Martin Miller was not going to let a little thing like possibly damaging his eyes keep him from playing his beloved clarinet and saxophone.
In 2006, following two successful detached-retina surgeries, Miller just couldn’t abide his ophthalmologist’s warning. The doctor had told the lifelong musician he’d never be able to play his instruments again for fear of the eye pressure and pain it would cause.
Martin didn’t listen. He loved music too much.
“While I was healing from surgery, I took out my 1923 curved soprano saxophone that I bought when I was 16 years old for $50, and started playing,” says Miller.
Upon re-examination, the doctor determined that playing the instrument was not affecting the healing process. He effectively told Miller: Martin, blow your horns.
Is it any wonder then, that now, nearly 20 years later, Martin Miller is still blowing?
As he has been for 13 years now, the 73-year-old musician is the leader of Senior Moments — a band whose members, as you may surmise, are of an eponymous age. They play regularly at South Florida libraries, museums, assisted living facilities and private parties.
Setlists generally cover pop music from the heart of the last century, but on Saturday, May 17 the band will perform a mostly patriotic program in honor of Armed Forces Day at Plantation Historical Museum’s “Music at the Museum” show.
The idea of starting Senior Moments was suggested to Miller by a couple of musician friends.
“They told me a local band was needed that plays popular American music from the 1920s to the 1970s,” says the Fort Lauderdale resident.
Trying to meet that need, Miller founded — full name — “Senior Moments…The Unforgettable Band” in 2012, and the following year, the original nine-member outfit played its first paying gig for a program at the Broward County Main Library. The debut was part of the bill for “America’s Music: A Film History of Our Popular Music from Blues to Bluegrass to Broadway.”
“The band name was originated by my wife, Barbara,” says Miller. “She thought the name should reflect the age of the musicians.” All but one of them has attained at least sexagenarian status.
The lineup has changed over the years, but today the members are Miller on C Melody sax (bigger than an alto, smaller than a tenor); Tony Hagerty, of Davie, on alto sax and guitar; “Captain” Mike Moe, of Lighthouse Point, and Patrick Hachets, of Boca Raton, each on guitar and banjo; Jesus Neciosup, of Pembroke Pines, on bass; Denise Shuster, of Plantation, on vocals; and drummer Grant Shuster, also of Plantation, the outlier in his 40s.
“The music is upbeat,” says Miller. “Audience members enjoy singing along with the band and dancing.”
And Miller maintains that what’s good for the audience is good for the musicians as well.
“Music plays a major role in the health of older people,” he says. “Benefits of mental and physical health are derived from playing together. Band members share a love of music and camaraderie. The band meets regularly to rehearse and discuss the playlists for upcoming shows. Playing together is most of all fun, the chance to do what the musicians all love.”
The love affair began in childhood for Miller. Growing up in Philadelphia, he started playing instruments in grade school, taking up the clarinet and alto saxophone in ninth grade and participating in the orchestra and various bands. After marrying in 1973, Miller played occasionally in summer concert bands and a jazz band. He then stopped playing for nearly three decades while he raised a family and worked in South Florida as a microbiologist. He resumed playing with local bands in 2008.
Now, Senior Moments has become the enduring refrain of Miller’s long musical life.
“I really enjoy leading Senior Moments,” says Miller, who’s been married to his wife for 52 years and a South Florida resident for almost that long. “I get to play with a great group of musicians. We have a lot of fun practicing together, finding appropriate songs for particular events, and entertaining people of all ages.”
One of those events was particularly memorable for Miller. “It was a holiday show in 2024 outdoors at Flamingo Gardens in Davie,” he says. “During the show it started to rain really hard. Fortunately, the band was under a covered porch. The audience left because they were getting soaked and came back when the rain stopped.”
But even during the storm, the musicians of Senior Moments did what is perhaps the band’s raison d’etre.
They kept on playing.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Armed Forces Day Show featuring Senior Moments band
WHEN: 2 p.m., Saturday, May 17
COST: Free
WHERE: Plantation Historical Museum, 511 N. Fig Tree Lane, Plantation
INFORMATION: 954-816-4478 and artscalendar.com/event/music-at-the-museum
