The Tempos: A Brief 60+ Year Summary
In 1958 a Seattle Boeing engineer named Henry Fichtner (piano) got together with some musical co-workers and formed a group. A few months after the group formed, Dr. Vern Harkness, a school principal (trombone) teamed up with Henry and co-led the band for many years.
They practiced and performed for the first five years before coming up with a name for the band. In 1963 Wayne Watling (bass) suggested "The Tempos" for the nine-piece group and it stuck.
In 1969 the band began expanding with the addition of five more members by 1970.
In 1974 the first singer joined the band which really added go the group.
As the band grew so did the performance schedule. The band was becoming well known in the Greater Seattle area and as far away as Yakima. The events where they performed were quite varied and included the Sea Fair Grand Ball, corporate parties, car shows, concerts in many of the parks around the area and wedding receptions, just to name a few. They even were in one of the "Northern Exposure" episodes.
With a history of over 60 years the band has maintained its current roster of sixteen by always finding new and talented musicians to replace those who chose to retire.
The makeup of the band is: five saxes, three trumpets, three trombones, piano, bass, guitar, drums and singer.
As you can see we have a long heritage of really good musicians. While people do come and go with the band the core group have been together for many years and the turnover rate is extremely low.
While our favorite events include "Arts in the Parks" summer concerts and car shows around the area, private parties like the "Man Deals Wine and Whiskey" event at the Russell Barn in Bothell are a lot of fun.
If you are looking for a fun, entertaining and classic big band group, get in touch with us and we'll make your event something to remember.
Before we go, we'd like to mention the wonderful spouses who put up with all the rehearsals and performances that quite often take us away from them and our families, so we can entertain you. Without them this group would probably not exist! Thank you all and we look forward to seeing you at YOUR next event.