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Decca recording artist, Jack Schaeffer, a remarkable saxophonist, who after touring the United States and Canada, played in various dance bands which featured saxophone quartet ensembles (Jack on baritone), embarked with his tasty clarinet into the realm of Dixieland jazz, with a stint in a German band, even played in the Trojan marching band while a student at USC, all before joining as an original member of the Southern California surf band of the late 60s, "The Royal Monarchs". Signed by radio personality Bob Eubanks as house band at his Cinnamon Cinder night clubs, they were regulars on his Hollywood Dance Time and The Cinnamon Cinder television shows.
Producer Gary Usher singed Jack's newly reformed group, "The Forte'Four" to a recording contract at MCA/Universal and released several singles on the Decca Records label. Guitarist Glen Campbell joined as session man on all their recordings.
During his time in Hollywood, Jack was student at USC, recording sessions and shooting films and television shows by day then playing night club gigs and concert dates by night. His girl friend at the time was Diane Ravelle, of the first 'girl surf bands', "The Honey's". They were dating together along with her sister Maryln, another "Honey" and her boy friend-then husband, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Such is Rock 'n' Roll.
Schaeffer soon brought his sax talents to the Las Vegas strip as Musical Director in Frederick Apcar's Production, "The Sands Playmate Review", featuring Jack's seven piece band, "The Enterprise". Later, he helped found one of the first Christian Music groups, "Love Song", with Chuck Gerard.
Settling in the Bay Area he helped form and musically arrange an acoustical group around singer Patty Parsons. "An Exchange" became very popular playing San Francisco's famous coffeehouse the "Coal Yard", Marin counties, Mill Valley "Sweetwater", Sausalito's famous "Gatsby's", and "The Boat House". Then playing West Hollywood's legendary, Doug Weston's "Troubadour", before touring Northwest America's premiere ski resorts for many years. In its peak year of 1972, An Exchange opened for Ike and Tina Turner at the Circle Star Theatre in San Francisco, also opening for the Everly Brothers and Joan Baez at the Edmonton International Pop Festival in Canada. Jack was notorious for playing five different horns, wearing leather shorts and thigh high boots. He was Producer and Arranger on Patty Parson's first solo album, "Why Can't I?" and Co-Producer,Co-Arranger on Ron Butler's album, "Ron Butler and the Saxist; Go Figure!".
The writer, Jack Schaeffer, aka Nonist John, whose articles have been published in High IQ Journals, Vidya and E.T.C., Journal of General Semantics, is very bright and accomplished, with proof his membership in The Triple Nine Society (top 99.9% of the population, 150 IQ and up). His interests run along the lines of mathematics, astronomy, with his specialty in semantics. Jack also writes in the team with the love of his life, his long marriage to Mischka Stephenstien. Together they have published short stories and screenplays. Jack is the inventor of an original multi-stringed instrument, the Strumbola.
Schaeffer was a primary musician, Arranger and Co-Founder of the Chicago style big band sound of the group named "Marin". The band played one Tuesday at San Francisco's "Winterland", getting a standing command encore. They were later told "Nobody gets encores on a Tuesday!". Marin played a concert date on the square at UC Berkeley Campus. One professor later dubbed them the "Musical Answer to Technocracy".
Jack has played for many years, and continues to play in the Mill Valley based ensemble, "Hot House". Performances include the Mount Tamalpais Mountain play "Hello Dolly"; film and television soundtracks including "L.A. Confidential", "Hello Palm Springs", "Viva Las Vegas"; and appearances with: Mose Allison, Michael McDonald, Dave Mason, Mark Murphy, Spencer Davis and comedians Harry Anderson and Tom Smothers. Affectionaly known by his fellow artists and fans as "Saxist Jack".
