Setting the Scene in 1978: The Founding Story — Central Illinois Jazz Society

In 1978, Doug Lady, a jazz fan, musician and then-student at Western Illinois University, came back to Peoria and talked his mother, Jane Lady, into staging a jazz concert in their backyard.

More than 200 people packed the Ladys’ backyard that day. Jimmy Binkley was one of the performers.

“Doug Lady, he thought I was the greatest thing that ever lived,” chuckles Binkley. “He’d come to the [Fulton Street] Steakhouse and look in the window, but he couldn’t come in—he was too young. So I’d go out and get him…and put him over by the side of the bar, sitting by me. Doug Lady, he’s like my son. He’s my friend.”

Everyone enjoyed the experience so much that Doug, along with Jon Doren, Ron Hopper and countless others, formed Central Illinois Jazz Society (CIJS) in 1978 to provide more support and opportunities for jazz performance in Central Illinois.

The Charter for CIJS was first composed in September 1978; the first concert officially presented by CIJS took place on December 1, 1978, at Illinois Central College.

In 1979, the CIJS House Band was formed, which remains, to this day, a loose-knit, rotating roster of some of the most respected jazz musicians in town.

*Dave Keyes, founding CIJS House Band member*

CIJS Cofounders Ron Hopper, Jon Doren and Doug Lady were key members of the original CIJS House Band, which also featured Jimmy Binkley, Rich Richardson, Dave Keyes, Mark Smith, Billy Cook, Billy Sutton, Dan Diefendorf, Larry Harms, Gaile Thomas, Cliff Smith, Larry Smith, Dave Hoffman, and countless others in the early years.

*John Miller on guitar and Dave Hoffman on trumpet*

In addition to the backyard that hosted the first Jazz Society concert, many of the early concerts took place at The Other Side, a jazz bar in Peoria Heights next to Pizza Works (and under the same ownership). There were also bigger outdoor events in the parking lot of The Other Side and Pizza Works before CIJS moved on to other Peoria venues that would welcome growing crowds for jazz jams and monthly CIJS concerts, including: Holiday Inn Brandywine, The River Station, Jumer’s Castle Lodge, The Grill on Fulton and Jim’s Steakhouse (both downtown piano bars where CIJS regulars would jam and gather), Panache, and now the gorgeous Trailside Event Center in Peoria Heights where monthly concerts are currently hosted.

Ever since — for the past 45+ years — CIJS has been presenting monthly concerts, summer concert series, jazz festivals, student-focused performances and more throughout Central Illinois: all with a longstanding mission to further the appreciation and support of the region’s incredibly talented jazz musicians.