Every band should have a George Ranzette. We don't know exactly when George became our roadie. As a matter of fact, we don't know exactly where he lives or how to find him. But at the gigs, George is invaluable. He fixes anything on the spot (and I mean anything, even repairs your car during the gigs). It is worth repeating, every band should have a George Ranzette. It has been rumored that George Ranzette is "(allegedly) the Best There Ever Was"

Rusty joined Small Talk in 1980 when the Small Talk trio added bass and drums. He left the Jim Small Band in 1983. Rusty also wrote songs that were in the bands regular rotation. He is a funny man and hopefully he will find this entry when he googles himself and can check in and let us know what he is up to.

In 1978 Larry joined Phil and Jim to form Small Talk. He played bass guitar and guitar and was part of the songwriting process. He left the group about a year later and currently resides in Cleveland where he has recently rediscovered the songwriting bug and has built a recording studio in his house. A few years back Larry found our website and he sent a submission to the Jim Small Band Tell Your Story Here Page that can be found by clicking here.

Phil joined the band in 1984 and lasted four years. He kept the rest of the band in stitches the entire time he was here. On a memorable 1988 band road trip to the Sunday River Ski resort in Maine, Phil was the sourge of the mountain. The ski patrol there tell stories about him to this day. He finally couldn't take the (mostly self-inflicted) abuse to his body and had to leave the band shortly after. Fortunately, we used to rehearse at his parent's house which enabled us to meet his grandmother and, more importantly, his little brother Vin, who succeeded him as JSB drummer.

For six years until she passed away suddenly in 1999, Sally Scudder was a card-carrying (and equipment-carrying) member of the Jim Small Band. Sally was a joy to be around. She approached everything she did with such exuberance. It is hard to accept that we will never look across the stage again and see her in her carefully ironed clothes, her hands on the keys, bobbing her head and tapping her feet in time to the music (bare feet as often as possible). This was one happy lady. Sally had been part of the Huntington music scene since the early 1970's, playing in various bands and as a solo artist. She had perfect pitch, which means that whatever musical note is played, she could sense its pitch name. Sally was a great addition to the band, bringing new material and a fun attitude. She will never be forgotton.

In 1988, when playing in the band became too much, Phil Cimino came to us and said "I can't take it any more, but I'll give you my little brother. Don't worry, he knows all the songs." We didn't even let Vin rehearse, he just practiced with tapes and showed up at Dakota Rose on a Thursday night. He has been in the band ever since. Vin's playing is inventive, yet rock solid. It is Vin who counts off the tempo to every song we play. His sense of tempo is such that on live tapes of the same song, recorded almost 20 years apart, the length of the songs are almost exactly the same. His ability to make massive drops in dynamics while keeping the tempo steady has been refined over years of interaction with the other musicians in the band. He and Mike have the ability to move the downbeat at will, to accomodate the twists and turns of extended solos played by John or Rick. Vin also has the best late nite craziness stories.

In 1980, Small Talk added bass and drums to the group. Within a few months Lee Finkelstein joined the band and was instrumental in the development of the sound that would become the Jim Small Band. The product of a family that has drumming and rhythm in its DNA, Lee has incredible independence and a highly developed sense of time. He has gone on to perform with dozens of top artists playing diverse styles of music - from klezmer to funk to traveling the world as a member of the Blues Brothers Band. Lee is also a founding member of the Long Island based Funk Filharmonik. As with all JSB members, Lee is a very funny guy with a keen sense of the absurd.