and encouraged to join the ensemble with instrumental accompaniment singing or playing blues on our instruments or theirs.
  • New harmonicas are provided.
  • Clinics are one-on-one, musical instrument & blues history, given by the musicians. This creates personal bonds and intrigue.
  • Discussions on elemental playing techniques, current blues artists and trends, 1 and 3-chord blues theory, lyrics, styles, and current popular role models occur.
  • A 35mm slide presentation on famous blues titans that gives a visual component to the program.
  • After the concert a beginning lesson is offered, and drum method books are given out for some basic beats.
  • Our 38-page SNB Music Handbook file is donated directly to Principals online.
  • Foremost, we provide an opportunity for anyone to “jam ” with musicians in a lower-key setting. The opportunity to: “write a school blues” composition on the spot.
  • The ensemble continues to reach new audiences, hopefully inspiring future American Blues and Jazz.
  • Inspiring another 50,000 youth will be great!

In 1984, Bassist/Composer/Vocalist Howard Rich created Saturday Night Bath Band. The unique name refers to the fact that a hundred years ago, many country folks had no indoor plumbing —and even many city-dwellers lacked hot water heaters. So families had to boil water to take baths on Saturday night, in order to be fresh for church on Sunday morning. We share this bit of history to provide a context for the music we play—for contemporary youth who may never have witnessed a live professional band in action before. Saturday Night Bath’s cultural performances began with local art festivals, highlighted by opening the Olympics Arts Festival. Concerts for the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs started in 1987. During this early period, the Saturday Night Bath youth ensemble performed in municipal centers such as Barnsdall and McGroarty Art Centers, as well as now-famous clubs of the era like Hop Sing’s, Madam Wong’s and Club 88. Saturday Night Bath Concert Fund received federal non-profit status as a 501(c)(3) in 1993, with the ID number 95-4441563.

Our first juvenile hall concert took place in 1986 at Los Padrinos in Downey, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Since then, we have given over 580-interactive concerts at elementary, middle, continuation high schools, local juvenile halls, and probation camps throughout the state. In recent years, we have emphasized performing at sites for pregnant teens. We also offer an elementary-school music education program called, “A Quick 100 Years of Music,” which shows the progression from the blues, created in America during slavery times, to the music of today.

Eight veteran concert and recording musicians form the core of Saturday Night Bath Band: Howard Rich (Bass Viol and electric Bass Guitar/Vocals), Markus Brox (Drums/Vocals), Dave V. Holland (Baritone and Tenor Sax/Flute/Vocals), Michael H. Rosen (Harmonica/Vocals), Chris Haller (7-string electric “tap” Bass Guitar), Harlan Spector (Keyboards), John Murphy (Guitars/Vocals), and Dean Roubicek (Tenor & Soprano Sax). Chris Ross (percussion) is our sub. The high-energy, acoustic Dixieland and Swing ensemble is  also available for festivals and senior centers.

The youth concerts emphasize contemporary influences on traditional forms. For the bravest students, we encourage joining the performance on stage, whether playing an instrument, singing or rapping. Between songs, band members describe the origins, inventors, mechanics and most famous players of their respective musical instruments. Students who remember ten facts from these educational talks win a harmonica. To prepare students for the event, three written educational prompts are given to each school, and post-performance questionnaires assesses the impact of the event. A file of our own concise 38-page music handbook is available upon request; we work individually with students interested in pursuing music studies, by providing lists of nearby music schools and scholarship opportunities.

In 2020 when Covid-19 hit, we developed an online (Zoom or Microsoft Teams) program with remotely recorded music.  Our 8-musicians then held realtime educational seminars and concerts, reaching schools and Probation Camps this way until mid-2021 when we resumed live performances.