94-year-old Boonville saxophonist still making melodies

Norbert Langkop has been making music for more than 80 years, and he has no intention of stopping soon.

Langkop, 94, heads the Melody Makers, a band of musicians from central Missouri who play throughout the region. The band most recently played at a Fourth of July celebration in Tipton, an annual show for the group.

Langkop, whose specialty is the tenor saxophone, received his first instrument before he was a teenager. Although he remembers wishing for toys rather than the suitcase waiting for him under the Christmas tree, his father’s gift of an alto sax certainly had an impact on young Norbert, who took to the instrument like a natural musician.

“I took a few lessons, very few,” Langkop said. “It was kind of a drag for me. I didn’t take to it like I ought to ... but one of the cousins I lived with, he was a band instructor.”

Langkop, who now lives in Boonville, worked as a farmer and contractor while he lived most of his life just south of Tipton. He said music has always been a hobby of his and an outlet to express himself when he wasn’t working.

“It was just kind of an outlet from all the work I do. It’s kind of relaxing,” Langkop said. “It’s just something we enjoy doing. We wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t enjoy it.”

Langkop was always more interested in playing rather than practicing, however. He said he always enjoyed listening to jazz, so learning to play came naturally. His favorite types of music both to listen to and play are jazz and big band music.

His knack for improvisation is well-suited to playing jazz, in which he can play off his band mates to produce a unique show every time they take the stage.

“I usually just follow whoever plays the piano. I have so much of that in my head that I just kind of recognize it and know what to do,” Langkop said. “When we play, it’s kind of a jam session. There is a different flavor each time.”

James Holliday, of Sedalia, plays the drums for the Melody Makers. He stepped in for his father, Gene, who died at age 94 more than 10 years ago. James Holliday said his father and Langkop started the band in the late 1960s, and his father drummed for the group until he was 93 years old.

Holliday said Langkop has done an excellent job managing the band, whose style he described as turn-of-the-century pop jazz.

“The music is designed basically for people to have fun and enjoy dancing,” Holliday said. “I really like playing, but the main thing is other people enjoying it.”

At 66 years old, Holliday is one of the younger members of the Melody Makers, so he often has to carry around the equipment of his more senior band mates. The band has monthly performances at the Bunceton Lions Club and annual sets in Tipton.

The Melody Makers are planning to play two shows in Sedalia this month. They will take the stage at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at First Christian Church, and they intend to play at the Essex later this month.

“When Norbert stops playing, it might be hard for us to continue because I don’t know if we can find anyone who knows all those old songs,” Holliday said.

But Langkop said his band does not need to start holding auditions just yet.

“We don’t have any plans to quit,” Langkop said. “As long as we’re able to go we’ll keep going, and I’ve been pretty lucky with my health.”

EVERYDAY PEOPLE
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