Sometime in 1986 Frank Gailbraith of the Simi Valley Elks Club asked Bill Headley if he could get a band to play for his wifes birthday. Bill contacted drummer and band leader Bill Roberts and his band played the party in July of 1986. After the party, Bill Roberts suggested to Bill Headly that he start a jazz club here in Simi Valley.

Headly didn’t take him serious but Roberts was determined and within a year (1988) he had gathered a group of musicians and founded the Simi Valley Dixieland Jazz Club under the umbrella name of “Bill Meyers Jelly Roll Jazz”.

The founders of the club were Harold Hawley, Dean Honey, Diz Mullins, Bill Meyers, and John Sciortino. Also on the first Board were Lance Butler, Patti Kelly, and Charley and Dorthy Martin The Club started out meeting at the Moose Lodge in Simi Valley on Alamo St.
(from History of the Simi Valley Jazz Club by Anne Headly)

L to R…Jim Wallace, Ginny Boyle, Evie Fiorani, Ann Wallace, ???? Bob Gatineau, Diz Mullins, Al Rreiman and Joe Boyle at the piano.
ANYONE KNOW WHO THE QUESTION MARK IS ?

In 1990 the Club moved to the Elks Lodge of Simi Valley. Prominently noted as people involved with the Club in the early years (not mentioned so far) were Tommy Pinto & Terri Iozzia, (who were both Presidents for years), Bobby Vinton, and Ed Lovick. It’s notable that Don Hooker was bringing his drum set to the Club then and he still is today. Also Terri Iozzia has been on the board since 1990.After bouncing around a couple of temporary locations in 2004,, and not being able to find a permenant spot for the Club, we moved to the Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge where we spent almost two years. In June of 2006 the Club returned to Simi Valley and mat Pauls Italian Villa. About 1 very good year which saw our membership nearly double. Then in September of 2007 we moved to our current location at the Simi Valley Senior Center where we belive it will be a very long time before we have to update our location again.