2022 Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion Program
University of North Texas Jazz Studies celebrates the 75th anniversary with an alumni reunion featuring a series of concerts that emphasize the historical prominence of the first collegiate jazz degree program.
University of North Texas Jazz Studies celebrates the 75th anniversary with an alumni reunion featuring a series of concerts that emphasize the historical prominence of the first collegiate jazz degree program.
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75 TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION
OCTOBER 20-22, 2022 | UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS CAMPUS | DENTON, TEXAS
1
Please consider a donation to the Jazz Legacy Fund in honor
of our 75th anniversary of North Texas Jazz Studies!
UNT JAZZ LEGACY FUND
In memory of our friends and colleagues
that passed during the past 75 years
2
Your donation can empower our students through the funding of
scholarships, wellness support and performance opportunities.
Any gift can make an impact in support of their education.
HELP US CONTINUE THE LEGACY.
3
INTRODUCTION LETTERS
GERARD
HUDSPETH
Mayor, City of Denton
Greetings
and welcome
back to Denton!
On behalf of the City, it’s my
pleasure to welcome you.
It may have changed since you
last visited.
When the Jazz Studies
degree began at North Texas
State Teachers College, 21,000
people called Denton home.
That number now approaches
140,000. Denton County’s
population of about 906,000
is included in the Dallas Fort
Worth metroplex – the fourth
largest metropolitan area with
a population approaching 8
million residents. The numbers
themselves are not important
except that they indicate vibrant
communities where people
want to live, work, study and
where opportunities abound
for musicians to perform and
where music lovers can include
themselves in the audience.
What has not changed about
Denton is that everywhere
you look, you see markers of
the influence of music from
the University of North Texas
College of Music. Nearly every
day Dentonites witness alumni,
students, faculty and staff of
UNT Jazz performing in a club or
festival or on a campus stage.
Denton ranked 1st in the nation
as a best college town for music
majors by MusicSchoolCentral.
com.
From its beginnings on the
Denton Square 131 years ago
to another year of record
attendance of more than 44,500,
music from the University
of North Texas continues to
be a pillar of our community
showcasing young (and not so
young) musicians across the City
and world.
We are often ranked highly
where quality of life is indicated,
and proudly so - but - it’s the
people that make it a great
place.
Please come back often.
Everyone is welcome.
Sincerely,
Gerard Hudspeth
Mayor, City of Denton
4
University of North Texas College of Music
NEAL J.
SMATRESK
President,
University of North Texas
Dear Alumni,
It is my sincere honor to
welcome you back to campus
for the University of North Texas
College of Music Jazz Studies
75th Anniversary reunion.
Our commitment to College of
Music facilities over the previous
five years continues with
renovation to Lab West in the
amount of $2.5 million beginning
Summer 2023 and renovation
and expansion of the Möller pipe
organ in the Main Auditorium.
Additional improvements are on
the horizon for music facilities as
we continually work to provide
a remarkable experience for
every student by providing
state of the art programs and
educational spaces.
The College of Music and the
Jazz Studies program at UNT
elevate the University’s global
reputation. While the University
leadership values rankings,
they are merely external
recognitions of what we
already know – that our many
successes and reputation
directly correlate to generations
of tireless work of alumni,
students, faculty and staff.
The University continues to
defy national trends as our
Denton campus set yet another
enrollment record for Fall 2022
at 44,532. An increase of 5.6%.
It is thrilling that UNT
continues to be the university of
choice for more students than
ever before, and UNT remains
one of the top producers in
awarding degrees in the North
Texas region, which speaks
to our desire to truly help our
students be successful. No
other university in the region
does more than UNT to drive
Texas’ progress.
Be sure to walk our beautiful
campus to see new buildings
and public spaces and venture
off campus to familiar spots you
frequented “back in the day.”
Please know we value your
contributions past and present in
building the extraordinary legacy
that is Jazz at UNT.
Enjoy your visit and return
soon.
GO MEAN GREEN!
INTRODUCTION LETTERS
Sincerely,
Neal J. Smatresk
President, University of North Texas
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
5
INTRODUCTION LETTERS
JOHN W.
RICHMOND
Professor and Dean,
UNT College of Music
Dear friends
and Colleagues,
I am so delighted to join the
chorus of congratulations to our
Division of Jazz Studies as we
conclude a year-long celebration
of the 75th Anniversary of Jazz
Studies at UNT. What a legacymaking
history our colleagues
and their predecessors have
produced, from international
tours to award-winning
recordings to broadcasts around
the world to publications in the
most prestigious venues and on
an on! Jazz Studies at UNT has
become a signature program not
only of this College of Music but
of the entire University of North
Texas, as well. The evocation of
our university’s name routinely
prompts a recognition of music
generally and Jazz especially
all around the world. This is an
anniversary deserving of a yearlong
celebration and more!
The UNT leadership certainly
has chosen to lead by example
in this regard, committing some
$2.5 million in the renovation
of our “Lab West” facility. Plans
are nearing completion of that
renovation now, and you will see
artists’ conceptions of what a
huge impact this renovation will
be when completed in August
2023. This seems like another
great reason to return to campus
next year (and every year) to
see and hear what a huge
improvement that renovation will
bring about and discover what’s
new in Jazz at UNT!
This also is a time to
remember that we have a
sobering obligation to honor
our storied history by promising
an ever more accomplished
future for Jazz at UNT. Rest
assured that we are mindful
of that obligation and leaning
into it with our mission-driven
focus on diversity, excellence,
integrity, and imagination. Not
surprisingly, we will need your
help to reach our full potential,
and we know we can count on
you as we always have.
Thank you for being a part of
this joyous celebration.
Sincerely,
John Richmond
Professor & Dean of the UNT College of Music
6
University of North Texas College of Music
Dear friends,
Welcome to Denton and the 75th
Anniversary Celebration of North
Texas Jazz. This weekend is the
culmination of a year of celebrating
what the College of Music alums
helped build. Our students reap
the benefits of the College of
Music’s more than 15,000 alums as
we work to provide extraordinary
experiences for our students.
The Institution and its parts have
walked through extraordinary times
in its 131 years. For a significant
time (75 years), North Texas Jazz
has been a major player within
the University and, of course, the
College of Music. Therefore, I
urge you to sit back and enjoy
reading about the University of
North Texas Jazz history.
We have much to be proud
of, and while we recognize
ROBERT
PARTON
Chair, Division of
Jazz Studies
the well-documented lists of
awards, recognitions, and honors
received by students, ensembles,
and faculty, we are also mindful
of those who have not felt
welcome over time.
The University is now a
Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI)
and a Minority Serving Institution
(MSI) and is now a minoritymajority
campus. The College of
Music is working to reflect that
diversity. We aren’t there yet, but
we are continuing to improve
with intentional listening and
actions. Our Jazz and Gender
Equity Initiative and the Dean’s
Advisory Council on Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion are two
ways we are working towards
these goals in the College. We
hope that future generations
of music students will see rich
diversity reflected in all the halls
of the nine buildings we occupy.
Through thirteen decades
of support by Texas Normal
College and Teacher Training
Institute; North Texas State
Teachers College; North Texas
State College; North Texas
State University, and the current
moniker, the College of Music
at the University of North Texas
is the largest public-university
music program in the United
States and one of the most
globally respected. North Texas
Jazz is a proud component of
that statement.
I hope you will keep us
updated about your activity
through submit.music.unt.edu.
It’s an honor and a privilege to
serve with many colleagues who
continually work to build upon the
rich jazz legacy left by so many for
more than seven decades.
INTRODUCTION LETTERS
Sincerely,
Robert Parton
Chair, Division of Jazz Studies
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
7
10
Table of
CONTENTS
ANNIVERSARY
REUNION
OCTOBER 20-22, 2022
UNIVERSITY OF
NORTH TEXAS CAMPUS
DENTON, TEXAS
music.unt.edu
INTRODUCTION
4 Introductory Letters
8 Table of Contents
9 Reunion Weekend Schedule
HISTORY
10 75 Years of UNT Jazz
18 Reflections by John Murphy
ENSEMBLES
24 One O’Clock Lab Band®
26 Producing the One O’Clock
Lab Band® Album
27 Unsung Hero: Michael Vazquez
28 Two O’Clock Lab Band
30 Three O’Clock Lab Band
31 Jazz Strings Lab
32 Latin Jazz Lab Band
34 UNT Jazz Singers
36 Other Ensembles
49
26
DIVISION
38 Jazz Studies Faculty
49 Reflecting on a UNT Career
50 Jazz Studies Staff
CREDITS
52 Reunion Credits
53 University Credits
8
University of North Texas College of Music
Anniversary Reunion
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
OCTOBER 20–22, 2022
Thursday
Music Library Jazz 75th Anniversary Exhibit
Willis Library 4th Floor #430A
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
1506 W Highland St., Denton
UNT Jazz Alumni Welcome Reception
Spec’s Charitable Foundation Courtyard | Music Building
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
UNT College of Music, 415 S. Ave. C, Denton
UNT Jazz Alumni Jam Session
Steve’s Wine Bar
9:00 PM – Midnight
www.steveswinebar.com, 111 Industrial St., Denton
Friday
Music Library Jazz 75th Anniversary Exhibit
Willis Library 4th Floor #430A
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
1506 W Highland St., Denton
Lab West Rehearsals
Room 282 | Music Building
1:00 PM – 1980s Alumni Lab Band
2:00 PM – 1990s Alumni Lab Band
3:00 PM – 2000s Alumni Lab Band
4:00 PM – 2010s Alumni Lab Band
Winspear Performance Hall Rehearsals
Murchison Performing Arts Center
1:30 PM – UNT Jazz Singers
2:30 PM – UNT Vocal Jazz Alumni Ensemble
3:15 PM – UNT Vocal Jazz Alumni Small Groups
Evening Performance
Murchison Performing Arts Center
Winspear Performance Hall
6:00 PM – doors open
7:00 PM – Concert – UNT Jazz Singers, UNT Vocal Jazz Alumni
Small Groups and Large Ensemble, 2010s, 2000s, 1990s & 1980s
Alumni Lab Bands
UNT Jazz Alumni Reception and Jam Session
Steve’s Wine Bar
10:00 PM – Midnight
www.steveswinebar.com, 111 Industrial St., Denton
Saturday
UNT Jazz Alumni Brunch
Banquet Room, UNT Gateway Center
10:00 AM – Noon
801 North Texas Blvd., Denton
Jazz Sessions
Lab West, Room 282 | Music Building
1:30 PM – Zebras
2:15 PM – Jazz Gender Equity Initiative
2:30 PM – Composer/Arranger Forum
3:30 PM – Latin Jazz Lab
Spec’s Charitable Foundation Courtyard | Music Building
1:00 PM – Jazz Strings Lab
1:45 PM – Songwriters’ Showcase
2:45 PM – U-Tubes
3:30 PM – L-5 Guitar Ensemble
Winspear Performance Hall Rehearsals
Murchison Performing Arts Center
1:00 PM – One O’Clock Lab Band ® w/Lab ‘75 alumni
2:15 PM – Check A/V for videos
3:00 PM – 1960s - 1970s Alumni Lab Band
Evening Performance
Murchison Performing Arts Center
Winspear Performance Hall
6:00 PM – doors open
7:00 PM – Concert – North Texas Jazz @75 Years, 1960s–1970s
Alumni Lab Band, Lyle Mays Celebration, One O’Clock Lab Band ® ,
UNT Jazz Alumni Group Photo
UNT Jazz Alumni Reception and Jam Session
Steve’s Wine Bar
10:00 PM – Midnight
www.steveswinebar.com, 111 Industrial St., Denton
REUNION SCHEDULE
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion 9
75
Years
North Texas State College
Laboratory Dance Band,
comprised of 18 musicians,
performs on the Main
Auditorium stage in 1948
as Gene Hall conducts.
10
Photos courtesy UNT Libraries Special Collections
of Jazz
North Texas
Written by John Murphy
Additional research & writing by Maristella Feustle
Edited by Kimberly Hannon Teal
SETTING
THE STAGE
Music instruction has
been a part of course
offerings at North Texas
since the institution was founded
in 1890, with a “Conservatory
Music Course” offered in Joshua
Chilton’s first bulletin. Several
overlapping factors encouraged
the growth of the program,
including Denton’s geographical
proximity to Dallas and Fort Worth,
as well as the rapid development
of mass media in popular culture
during North Texas’s early
decades: The new “normal”
college in Denton had the fortune
of growing up alongside the
advent of the phonograph record,
Edison cylinder, piano rolls, a
thriving sheet music industry and,
in the 1920s, the birth of radio.
Accordingly, music studies
at North Texas arose in an
environment characterized by
an ample supply and eager
demand for music, including
popular music and jazz. At the
same time, the growth of campus
culture in the early 1900s set
certain expectations of social
life at a university with demand
for events such as concerts
and dances. At North Texas,
the Saturday Night Stage Show
debuted in 1927 and became a
local institution for decades.
HISTORY OF UNT JAZZ
11
‘Fessor Graham & the Aces perform at the Saturday Night
Stage Show in 1937. Professor Floyd Graham can be seen
standing to the left of the stage conducting his band.
Floyd Freeman Graham (1902 - 1974) was the
founder of the Saturday Night Stage Show. Born in
nearby Roanoke, Texas, Graham’s family moved to
Denton so that he and his brother, Wynne, could
attend school. Floyd Graham graduated from Denton High
School in 1919; in the 1920s he taught violin, appeared
in ensembles on Dallas and Fort Worth radio, and briefly
served as band director at Denton High. He joined the
faculty of North Texas in 1927 to teach band and orchestra,
having earned a teachers certificate from Chicago Musical
College. He continued his education with a bachelor of
music in violin from CMC in 1931 and a master of music
degree from the American Conservatory of Music in 1936.
While in Chicago, Graham studied with Leo Sowerby, and
he studied at Juilliard in the summer of 1939 with Ferde
Grofé and Fritz Mahler.
The combination of Floyd Graham’s entrepreneurial
spirit and musical achievements lent important context to
the Saturday Night Stage Show as an incubator of local
talent. Over the years, the show helped launch the careers
of Joan Blondell, Louise Tobin, Ann Sheridan, the Moon
Maids, and Pat Boone. The show’s Aces of Collegeland
stage band became the forerunner of the present-day Jazz
Studies program. It created a community of performers with
common interests, and the existence of that community
helped generate demand for expertise in jazz performance
and arranging. The stage show provided a venue for live
performance and also provided performance and income
opportunities during the Great Depression.
Even before the formal Jazz Studies program was
initiated, North Texas boasted a formidable assembly of
future jazz stars, including Herb Ellis, Jimmy Giuffre, Harry
Babasin, and Gene Roland, all of whom either graduated
or moved on around 1942. Many of them lived together
in a house that still stands at 204 Normal Street. Two
women’s vocal ensembles, the Moon Maids (first known
as the Swingtet, later joining Vaughn Monroe’s band),
and the Sunnysiders (first known as the Blue Notes, later
joining Sonny Dunham’s band), were also examples of early
excellence, featuring precise, close-harmony arrangements.
GENE HALL
AND THE EARLY DAYS
OF THE JAZZ PROGRAM
The opportunities to play and earn money at North Texas
attracted Gene Hall from Whitewright, Texas, as he was
scrambling in “panic bands” around 1934. He and some
other musicians had hoped to get into the fraternity circuit
for gigs. But Hall had trouble even scraping together the
$32 tuition and wound up touring with a band that got
stranded in Spain before eventually returning to Texas. Hall
later stated in an oral history that the demand for formal
training in arranging that arose out of the stage shows was
a prime motivator for curricular expansion, though one
collection donor has insisted to the Music Library that the
12 University of North Texas College of Music
LEFT: Under Gene Hall’s leadership, the “dance band”
program weathered criticism and resistance both on
campus and elsewhere. The band played frequently in the
area, including on local television, and some members on
the nationally-televised Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.
urgency for increased enrollment during the Depression
also made administrators more amenable to the idea of
recruiting students interested in jazz. However, Hall himself
recalled being assigned to patrol the practice room area to
ensure no one was playing jazz or popular music. In spite of
the apparent hostility to jazz, however, Hall said that School
of Music Dean Wilfred Conwell Bain essentially selected his
thesis topic for him: writing a method for teaching jazz on
the college level. Hall finished his thesis in 1944 as the jazz
community at North Texas continued to thrive.
Bain’s successor as dean of the School of Music, Walter
Hodgson, offered Hall a job at North Texas leading the stillincipient
Jazz Studies program. Through careful diplomacy,
Hall obtained approval from the curriculum committee for
a “dance band” program because, in his words, “jazz was
such a negative term in those days.” The ensemble’s name,
“Laboratory Dance Band,” is the origin of the famous “Lab
Bands” we know today.
While many sources continue to cite 1947 as the year our
program began, it started slightly earlier in the fall of 1946
before Hall began his full-time role. The fall 1946 academic
catalog lists Dance Band as a major. Alumnus William
Thomson, who played trumpet in the early bands and went
on to a distinguished academic career that included serving
as Dean of the Thornton School of Music at the University
of Southern California described that first fall semester in
an email to Dr. John Murphy in 2010 in an effort to correct
the historical record. Thomson explained that he turned
down an opportunity to join the Jimmy Dorsey band in
order to study in the brand-new program and played in the
Dance Band under the direction of composition graduate
student Charles Meeks. At the time, work commitments in
Fort Worth kept Gene Hall away from Denton except on
weekends, but Hall would take the helm in 1947. A photo
from the North Texas yearbook from 1947 shows Meeks in
front of the band and Thomson in the trumpet section.
Thomson’s clarification, combined with documentation
from the University Archives, have led to the revision
of Jazz Studies founding date despite prior anniversary
celebrations as recent as 1997 that asserted the 1947
start date.
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
As the new program picked up steam, Hall arranged
media appearances to raise its national profile. The end
of World War II and the educational benefits of the GI Bill
encouraged enrollment. Hall entered the Lab Band in the
Teenage DownBeat competition, and in 1957 he took the
5-Front Group, a scaled-down big band, to appear on
the “Tonight Show with Steve Allen”. That same year he
appeared on “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” on NBC with
a student Dixieland group, and he appeared with various
band members on the Dallas television station WFAA. Hall
organized a Festival of High School Stage Bands towards the
end of his tenure. The clinicians in 1958 were Marshall Brown,
a band director from Long Island; Chuck Suber, publisher of
DownBeat magazine; and jazz educator Ted Crager.
LEON BREEDEN,
THE PROGRAM’S
GROWTH AND RISE
TO PROMINENCE
Leon Breeden, clarinetist, arranger, and music educator,
succeeded Hall as director in 1959 and brought the
program even more visibility. Like Hall, he had to contend
with public opposition to the teaching of jazz in a public
university in a formerly Confederate state. Breeden
weathered hostility from within the School of Music, as well
as calls to his home phone number and admonitions that
his teaching jazz put him in peril of damnation. To counter
it, he insisted on strict standards of professionalism, with
an emphasis on sight-reading and stringent expectations
of his students with respect to grooming and behavior.
Breeden’s archive in the UNT Music Library preserves an
early document in which he even forbade goatees. In order
to understand Breeden’s concern for presenting the band
as a disciplined, professional group, it helps to have the
perspective of former students like guitarist Don Gililland:
I arrived at North Texas in Spring 1959, just hoping
I might get close enough to the Lab Band to listen
to it, never dreaming I could wind up sitting next to
those guys. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, it
was arguably the most incredible period of my life.
When Leon Breeden assumed the directorship,
the young department was at a crossroads. There
was a long-standing stigma attached to jazz and its
artists—not altogether unwarranted—and the idea
of bringing that element into the college classroom
was not greeted warmly by many in the NT
hierarchy; I knew this from firsthand accounts from
friends and colleagues who were music majors with
contacts in all genres of the music school.
13
What Mr. Breeden
brought to the table was
a legitimacy (not to imply
Gene Hall did not) that jazz
desperately needed to
survive over the next few
years. His credentials were
impeccable, even to the
most severe critics, and he
maintained a professional
rapport with fellow faculty
members that I could not
see existing had some of
the more flamboyant jazz
personalities of the day
been in that position.
Remarkably, while
navigating this
administrative tightrope,
Leon was still somehow
able to inspire a talented,
diverse group of guys to
produce some of the most
innovative music ever
created to date. Then, at
semester’s end, came the
festivals, and that same
bunch would pack those
egos 4-deep into whoever’s
car was running for the
drive to South Bend or Georgetown. Breeden’s
long-suffering ‘57 Chevy, hauling a trailer full of
instruments, was a familiar sight on the side of the
road.
No one could have envisioned that, only a few
years later, the band would be making those trips
on chartered flights. So many great things were to
come, due in no small part to the sacrifices made
during those formative years. I was gratified to
learn that, approaching his retirement, Leon finally
received some of the credit he so richly deserved.
Leon Breeden’s contributions to Jazz Studies at North
Texas and in colleges and universities both nationally and
internationally could fill a book, but several milestones are
particularly worth noting:
It was under Breeden that “North Texas State
Lab Band” became “The One O’Clock Lab Band”
and this marker of time became synonymous with
quality. His autobiography identifies April 11, 1961
as a pivotal moment, as it was the date of the first
full concert that identified the top band as the One
O’Clock Lab Band.
In the early 1960s, Stan
Kenton first heard the One
O’Clock Lab Band (or as
he called it, the Number
One Lab Band), and was
astounded. Breeden began a
Leon Breeden, February 1961.
It was under BREEDEN that
“North Texas State Lab Band” became
“THE ONE O’CLOCK LAB BAND”
collaboration with Stan Kenton
that included collaborating at
the Kenton Clinics and a Lab
Band appearance on ABC
television in 1966; this resulted
in Kenton’s donation of his
library to UNT and the naming
of Lab Band West, the One
O’Clock Lab Band’s rehearsal
hall that had been added in the
1978 expansion of the music
building, in Kenton’s honor.
Stage band contests had
brought Gene Hall and Leon
Breeden in contact with
judges who included Voice of
America’s jazz radio host Willis
Conover. By 1962, Conover
was broadcasting recordings
of the One O’Clock to a
global audience on his nightly
program.
In 1964, Breeden welcomed
the band’s first Black member,
Billy Harper, almost a decade
after the university began to
integrate. Harper graduated
in 1965 and hit the ground
running as a distinguished
leader and sideman, playing
with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Elvin Jones, the Thad
Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Max Roach’s quartet, and Gil
Evans in addition to leading his own projects.
The year 1967 brought a State Department-sponsored
tour of Mexico, followed by a summer trip to the White
House to perform with Duke Ellington and Stan Getz for
President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson and the king and
queen of Thailand. The late king Bhumibol Adulyadej was
himself a composer and jazz saxophonist, and he met the
band again on its tour of Thailand in 2004. Ellington was
also impressed by the encounter and was quoted as saying
that after hearing the “kids” of the One O’Clock Lab Band,
he was going to go home and call a five-hour rehearsal. In
addition, 1967 saw the inaugural album of the band’s annual
album series with Lab ’67.
The ascendancy of the band – and with it, the profile and
reputation of jazz education – continued into 1968. While
the band was reaching a new high point, Breeden pressed
on through a crushing low point in his life, grieving the
death of his 19-year-old son Danny in a hit-and-run accident
in February of 1968. The band grieved with Breeden and
supported him as they prepared for the Music Educators
National Conference in Seattle. There, the band played
for over 3,000 of the top music educators in the United
States. As they waited to
play, one band member
told Breeden: “Tell them
not to open that curtain.
We’re going to blow it open
in memory of your son
Danny!” Indeed, the band
14
University of North Texas College of Music
brought the house down, and
gave the first encore in the
history of concerts at MENC
conferences. Breeden later
wrote in his autobiography:
It was wonderful to
receive letters from many
parts of the United States
from administrators who
said in effect: ‘After hearing
your band in Seattle,
how can we get such a
program started at our
school?’ I wrote and gave
them the best advice I
could, namely that it will
take a strong desire on
the part of many people
and also must be given
strong support by your
administration if your
program will succeed! This
always reminded me that
at our school we would not
have survived if the desire
had not been so strong
on the part of all of us. I
felt in summation that we
succeeded in spite of and
not with the help of many who could have helped
us but did not.
The band followed its North American travels with a
transatlantic tour in 1970, in which the One O’Clock Lab
Band was the official band of the Montreux Jazz Festival
and was recorded and broadcast on the Armed Forces
Network. The band returned to Europe in 1976, playing
in Portugal before undertaking an extended tour of the
Soviet Union and its major cities. In this tour, Breeden
wore a custom pair of cowboy boots with “NTSU” on the
front of the right boot, and “JAZZ” on the left. These boots
came to the UNT Music Library with the rest of Breeden’s
extensive archive.
Breeden solidified the program’s reputation as a place
where students learn to be well-rounded professionals by
studying the jazz tradition and by adding to it with their
own compositions, arrangements, and improvisations.
The degree title was changed from Dance Band to Jazz
Education in 1975, in a year that coincided with the first of
the One O’Clock Lab Band’s seven Grammy nominations for
Lab ’75, which featured compositions and arrangements by
Lyle Mays. The first and only collegiate jazz band to achieve
this honor, the One O’Clock Lab band earned a second
nomination for Lab ’76.
Beverly Dahlke-Smith was the first woman to ever play in
the One O’Clock Lab Band; she played baritone saxophone
on Lab ’76. She has since gone on to have a prolific
saxophone career playing as a member of the “Late Show”
Band, appearing in the “Heat is On” music video with Glenn
Frey, recording on dozens of movie soundtracks, television
Neil Slater at lab band rehearsal in 1982.
(“The Simpsons,” “The Family
Guy”) and broadway shows,
not to mention albums with
numerous artists (Dwight
Yoakum, Jimmy Buffett,
Kansas, Bette Midler, Dianne
Reeves, Kirk Franklin). Beverly
has had the distinctions
of being the only female
instrumentalist in the Les
Brown Band of Renown, the
first female instrumentalist in
the Harry James Band and the
first woman to be a full-time
member of a studio band for a
TV talk show, “The Joan Rivers
Show.”
As the ’70s went on, Breeden
hired faculty who had long,
influential tenures, including
Jim Riggs, Dan Haerle, Rich
Matteson, Jack Petersen, and
Paris Rutherford, strengthening
the program’s institutional
standing. Rutherford built upon
a group of singers initially
put together by Lew Gillis to
sing jingles for a commercial
arranging class to form the Jazz
Singers in 1979. The ensemble
has gone on to perform in a variety of high-profile national
and international festivals and win numerous awards, and
the vocal jazz program has grown to include three additional
groups.
NEW DIRECTIONS
AND NEW YORK
CONNECTIONS
Pianist and composer Neil Slater succeeded Breeden as
director in 1981. He brought a New York sensibility to the
program and established the Jazz Lecture Series in 1982 to
bring top jazz musicians, mostly from New York, to perform
and speak with students. He hired faculty who would have
a lasting impact: Mike Steinel (trumpet, improvisation,
pedagogy), Ed Soph (drumset), Fred Hamilton (guitar), Lynn
Seaton (bass) and David Joyner (jazz history).
The undergraduate degree title was changed to Jazz
Studies in 1981. A master’s degree was added in 1983.
Later in the 1980s, a distinct degree program for vocal jazz
emerged, and it has since grown to serve around 20-25
students at any given time. The university’s name changed
from North Texas State University to the University of North
Texas in 1988. According to John Murphy, the previous
name has nonetheless proven quite durable, with the name
change being, “a fact that continues to be overlooked by
journalists and musicians—and everybody who wants to
seem hip by pretending they knew about it before the
name changed.”
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
15
Under Slater’s leadership, the One O’Clock Lab Band added two
more Grammy nominations, including “Got a Match?” from Lab ‘89
and one for his composition “Values” from Lab ‘91; toured Australia,
Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Thailand, and all the
major European festivals; and recorded live in Montreaux, Australia
and at Blues Alley. Starting in 1995, the Glenn E. Gomez International
Artists Endowment for Jazz Studies has brought distinguished
musicians to meet with students and perform with the One O’Clock
Lab Band and other student ensembles.
Slater’s era also saw the beginnings of the diversification of
the program’s faculty and curriculum. When Stefan Karlsson
succeeded Dan Haerle as professor of jazz piano and small group
coordinator, he became the first full-time Jazz Studies faculty
member from outside the United States (Sweden). When classical
and jazz trombonist Tony Baker joined the faculty of the Division
of Instrumental Studies and began teaching lessons to jazz
trombonists, he became the first Black full-time professor to teach
in Jazz Studies. Rosana Eckert joined the faculty in 1999 as not
only the first recipient of an MM in vocal jazz from UNT but also the
first woman and Hispanic faculty member to teach in the division.
In 2003, José Aponte, another alumnus who had been involved in
leading early Latin jazz projects as a graduate student in the 1990s,
returned to UNT as director of the Latin Jazz Ensemble. Designated
a Lab Band in 2010, they have recorded five albums, including
their most recent project, 5th Harvest, released as part of the 75th
anniversary of the program. They have performed at numerous
festivals; worked with guest artists Michael Spiro, Ignacio Berroa,
Luis Conte, Manuel Valera, Duduka da Fonseca, and Danílo Pérez;
and received multiple DownBeat awards.
TRANSITIONS AND
TRADITIONS
The 2008 retirements of Neil Slater and Jim Riggs, followed by
that of Paris Rutherford the next year, began a period of renewal
during which the program adapted to a changing music profession
and jazz education market while holding fast to fundamental
values of tradition, student creativity, and professionalism.
Because the university had begun to require more administrative
work by chairs, Dean James Scott separated the roles of division
chair and director of the One O’Clock Lab Band, which until then
had been filled by the same person. John Murphy was named to
the chair position to advise graduate students while continuing to
teach history, analysis, and research. Trombonist, composer, and
alumnus Steve Wiest, recently hired in a new jazz composition line,
became director of the One O’Clock Lab Band.
Wiest’s high-energy, jazz-rock influenced compositions continued
the band’s tradition of pushing the envelope and resulted in two
Grammy nominations for Lab 2009, one for best large ensemble
jazz album and the other for best instrumental composition for his
“Ice-9.” The band continued to perform extensively across the United
States, including headlining such festivals and jazz venues as the Jazz
Education Network Conference, Texas Music Educators Association
events, Monterey Jazz Festival, Catalina’s, and Birdland where they
released a three-piece live video. They also toured internationally,
returning to both Thailand and the United Kingdom. Wiest collaborated
with donor and alumnus Bill Collins III, an anonymous donor, and the
UNT Music Library to bring the library of Maynard Ferguson, Wiest’s
former employer, to UNT in 2008. He also founded the U-Tubes jazz
trombone ensemble, which has won national recognition.
Steve Wiest
and Phil Bulla
16
Jay Saunders
One O’Clock Lab
Band, under direction
of Neil Slater, received
it’s fourth Grammy
nomination for the
Lab ‘91 album track
“Values.”
Most of the current faculty joined the department after the end of
the Slater-Riggs-Rutherford era, bringing fresh perspectives to the
already robust program. Vocalist and composer-arranger Jennifer
Barnes became director of the UNT Jazz Singers and the first
woman to be a full-time, tenure-track faculty member in Jazz Studies.
Her efforts in collaboration with the UNT Music Library led to the
donation of the Gene Puerling library of vocal jazz arrangements to
UNT in 2014, and she has begun publishing her editions of Puerling’s
arrangements. Brad Leali, who succeeded Jim Riggs as professor
of jazz saxophone, became the first Black full-time, tenure track
professor in the Division of Jazz Studies. In addition to his applied
lesson teaching, he directed the Three O’Clock Lab Band and
coordinated the small group program. Composer and drummer Rich
DeRosa succeeded Paris Rutherford and added orchestral and new
media emphases to the composition and arranging curriculum.
Upon Wiest’s departure in 2014, lead trumpet specialist Jay
Saunders, who had succeeded Jim Riggs as director of the
Two O’Clock Lab Band, directed the One O’Clock Lab Band for
two years and added the seventh Grammy nomination, for Rich
DeRosa’s composition “Neil” (in honor of Neil Slater) on Lab 2015.
Saunders led the band on their return to Australia, headlining
the 2016 Generations in Jazz Festival. Composer-arranger Alan
Baylock became the One O’Clock Lab Band director in 2016. A
UNT alumnus himself, Baylock enjoyed a successful and prolific
career as chief arranger for the United States Air Force’s Airmen of
Note before he returned to North Texas.
As the 2010s continued, Tanya Darby succeeded Jay Saunders
in the lead trumpet teaching role and directed the Three O’Clock
Lab Band before departing to chair the Brass Department at the
Berklee College of Music. The expertise of new faculty continues
to expand and enrich the experience of jazz students at UNT:
Quincy Davis as professor of drumset, Davy Mooney as professor
of jazz guitar, Philip Dizack as professor of trumpet, and Dave
Meder as professor of piano and coordinator of jazz improvisation.
When health issues forced John Murphy to retire after the fall 2019
semester, Rob Parton, professor of jazz trumpet (lead emphasis),
assumed the chair role, and musicologist Kimberly Hannon Teal
was hired in 2021 to teach jazz history, analysis, and research.
To help students meet the changing demands of the music
profession, adjunct instructor and lead trumpeter Jason Levi
created and taught a music business class. With the help of Dean
John Richmond, new faculty lines were created in popular music
and technology, taught by Jonathan “Capital” Patterson; jazz
strings, taught by violinist Scott Tixier, who re-established the Jazz
Strings Ensemble as a faculty-led ensemble; and jazz trombone,
taught by Nick Finzer, whose media company/jazz record label
Outside In Music provides a model of entrepreneurship. This fall,
Jessica Muñiz-Collado and Federico Llach joined the faculty to
teach music business and commercial music.
Other recent developments in the curriculum include the addition
of a doctoral degree in 2012 and a refreshed undergraduate
curriculum designed to help jazz majors grapple with the music’s
past and future. The new program centers jazz’s African American
history with its inclusion of 15 credits of courses that make up the
Africana Studies certificate, and it also provides space for students
to pursue a minor in commercial music alongside their Jazz Studies
major as they prepare to bring their jazz knowledge and skills
to contemporary music careers. Jazz at North Texas continues
to thrive by building on its remarkable history while preparing
students to be at the forefront of the music’s future.
17
Reflections
ON 75 YEARS OF NORTH TEXAS JAZZ
BY JOHN MURPHY
1961-2022
18 University of North Texas College of Music
Isabel Wilkerson opens her book on caste in the United
States with the metaphor of a house:
America is an old house. We can never declare
the work over. Wind, flood, drought, and human
upheavals batter a structure that is already fighting
whatever flaws were left unattended in the original
foundation. When you live in an old house, you may
not want to go into the basement after a storm to
see what the rains have wrought. Choose not to
look, however, at your own peril. The owner of an
old house knows that whatever you are ignoring
will never go away. Whatever is lurking will fester
whether you choose to look or not. Ignorance is
no protection from the consequences of inaction.
Whatever you are wishing away will gnaw at you
until you gather the courage to face what you would
rather not see. Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins
of Our Discontents (New York: Random House,
2020), page 15.
As the program looks back on its first 75 years and
imagines its future, we are surveying our 75-year-old house.
In addition to surveying our program’s achievements, it’s
important to look in the basement: to check its foundation,
to address its failings, how it has been perceived over time,
what its effects on jazz education and the music profession
have been, and how its enduring values can be adapted to
the continuously changing music profession.
SEGREGATION,
RACE AND INCLUSION
Not surprisingly for a program that was started in a stillsegregated
university, race in particular and diversity and
inclusion in general have been continual concerns, in various
ways. Gene Hall’s 1944 master’s thesis on the dance band
curriculum, regarded as a founding document of the program,
includes an overview of jazz history that credits Native
Americans, not Black Americans, as the originators of swing
rhythm. He ignored the consensus of jazz writers of the time
and adopted the view of a fringe commentator. In his 1991
oral history interview, Hall was asked by historian Michael
Cogswell, “Did you have any black students in the program?”
Hall replies, “No, we didn’t have any black students because
this was not an integrated school until--what--1954 or 1955.”
Interviewer Ron Marcello states, “The first graduate student was
accepted in 1954, and actually it began accepting its first black
undergraduate students in the spring semester of 1956.” Gene
Hall replies:
Well, that year we had some good blacks come in.
There was a guy who is still active around Dallas. He
played saxophone. He plays piano now. I can’t think
of his name. We had a good tenor man and a good
baritone man come up from Dallas. Both of them
were good tenor men—both saxophone. We were all
delighted to have them because they improved the
band. But about a couple of weeks later, I got a note
from [then university president] Matthews to the effect
that, if we played on our campus, it was all right; but if
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
we went off the campus, we couldn’t use them in the
band. So I had to tell the guys, and they left the school.
I don’t blame them, but I had to be honest with them
about it. I said, “Here is the way it is. What can I say?”
In this and other ways, the interview is a reminder that Hall
was a product of his time and place. He was born in 1913 in
Whitewright, TX, a small town near Sherman, the population of
which has never exceeded 2,000, and spent much of his early
musical career in a music business that was as segregated as
the rest of society in those years. His choice not to make an
issue of including black musicians in off-campus performances
may reflect a reluctance to take actions that would jeopardize
the continuation of the recently established program, which
had faced opposition from faculty and community.
Guitarist and alumnus Don Gililland provides the
perspective of a white player on the racial divide in the bands
in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area in the early 1960s:
I had been playing professionally for several
years prior to NT, first with some outstanding high
school colleagues and later with all-black bands
(the legendary Buster Smith for one), where I gained
valued experience. This was short-lived, however, as
the black ensembles became popular in some of the
mainstream Dallas venues. Sadly, while I had been
accepted and welcomed at private parties and allblack
functions, the still segregated downtown supper
club scene was not open to integrated bands and I
was let go.
At North Texas, the atmosphere was totally
different. In the bands, and campus-wide, the
diversity was apparent and harmonious, a stark
contrast to what I was experiencing just a few miles
away.
Regarding the job with Buster Smith, mentor of Charlie
Parker, Gililland recalls:
Actually I inherited the job from a fellow classmate
and mentor, Steve Rodriguez. We were making a
whopping $8 a night playing in a strip club I was too
young to even be in. I had no idea at the time I was
in the presence of greatness.
The separation of the music scene into white and
black spheres—not to mention separate locals of the
American Federation of Musicians—was accepted
as normal. White and black musicians in the Dallas-
Ft. Worth area in those years worked in separate
spheres. There were exceptions in the case of
private parties or smaller clubs. But the larger venues
expected bands to be segregated, and country clubs
required all of the musicians to be white.
Trumpeter Lester Bowie of the Art Ensemble of Chicago
also studied at North Texas in the early 1960s. His
experiences here, as relayed by George Lewis, provide a
glimpse of what studying in the program in the early years
was like for black students:
Bowie’s subsequent experience at North Texas State
University, where he was part of the earliest crop of
jazz students in the first degree-granting program in
19
20
jazz in the United States, proved first enlightening,
then daunting. Given the presence in the community
of such amazing musicians as saxophonists Billy
Harper, James Clay, and David “Fathead” Newman,
Bowie found the atmosphere at the school itself
incongruous, to say the least. “I’m trying to figure out,
how can these motherfuckers be up here studying
black art, and got the audacity to be racist? I went
there one year, then dropped out.” [Quoted in George
Lewis’, A power stronger than itself: the AACM and
American experimental music (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2008), pp. 137-138]
A well-known saxophonist of color who attended UNT in the
late 1980s told me that he transferred away from UNT due to
racist incidents experienced off-campus.
The jazz program, like any undertaking of imperfect human
beings, has at times fallen short of being optimally welcoming
and inclusive. This has been addressed in several ways in
recent years. In 2018, in the context of the #MeToo movement,
when fresh reports were made of instances in which faculty
and students had treated each other with less than the respect
they deserve, we acted. I collaborated with the university’s
Division of Institutional Equity and Diversity to offer training
sessions for faculty and students. Those who didn’t already
know what a microaggression was found out. A committee of
faculty and students designed a survey, which, after review
by Equity and Diversity, was administered and studied as a
basis for more training sessions for faculty. A student group,
supported by Tanya Darby and me, formed the Women in Jazz
Initiative, later renamed the Jazz & Gender Equity Initiative,
both of which included all genders in their memberships. More
of an effort was made to invite women as guest artists and
to make sure they had opportunities to perform and to act
as musical mentors, not only as speakers on women in jazz.
Recent examples are residencies by Maria Schneider and the
Terri Lyne Carrington group.
In 2020 the honorific naming of Kenton Hall was removed,
and the name reverted to Lab Band West, due to concern from
faculty and students about a 2010 book by Kenton’s daughter
in which she claimed the two had a sexual relationship.
The jazz studies faculty is more diverse than ever. Of the
fifteen full-time faculty whose primary division is Jazz Studies,
four are people of color and three are women; a sixteenth line,
in popular music, remains unfilled at the time of writing.
We’re moving in the right direction. If the program is
to deal effectively with the legacy of its founding, it must
continually reflect on how well it is meeting goals of diversity
and inclusion. Our 75-year-old house needs continual
maintenance.
THE NORTH TEXAS
JAZZ PROGRAM AS
MODEL & TARGET
Once a program has become prominent as a model of
excellence, it’s not surprising that it then can become a target
of criticism. When higher education in jazz is critiqued by
journalists and scholars, our program and a few others are
frequently cited as examples of the downsides of the shift
in the way young musicians learn the tradition: from the
bandstand to the classroom. Such critiques underestimate the
degree to which professors’ traditional knowledge acquired on
the bandstand and on the road is passed on to their students,
many of whom will shortly have road experiences of their own.
During my time as chair, I tended to give more consideration
to critiques by journalists and scholars in proportion to the time
they have spent here in person, observing classes, listening
to rehearsals and performances, and talking with students,
faculty, and staff. In some cases the time spent in Denton has
been zero, yet their opinions were published anyway.
The most meaningful critiques of our program are the
ongoing ones provided by students, faculty, and staff. There is
a strong sentiment that, while we are still a prominent program,
and still attract highly capable students, we can always do
better. In formal evaluations and informal exchanges, the
students let us know when the program could be preparing
them better. The faculty and staff actively seek ways to
improve their teaching and the curriculum. Another source
of constructive criticism has been the guest artists who visit
regularly, especially those who are here long enough to coach
and rehearse with our students.
A PROGRAM BASED
IN DENTON
The history of the jazz studies degree included in this
program identified the actions and motivations of the
people responsible for founding a world-class jazz studies
program in Denton, Texas, which had a population in 1950
of around 20,000. This place has had a significant effect on
the experience of the program’s students. For those from
even smaller Texas cities and towns, it represented a new
kind of sophistication. Composer and trombonist Morgan
Powell recalls:
I came from Archer City, TX of Larry McMurtry’s
movie The Last Picture Show fame. Larry and I
grew up in this dismal town of 1,400 people. We
went on to be house mates in Denton—Larry as
a sophomore and I a freshman. I was used to
wearing cowboy clothes—Levi’s, pearl snap shirts
and boots. After the first rehearsal day of the lab
band in ‘56, several older members took me aside
and said, “look boy, if you’re going to play in this
band, you’ve got to get rid of that cowboy outfit.”
And I did.
For students from larger cities and the coasts, Denton
could feel like a town that was very small. The fact
that there was little to do was a plus for their musical
development. Bill Collins III recalls:
Denton was a small, boring town when I arrived
from the big city of Ft. Worth. There was very little to
do, and no distractions. Instead of being tempted to
go see a great movie, or concert, I would find myself
so bored that I would go practice. I didn’t have to
make time to practice, there was nothing else to
do in town. The school had a lousy football and
basketball program compared to others, so I had
hours to practice. The small-town environment is
perfect to promote practice with few distractions. It
University of North Texas College of Music
Downtown Denton
worked for me because my playing improved much
faster in Denton than in Ft. Worth thanks to the
overall environment (small town, great faculty, great
peer players, great writers, etc.). The environment is
the key part of learning and growing, in my opinion.
What students then and now appreciated is the fact that
the cost of living in Denton is relatively low compared to
a larger city. The rental house that hosts jam sessions is a
fixture of student culture. It’s close enough to Dallas and
Ft. Worth to allow frequent gigging. Denton has typically
had clubs where students could play for their peers, though
too often for no pay. For much of the program’s history,
when tuition was regulated, tuition was easily affordable.
Even after many increases, UNT’s tuition is less (in some
cases, tens of thousands of dollars less) than that of other
nationally prominent jazz programs.
Denton has incorporated jazz in its civic identity. In 2011,
when train service began between Denton and the Dallas
transit system, it was named the A Train, after the Billy
Strayhorn composition.
“VALUES”:
WHAT HAS ENDURED,
WHAT HAS CHANGED,
AND WHAT’S AHEAD
Over the 75 years the program has gone from an outsider
program, one that required a name other than jazz, to the
pride of the university. This has been accomplished through
the collective efforts of the faculty, staff, administration, and
largely the students themselves, whose accomplishments
continue to shine light on the value of their experience in
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
Denton, TX. The North Texas Jazz program is now lauded by
the very institution that once shunned it.
During my tenure as chair, when I described the program
to prospective students and parents, I typically described our
mission this way:
Our mission is:
• To prepare students for careers as professional
musicians. This doesn’t mean only performing; it could be
stated as preparing students for careers as professionals
in music, which could include composition and arranging,
music education, music production, music business, and
so on. It also obliges the program to adjust its curriculum
as the demands of the music profession change.
• To ensure that students are knowledgeable about the
jazz tradition. In each studio, in each professor’s unique
way, students learn that “it didn’t start with me,” and that
they need to internalize that history through listening
so that they can make music with an awareness of who
came before.
• To encourage student creativity. What’s traditional in
jazz is to know the tradition and then add to it by making
music that speaks to what it means to be alive right now.
Many of us like New Testament Basie, Sarah Vaughan’s
scatting, and the Blue Note records sound, but it’s not
the 1950s–60s. We’re not relaxing between takes at
Rudy Van Gelder’s studio. We’re dealing with 2021, so the
music should sound different.
Looking ahead, I envision continual improvement, as
the program is revised to prepare students for the music
profession they will enter. I expect the program to maintain
what Neil Slater often stated as a reason for our success: “Full.
Time. Faculty.” And I have confidence that the creative drive of
our students, faculty, and staff will propel the program towards
its centennial.
21
JAZZ ENSEMBLES
23
ONE O’CLOCK LAB BAND ®
DIRECTOR
Alan Baylock
SAXOPHONES
Ian Weidmann (lead)
Carly Stock
Gabriel Nieves
Anthony Bolden
Jack Lanhardt
TRUMPETS
Renée McGee (lead)
Richie Thaller (split lead)
Ben Carroll
Craig Schroeder
David Vest
TROMBONES
Ken Ebo (split lead/III)
Jason Schilling
DJ Rice (split lead/III)
Connor Fallon (bass)
Kenny Ross (bass)
RHYTHM
Will St. Peter (guitar)
Jake Nalangan (piano)
August Bish (bass)
Colman Burks (drumset)
Thomas Reilly (vibes)
Katelyn Robinson (voice)
24
San Antonio, TX
Los Angeles, CA
Rolling Hills, CA
Salem, OR
Corona, CA
Stafford, VA
Acton, MA
Jupiter, FL
Dallas, TX
Lexington, KY
Camden, SC
Bellevue, WA
Rowlett, TX
Fort Worth, TX
Sherwood, OR
Bucksport, ME
Sacramento, CA
Harrisburg, PA
Plano, TX
Bernardsville, NJ
Los Angeles, CA
ONE O’CLOCK LAB BAND ®
is the premier performing ensemble of the jazz studies program. With
seven Grammy Award® nominations (one or more per decade since the
1970s) from a library of over eighty critically acclaimed recordings to date,
the One O’Clock is noted for its exceptional individual musicianship and
tight ensemble performance. Concerts feature the wealth of compositions
and arrangements from the UNT Jazz Library, which contains critical big
band repertoire and thousands of musical works written by current and
former North Texas students and faculty members. In addition, every
performance now showcases music composed or arranged by both
prominent and up-and-coming women musicians.
The band has toured internationally, including performances in Russia,
Mexico, Switzerland, England, France, The Netherlands, Australia,
Portugal, Finland, Norway, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong,
Poland, Ireland, and Thailand. Additionally, the band has performed at
major jazz festivals, including Monterey, Cork/Guinness, Montreux (the
first college band to do so), Vienne, North Sea, Spoleto, Pori, and Umbria,
and frequently appears at major jazz venues such as Birdland in New
York City, Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., and Catalina’s in Los Angeles,
California. Furthermore, the One O’Clock has been the featured headliner
at music conferences, concerts hosted by fine arts series, and numerous
colleges and high schools across the United States and abroad.
The One O’Clock Lab Band continues to inspire new generations
of musicians through unforgettable performances, stellar studio
recordings, and a strong social media presence - honoring the past
while forging the future.
University of North Texas College of Music
LAB 2021
ONE O’CLOCK
LAB BAND ®
11.19.2021
All rights reserved.
Unauthorized duplication
prohibited by applicable
laws. Proceeds from the
sale of North Texas Jazz
recordings benefit the
University of North Texas
and are used to support
the jazz studies program
through scholarships,
public performances, tours,
and related activities.
Album available for purchase today and
STREAMING ON ALL DIGITAL PLATFORMS
Recording and Producing
The One O’Clock Lab Band ®
By Phil Bulla
Producing and recording the One O’Clock Lab
Band since 1986 has led to some of the most rewarding
and memorable experiences of my career.
Each year, my role with the band presents a
unique opportunity to invest in the lives of the next
generation of jazz musicians. My approach has
ALWAYS been to create a recording experience
that will educate and inspire the members of the
band. For the students, recording the Lab Band
album is a culmination of their years of practice,
training, and focus, with one goal—to make an
outstanding recording that is of the highest degree
of excellence knowing that it will become a
part of their legacy. A legacy that will be listened
to and studied for generations.
During my tenure, I’ve recorded the One O’Clock
in three different recording studios, numerous live
venues throughout the world, and experienced
substantial innovations in recording technologies.
During the 1980s we recorded onto 2” reel-toreel
analog tapes. By the 1990s, analog recording
transitioned into the digital era and we worked
on various forms of digital tape formats including
1” reel-to-reel tape and DA-88s. Later in the
1990s most recording studios had changed from
analog-only systems to digital recording and Pro
Tools became the de facto recording software,
which we still use today.
The recording of The One O’Clock annual album
typically requires three to four marathon (14-hour)
days in the studio. Throughout the recording process
each student’s stamina and talent are taxed
and tested to the highest degree. During the
sessions I take a three-pronged approach to my
engineering and producing.
First, I make technical decisions that directly affect
the sonic presentation and continuity of the
26 University of North Texas College of Music
and students, spending two to three hours on
each piece. I meticulously follow scores, make
performance notes, continuously make “tweaks”
and edits to performances, jot down timings so I
can navigate to specific sections in a piece, and
most importantly help guide the overall process
so that we work effectively and efficiently.
recording: The selection and placement of microphones,
the sonic processing of the individual
instruments and the seating of the band, typically
a “block” or “performance” setup, all contribute to
the sound that is the hallmark of the One O’Clock
Lab Band recordings.
Second, as a musician myself, I make spontaneous
musical and creative decisions, working
hand-in-hand with the director, production team
The third prong of my approach is in many ways
the most important. Someone once said, “Education
means inspiring someone’s mind,” and that
has become my mantra as I’ve worked on each
One O’Clock recording. During the recording process
I engage and involve the students as much
as possible in every aspect. I encourage them to
make creative decisions, explain recording techniques
and tips and in the case of student composers,
involve them in the mixing sessions, which
is an invaluable opportunity for them to participate
in the final step of the production process.
The technical and creative aspects of the recording
are of course essential, but I’ve learned that
the most important goal, and the one that is most
rewarding to me, is for each and every student to
leave our sessions encouraged by their achievement
and experience. This will be an inspiration
and memory that will resonate with them throughout
their careers.
Meet
Unsung Hero
Michael Vazquez
One of the unsung heroes of the UNT Jazz Program
is audio engineer Michael Vazquez. He has mixed
more live concerts of the One O’Clock than
anyone and continues to mix for the band regularly for
off-campus performances. Vazquez has served as the
assistant recording engineer on every One O’Clock Lab
Band studio album since 1990. He’s also mixed for the
UNT Jazz Singers on numerous occasions. Since 2009
Michael has been the front of house engineer for the UNT
Jazz Stage at the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival, annually
putting in a marathon forty hours over three days. Always
working hard; always with a smile. Michael Vazquez is
mixing monitors for our reunion concerts this weekend.
We thank you, Michael, for your loyalty to the jazz
program and decades of dedicated service.
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
27
TWO O’CLOCK LAB BAND
PHOTO BY MATT HELLMAN
Nigel Regan
Gabriel Burns
Tito Charneco
Anthony Singer
Rylan Villarreal
DIRECTOR
Rob Parton
SAXOPHONES
North Haven, CT
Long Beach, CA
Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
Denver, CO
Keller, TX
TRUMPETS
Tyler Jones
Columbus, OH
Alex Billingsley
Asheville, NC
Jeremiah Arenas
Bryan, TX
Jonathan Orellana-Sanchez Chantilly, VA
Joshua Zeitlin
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Cam Henderson
Nicholas Mailes
Maximo Santana
Paul Covert
TROMBONES
Vancouver, Canada
Joplin, MO
Houston, TX
Richmond, VA
RHYTHM
Daniëlla Hart Rossouw (voice) Johannesburg, South Africa
James Merritt (drumset) Waxahachie, TX
Anthony Casolari (bass)
Tamarac, FL
Jeongmin Ha (piano) Hwaseong, South Korea
Gabriel Garcia (guitar)
Dallas, TX
28
TWO O’CLOCK LAB BAND
Under the direction of Rob Parton, The University of North Texas Two
O’Clock Lab Band is among the premier collegiate big bands in the
nation. The Two O’Clock maintains a tradition of garnering national and
state recognitions, including twenty invited headline performances at the
Wichita Jazz Festival, first place at the Longhorn Jazz Festival in Austin,
TX, invited performances at the Texas Music Educators Association state
convention, the International Association fpr Jazz Education Conference,
Jazz Education Network, and The Midwest Clinic.
With a recording catalog of 20 critically acclaimed albums, the band
has earned multiple DownBeat Student Award recognitions across
four decades as the Best Graduate Level Jazz Ensemble in addition
to innumerable individual student recognitions. Previously under the
direction of jazz legends James Riggs (1978–2008), Jay Saunders
(2008–2014), Rodney Booth (2014–2019), and now led by Professor of
Lead Trumpet and UNT Jazz Division Chair Rob Parton, the Two O’Clock
continues the storied tradition, focusing on its legendary reputation for
heavy swing and outstanding jazz soloists.
The Two O’Clock performs from a curated library of the very best
repertoire for large jazz ensemble as well as innovative original
compositions by UNT students and is actively sought after to present jazz
concerts at jazz festivals, high schools and colleges throughout Texas
and the United States Alumni of the North Texas jazz program are virtually
everywhere in the professional music industry as performing artists, jazz
educators, producers, composers, and arrangers.
University of North Texas College of Music
BLUES
IN SLOW MOTION
A listening experience like no other!
Available for
purchase today
and streaming on
all digital platforms
music.unt.edu
All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited by applicable laws. Proceeds from the
sale of North Texas Jazz recordings benefit the University of North Texas and are used to support
the jazz studies program through scholarships, public performances, tours, and related activities.
THREE O’CLOCK LAB BAND
PHOTO BY MATT HELLMAN
YJ Shin
Eric Crenshaw
Brian Lawrence
Chris Schiavoni
Aidan Sears
30
DIRECTOR
Richard DeRosa
TRUMPETS
Jack Starkey
Garrett De Rudder
Caleb Congdon
Vince Nutile
Zachary Williamson
Isaac Gong
Sean Decoursey
Alex Parker
Drew Bryant
SAXOPHONES
Seoul, South Korea
Denton, TX
Bellevue, WA
Cramerton, NC
Los Angeles, CA
TROMBONES
Chandler, AZ
Wylie, TX
New Braunfels, TX
Annapolis, MD
Orange County, CA
Tianjin, China
Chicago, IL
Williamsburg, VA
St. Charles, IL
RHYTHM
Nan Wang (voice) Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
Thomas Reilly (vibes) Bernardsville, NJ
Andrew Getman (guitar) Birmingham, AL
David Hu (piano)
The Woodlands, TX
Luciano Quezada (bass)
McKinney, TX
Aramís Fernández (drumset) Hialeah, FL
THREE O’CLOCK LAB BAND
Professor of jazz composition and arranging at UNT, Richard DeRosa
directs the Three O’Clock Lab Band. This, along with the One and Two,
is a clear indication of the depth of experience in the UNT jazz studies
division represented by these faculty-led top three jazz lab bands.
The Three O’Clock has appeared at the Notre Dame, UT Longhorn,
Friends University and Wichita jazz festivals. The Three has served as
the house band for the annual UNT Jazz Trombone Day event at UNT by
former director Nick Finzer. It has also performed for the Gospel Meets
Jazz series organized by former director and jazz saxophone professor
Brad Leali.
Professor DeRosa has extensive experience writing for and conducting
many of the top professional jazz orchestras in the world, including
residencies with the WDR Big Band and guest conducting his
commissioned pieces with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at the
request of Wynton Marsalis. Recent album projects include: My Personal
Songbook, featuring Ron Carter; Rediscovered Ellington, featuring Garry
Dial and Dick Oatts; Perseverance – The Music of Rich DeRosa at North
Texas, that includes “Suite for an Anniversary,” a commissioned work that
celebrated UNT’s 125th anniversary.
DeRosa received a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental
Composition for his big band composition “Neil” which is dedicated to
Neil Slater, director of the One O’Clock Lab Band from 1981–2008 and
recorded by the One O’Clock Lab Band on Lab 2015.
University of North Texas College of Music
JAZZ STRINGS LAB
PHOTO BY MATT HELLMAN
DIRECTOR
Scott Tixier
VIOLINS
Jacob Cortez
San Antonio, TX
Ciara Hager
Medicine Hat, AB, Canada
Anya Hollingsworth
Dallas, TX
Jess Meador
Bridgeport, TX
Marijn Meijer
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Joseph Reding
Houston, TX
Victoria Ricalde
Lewisville, TX
Vianey C. Rivera
Houston, TX
Sofia Vega
Bogotá, Colombia
Sydney Young
Seattle, WA
Grace Remmer
Sarah Shultz
VIOLA
Waco, TX
Waco, TX
JAZZ STRINGS LAB
The Jazz Strings Lab was founded by professor Scott Tixier in 2018.
Repertoire includes selections from movie scores, jazz standards, new
classical and minimalist music.
The Jazz Strings Lab has collaborated and been featured with
legendary artists such as Regina Carter, Kurt Elling and Matt Jones.
Check out our ALBUM SETS
David Hu
Tzefira Jones
Ben Katzen
Noah Leiva
CELLO
The Woodlands, TX
Carrollton, TX
Sparta, NJ
Fort Worth, TX
HARP
Maria De Jesus Contrera
Frisco, TX
RHYTHM SECTION
Brenin Coin (piano)
Houston, TX
Yizhuo Li (drumset)
Tianjin, China
Ricardo Alberto Puche Bravo (bass) Maracaibo, Venezuela
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
Available for purchase in person
or online at STORE.JAZZ.UNT.EDU
31
LATIN JAZZ LAB BAND
PHOTO BY MATT HELLMAN
DIRECTOR
José Aponte
SAXOPHONES
Nigel Regan
Christopher Schiavoni
Daniel Henson
Heath De Guzman
Zane Crider
TRUMPETS
Alejandro Munoz
Richard Thaller
Jeremiah Arenas
Jonathan Orellana
Alexander Billingsley
Nicholas Mailes
Max Santana
Joshua Busby
Paul Covert
TROMBONES
RHYTHM
Abigail Litjens (voice)
Keita Onuma (guitar)
Isaiah Nygard (piano)
Adam Abrams (bass)
Aramís Fernández (drumset)
Isaac LaVigne (congas)
Jeffery Chaidez (bongó)
32
North Haven, CT
Cramerton, NC
Fairfax, VA
Houston, TX
Lubbock, TX
El Paso, TX
Acton, MA
Bryan, TX
Chantilly, VA
Asheville, NC
Joplin, MO
Houston, TX
Sherwood, OR
Richmond, VA
Oshkosh, WI
Yokosuka, Japan
Kutztown, PA
Frederick, MD
Hialeah, FL
Lake in the Hills, IL
Houston, TX
LATIN JAZZ LAB BAND
is a jazz ensemble that ventures into the musical realm between the rich
legacy of Latin American rhythms and the profound tradition of the jazz
language. Among the many Afro Latin expressions, the Afro Cuban and
the Brazilian languages had the most significant impact in the origins
and development of Jazz in the United States. Through performance
our students gain a clear perspective on how these musical traditions
continue to influence jazz composition, performance and improvisation.
The Lab is directed by UNT Jazz Studies faculty member José M. Aponte.
The lab performs multiple concerts every semester and have shared the
stage with such recognized guest artists as Michael Spiro, Ignacio Berroa,
Luis Conte, Manuel Valera, Duduka da Fonseca and Danílo Pérez. The
group has released five CDs, En Clave (2006), Dancing Small (2010), Late
Night Mambo (2012), Little d Town (2016) and 5th Harvest (2022).
The ensemble is also the recipient of DownBeat magazine’s 36th Annual
Student Music Awards “Best Latin Group” Award (2013), the Jazz Education
Network Conference “Outstanding Performance Award” (2014), DownBeat
magazine’s 39th Annual Student Music Awards “Latin Group Outstanding
College Performance” (2016) and the DownBeat magazine’s 45th Annual
Student Music Awards “Best Latin Group Graduate Level Performance” (2022).
The UNT Latin Jazz Lab has performed at renowned venues and festivals
such as the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival, The Alma y Fuego Latino
Festival, Dallas Latino Cultural Center, the Dallas International Festival, the
5th Annual Jazz Education Network Conference and the 13th Annual Jazz
Education Network Conference.
University of North Texas College of Music
Spice up the Season!
with UNT Latin Jazz Lab’s newest album
music.unt.edu
Album available
for purchase
in person or
online today
STREAMING ON ALL DIGITAL PLATFORMS
All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited by applicable laws. Proceeds from the sale of North
Texas Jazz recordings benefit the University of North Texas and are used to support the jazz studies program
through scholarships, public performances, tours, and related activities.
UNT JAZZ SINGERS
PHOTO BY MATT HELLMAN
Julie Coggiola
Hannah Goodwin
Christiana Schiller
DIRECTOR
Jennifer Barnes
ALTOS
Syracuse, NY
Coeur d’ Alene, ID
San Jose, CA
SOPRANOS
Bianca Lopez
Harlingen, TX
Katelyn Robinson
Los Angeles, CA
Daniela Toralla Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
UNT JAZZ SINGERS
is the premier vocal jazz ensemble within the Division of Jazz Studies
in the College of Music. Under the direction of Jennifer Barnes, Jazz
Singers consists of ten vocalists and a four-piece rhythm section
who perform a challenging and varied repertoire of jazz and jazzinfluenced
cutting-edge repertoire, notably featuring compositions
and arrangements by current students, alumni, and UNT faculty. They
have performed at state, national, and international music conferences
including those for the Jazz Education Network, International Association
for Jazz Education, and the American Choral Directors Association, and
have earned a DownBeat magazine Student Music Award in eight of the
last nine years.
TENORS
Christian Anderson
Kelemen Szabo
BARITONES
Dakota Andersen
Jasper Fearon
RHYTHM
Will Peters-Seymour (guitar)
Tomás Jonsson (piano)
Paul Briggs (bass)
Jeffrey Dalton (drumset)
34
Shawnee, KS
Plano, TX
Fairfield, IA
Ithaca, NY
Lexington, KY
Houston, TX
Cincinnati, OH
Portland, ME
Jazz voice majors at UNT sing in one of the four vocal jazz ensembles, as
well as studying both modern and historical practices of solo jazz singing,
songwriting, vocal pedagogy, improvisation, jazz aural and keyboard
skills, jazz theory and arranging, and jazz history. In addition, they sing
in Jazz Chamber Ensembles, Latin Jazz Lab Band, Zebras (pop/R&B/soul
band), Brazilian Ensemble, and with one of the seven Lab Bands. Over
the years, individual UNT vocal jazz students have received DownBeat
magazine Student Music Awards for solo singing, arranging, leading small
groups, and composition. Alumni of the program have gone on to win
or receive nominations for Grammy Awards, Independent Music Awards
and CASA awards, and are enjoying successful careers as recording
artists, studio singers, college professors, composers, arrangers, music
producers, and worship leaders.
University of North Texas College of Music
Artistic expression through
MUSIC
JAZZ SINGERS RELEASES FOUR YEARS OF MUSIC!
Available for purchase
in person or online
today and streaming
on all digital platforms
Double CD album available for purchase today!
All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited by applicable laws. Proceeds from the sale
of North Texas Jazz recordings benefit the University of North Texas and are used to support the jazz
studies program through scholarships, public performances, tours, and related activities.
OTHER ENSEMBLES
FOUR O’CLOCK
DIRECTOR
Gerald Ebo
SAXOPHONES
Caden Sader
Christopher Polloni
Isaac Jacinto
Jonathan Arcangel
Kyle Leonard
TRUMPETS
Naoki Hoshi
Cody Saucier
Christina Smith
Joshua Jennings
Richard Cruz
TROMBONES
Joey Lopez
Jack Timmins
Austin Hallmark
Aaron Anderton-Coss
RHYTHM
Jasper Fearon (voice)
Nathan Siegel (vibraphone)
Ian Zinecker (guitar)
Benjamin Barker (piano)
William Tober (bass)
Jack Zondlo (bass)
Jeffrey Dalton (drumset)
William O’Rourke (drumset)
AVENUE C
DIRECTOR
Dakota Andersen
FIVE O’CLOCK
DIRECTOR
Renée McGee
SAXOPHONES
Ryan Yumang
Natalie Suvarnasuddhi
Michael Petty
Joshua Constantine
Aidan Schwarz
TRUMPETS
Isidoro Ramos
Barent Foley
Nicolas Lofgren
Bryant Johnson
TROMBONES
Joshua Busby
Luke Bielfeldt
Aksel Martinsen
Jackson Thomas
RHYTHM
Sasha Garcia (voice)
Nathan Siegel (vibraphone)
Taylor Hatch (guitar)
Runsheng Zhao (guitar)
Alessandro Paino (piano)
Patrick Bird (bass)
Tyler Kinser (bass)
Joshua Ferrell (drumset)
Isaac Lavigne (drumset)
THIRD STREET
DIRECTOR
Daniëlla Hart Rossouw
SIX O’CLOCK
DIRECTOR
DJ Rice
SAXOPHONES
Javier Vasquez
William Chenoweth
Heath De Guzman
Jae Jang
Nathanael Green
TRUMPETS
Bradley Swanson
Remy Gilboe
Leland Rossi
Aleyna Ashenfarb
Hunter Sims
TROMBONES
Devonte Ezell
Nick Bryan
Joseph Fremed
RHYTHM
Luke Bielfeldt (voice)
Nathan Siegel (vibraphone)
Hector Deleon (guitar)
Max Rubenstein-Miller (piano)
Aidan Gould (bass)
Natalia San Lee Salazar (bass)
Todd Kiefer (drumset)
Asa Nero (drumset)
WEST END
DIRECTOR
Julie Coggiola
VOCALISTS
Luke Bielfeldt
Emma Campbell
Ely Eckles
Sasha Garcia
Renée McGee
Lauren Smith
RHYTHM
Robert Hawley (guitar)
Samuel Wood (piano)
Brendan Nie (bass)
Isaac Lavigne (drumset)
VOCALISTS
Georgia Barge
Alana Dove
Margaret Gunter
Benjamin Johnson
Reese Namee
Donye Robinson
Lia Wiese
Shelby Yount
RHYTHM
Zixiang Yan (piano)
William Hagan (guitar)
Mildred Mariel Perez Hernandez (bass)
Joseph Craig (drumset)
VOCALISTS
Jules Elliott
Katelan Hudson
Jaden Malik-Savoy
Jackson-Cooper
Alexander Karpeles
Cristian Mojica
Holly Sullivan
Abby Woodhead
RHYTHM:
Brandon Ortega (guitar)
Aakash Sridhar (piano)
Palmer McDaniel (bass)
Jacob Speth (drumset)
Avenue C, Third Street, and West End are complete vocal jazz ensembles in the Jazz Studies
Division, directed by our Graduate Teaching Fellows. Differences between the four levels of
ensembles include size of the group, composition of the group and repertoire focus.
36
University of North Texas College of Music
OTHER ENSEMBLES
SEVEN O’CLOCK
DIRECTOR
Joshua Ferrell
U-TUBES
DIRECTOR
Cameron Henderson
ZEBRAS
DIRECTOR
Robert Parton
SAXOPHONES
Cristian Mojica
Jonathan Forbes
Caden Walsh
Zachary Gresik
Michael Kreuzer
TRUMPETS
David Yoon
Alejandro Sigala
Matthew Pulido
Jaden Oldham
Trinity McHellen
TROMBONES
Ian McGuire
Travis Harris
Lucky Floyd
Molly Lum
Kenneth Spencer
RHYTHM
Georgia Barge (voice)
Nathan Siegel (vibraphone)
Michael Morales (guitar)
Benjamin Broussard (guitar)
Joseph Woodburn (piano)
Henry Peyrebrune (bass)
Sarah Short (bass)
Joseph Craig (drumset)
Yizhuo Li (drumset)
SUPER 400
DIRECTOR
Ryan Peterson
GUITAR
Anthony Schneider
Joshua Garrison
Kevin Morrison
Jacob Jones
Jacob Elibol
RHYTHM
Kurt Murrow (bass)
Kyle Dorny (drumset)
TROMBONES
Jason Schilling
Isaac (Xi) Gong
Joshua Busby
Sean DeCoursey
Alex Parker
Drew Bryant
Paul Covert
Connor Fallon
RHYTHM
Ariel Glassman (guitar)
Alexandre Lesieutre (piano)
Claudia Easterwood (bass)
Joshua Ferrell (drumset)
The U-Tubes, directed by Assistant Professor
Nick Finzer and teaching assistant Cameron
Henderson is the premier jazz trombone ensemble
of the University of North Texas. Consisting
of eight trombonists and rhythm section,
they exclusively perform arrangements
and original compositions by members of the
group. In the past three years, the U-Tubes
have been the winners of international trombone
ensemble competitions hosted by the
American Trombone Workshop and the International
Trombone Association.
L-5
DIRECTOR
Will St. Peter
GUITAR
Warren Talcroft
Christopher Schiavoni
Ethan Hope
Samson Dinkins
Vignesh Iyer
RHYTHM
Bodin Chompoosri (bass)
Jackson Beebee (drumset)
The UNT guitar ensembles were created by Professor Emeritus Fred Hamilton. They are
some of the many diverse performing groups at UNT. Davy Mooney, Professor in Jazz Studies,
coordinates them. In these ensembles, guitarists have the unique opportunity to rehearse and
perform in a section of five or more guitars. This helps students focus on reading skills, ensemble
blend, group articulations, electric effects utilization, comping and soloing. The premier group,
the L-5, specializes in jazz, blues, rock and electric-avant-garde. The L-5 has released two CDs,
The Quilt Master (2002) and A Collection of Signs (2006), available through UNT.
VOCALS
Victoria Ricalde
Sasha Garcia
Christiana Schiller
Kay Cruz
Reagan Garza
TRUMPETS
Tyler Jones
Bryant Johnson
SAXOPHONES
Kori Park
Alexander Siler
Ruixin Liu
Natalie Suvarnasuddhi
RHYTHM
Brandon Ortega (guitar)
Anthony Hernandez (guitar)
Max Rubenstein-Miller (piano)
Josh Busby (piano)
Spencer Paulsen (bass)
Asa Nero (drumset)
Jaiyu Cao (drumset)
UNT Regents Professor and Faculty Emeritus
Dan Haerle formed The Zebras in 1980
to give keyboard players a special opportunity
to work with electronic instruments.
The group explores a wide variety of music,
focusing on an eclectic mix of jazz fusion,
funk, soul, and pop, often including a
horn section and vocalists. Some semesters
the Zebras would perform the music
of a particular artist or group, such as Stevie
Wonder, the Pat Metheny Group, Chick
Corea, and Al Jarreau.
Now directed by UNT Jazz Division chair
and Professor of lead trumpet Rob Parton,
the Zebras is an ensemble in the UNT Jazz
Studies division that continues that tradition
of offering students a chance to perform
music they would not experience in
other labs within the College of Music.
The Zebras album The Flamenco Jazz
Project exemplifies the diversity of repertoire
wielded by this outstanding ensemble.
The current focus of the Zebras repertoire
is horn-based bands similar to the
classics such as Tower of Power and Earth,
Wind and Fire, as well as newer contemporary
bands and artists like Bruno Mars.
High-energy performances are what the
Zebras are known to deliver, and that UNT
tradition continues.
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
37
Meet the UNT
Jazz Studies
Division
The UNT Jazz Studies Division is comprised of
faculty and staff who have devoted themselves to
the betterment of the students they serve and the
experiences they receive.
We also recognize the countless jazz librarians
over the decades who contributed greatly to the
success of the lab band program. Thank you all
for your hard work! Our current students in the
jazz librarian role: Ariel Glassman, Thomas Reilly,
Natalie Suvarnasuddhi and Zachary Williamson.
JAZZ STUDIES DIVISION
39
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
José Aponte is a principal lecturer at the University of North
Texas in the Percussion and Jazz Studies departments, where
he teaches drumset and Latin percussion. In addition to his
private lesson studio work, José is the director of UNT’s Afro-
Cuban Ensemble, Brazilian Ensemble, and Latin Jazz Lab Band.
José M. Aponte, a native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, earned
degrees from the Conservatorio de Musica de Puerto Rico
(BM), Musicians Institute of Technology in Los Angeles,
California (Artist Diploma), and University of North Texas Jazz
Studies Program (MM). José has performed with such artists
as Giovanni Hidalgo, Emil Richards, Carlos Guedes, Poncho
Sanchez, Batacumbele, Gino Vanelli, Brian Bromberg, Lyle Mays,
Andy Narell, David Rudder, Relator, Fred Hamilton, Dan Haerle,
Tracy Thornton, Lian Teague, Airto Moreira, and Michael Spiro.
JOSÉ M. APONTE
PRINCIPAL LECTURER OF DRUMSET & LATIN PERCUSSION
DIRECTOR OF THE AFRO-CUBAN ENSEMBLE
DIRECTOR OF THE BRAZILIAN ENSEMBLE
DIRECTOR OF THE LATIN JAZZ LAB BAND
Aponte is an active member of the Dallas/Fort Worth musical
scene as a freelance performer and studio musician with
groups such as Fifo and Citizens of the World Colombian
Jazz Group, Fifo and his Afro Bacanos Salsa Band, John
Murphy Jazz Trio, singer/songwriter Tania Cordobes, David
Lee Schloss’s Caravan, Kalimbe World Jazz Group, Island
Boogie Caribbean Band, Justin Cash Jazz Fusion Trio, Tito
Charneco’s Diaspora Jazz Group and his own projects (José
Aponte and Caribe Club Latin Jazz Quintet, Batuque Brazilian
Jazz Trio, and Brasuka Brazilian Jazz Group). José is an artist/
clinician for Pearl drums/percussion, Evans drum heads, Pro-
Mark sticks and Sabian cymbals.
Jennifer Barnes is the Director of Vocal Jazz at UNT, in
addition to being a highly sought-after vocalist, educator,
clinician and arranger throughout the United States
and Canada. She has directed award-winning Vocal
Jazz Ensembles at eight universities, won a 2016 “Jazz
Education Achievement Award” from DownBeat magazine,
has served as a guest conductor for District and All-State
Music Festivals in 16 states, and her vocal arrangements
are published by Sheet Music Plus, Anchor Music, UNC Jazz
Press and at her own website (JenniferBarnesMusic.com).
JENNIFER BARNES
PROFESSOR OF VOCAL JAZZ
DIRECTOR OF VOCAL JAZZ STUDIES
DIRECTOR OF JAZZ SINGERS
40
In addition to her teaching activities, Jennifer is an active
performing and studio vocalist, including her roles as alto
vocalist, composer and arranger for the professional vocal
ensemble Vertical Voices, solo and group vocals for television
shows, video games and films including “World of Warcraft”,
“Wall-E”, “Enchanted”, “Ice Age (2, 3 & 4)” and “Glee”. Ms.
Barnes is a member of the American Society of Composers,
Arrangers and Publishers, Screen Actors Guild and the Jazz
Education Network. She earned the master of music degree
in studio music and jazz performance from the University
of Miami (FL) and the bachelor of music degree in piano
performance from Western Michigan University.
University of North Texas College of Music
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Born and raised in a small town in Southwestern Pennsylvania,
Alan Baylock has composed music that is performed
throughout the world. One of the most respected and soughtafter
jazz composers and educators in the industry today, he
is the director of the multi-Grammy nominated One O’Clock
Lab Band® at the University of North Texas, and previously
served 20 years as chief arranger for the USAF Airmen of Note
in Washington, D.C. The Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra recorded
three critically-acclaimed CDs and performed throughout the
United States for 15 years. Baylock graduated from Shenandoah
University (BME ‘90), where he later became jazz composer-inresidence,
and the University of North Texas (MM ‘94).
ALAN BAYLOCK
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
DIRECTOR OF THE ONE O’CLOCK LAB BAND®
COORDINATOR OF LAB BANDS
Baylock travels extensively as guest conductor and clinician,
and has been featured with close to 100 professional,
collegiate, high school (all-state and regional) and middle
school jazz ensembles. Alan is on faculty at the National
Jazz Workshop (NJW) and directed the NJW All-Star Big
Band in performances on the East and West Coast. Thanks
to the Nu Psi Chapter, Alan became an honorary member
of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in 2016 and became an honorary
member of Kappa Kappa Psi (Kappa Epsilon Chapter) in
2017. He is an active member of the Jazz Education Network
and is a strong advocate for women in jazz.
Baylock lives in Denton, Texas with his wife, cellist Maria
Baylock. In his spare time, Alan enjoys playing table tennis
and golfing with his UNT Jazz colleagues.
Rodney Booth has been an active professional musician for over
50 years. A native of El Paso, Texas, he began his professional
career at age sixteen as a trumpet player in his father’s bands.
He received his degree in jazz studies at the University of North
Texas and was a student of Don “Jake” Jacoby. Rodney was
also member of the renowned North Texas State One O’Clock
Lab Band®. He traveled across North and South America and
Europe with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd Big Band. He has
performed with many major recording artists such as Lou Rawls,
Nancy Wilson, Wayne Newton, Michael Feinstein, Dionne Warwick,
Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Hamlisch, Natalie Cole, Jimmy Cobb, Curtis
Fuller, Roy Haynes and The Who, just to name a few. Rodney has
performed in over 40 different Broadway shows.
Rodney is very active in studio and commercial recordings. He
can be heard on national commercials for the Fina Corporation,
Texaco, McDonald’s Corporation, Domino’s, Miller Brewing
Company and Chevrolet. In addition, he performed on the
commercial recordings for the Texas Rangers, the Boston Red
Sox, CNN News, the United States Postal Service and many more.
His various bands have been chosen to perform for companies
such as Exxon, Honda, Budweiser, the Zales Corporation, Gordon’s
Jewelers, Merle Norman Company and Cartier’s Jewelers.
Rodney has taught at the University of North Texas for the last
seventeen years teaching improvisation, ear training, and jazz trumpet
lessons. He has been the director of the UNT Jazz Repertory Ensemble
and he directed the UNT Jazz Singers in the fall 2010 and spring 2011.
Rodney directed the Two O’Clock Lab Band for five years (2015-2019).
RODNEY BOOTH
PRINCIPAL LECTURER OF JAZZ TRUMPET
Rodney’s CD Look Over There features his jazz quartet. His CD Ten and
One features Swing and Big Band music. It was released in January
2010 and has been featured on radio shows from South Africa to
Argentina. His duo CD with pianist Bill Lohr will be released this year.
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
41
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Quincy Davis, currently an associate professor of jazz
drumset at the University of North Texas, studied classical
percussion at Interlochen Arts Academy. He continued his
undergraduate studies at Western Michigan University in
1999 studying with the master drummer Billy Hart. He lived
in New York City from 2000-2010 where he played with
many world-renowned artists like Bobby Watson, Benny
Green, Tom Harrell, Hank Jones and many more.
In 2010, Davis accepted a teaching position at the University
of Manitoba where he was the assistant professor of jazz
drumset. Quincy has two leader albums: Songs in the Key
of Q and Q Visions. Both albums rose to the top three
rankings on JazzWeek’s jazz radio charts. Quincy earned a
QUINCY DAVIS
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF JAZZ PERCUSSION
master’s degree in composition from the Vermont College
of Fine Arts in 2019 and continues to work and travel with
world renowned musicians.
Richard DeRosa is the Director of Jazz Composition and
Arranging. In 2015 he received a Grammy nomination for Best
Instrumental Composition for his big band composition “Neil”
which is dedicated to Neil Slater. In 2022, the UNT Studio Orchestra
premiered his eight-movement work titled Life in Poetry and
Music which featured Kurt Elling. Since 2001, Mr. DeRosa has
arranged and conducted music for Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz
at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Recent concert programs include
Bernstein at 100 and Joey Alexander with Strings.
Since 2012 Mr. DeRosa has conducted and arranged music for
the WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany. CD recordings include
My Personal Songbook (2015) featuring legendary jazz bassist
Ron Carter, Rediscovered Ellington (2017) featuring Garry Dial
and Dick Oatts and Crossing Borders featuring Richie Beirach
and Gregor Huebner. Other concert projects featured Patti
Austin, Kurt Elling, Stefon Harris, the New York Voices, Ola Onabulé,
Joshua Redman, Marvin Stamm and Bill Mays and Warren Vaché.
RICHARD DEROSA
PROFESSOR OF JAZZ COMPOSITION & ARRANGING
DIRECTOR OF THE THREE O’CLOCK LAB BAND
42
Other arrangements have been recorded by the Mel Lewis, Gerry
Mulligan, and Glenn Miller big bands, vocalist Susannah McCorkle,
trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, and violinist Anne Akiko Meyers.
Commissioned arrangements for orchestra include the Kansas
City Symphony, Houston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New
York Pops, Portland Maine Pops, Czech National Symphony,
Metropole Orchestra and the Swedish Television and Radio
Orchestra.
Mr. DeRosa’s publications for jazz ensembles are available
through Sierra Music, Alfred Music, Barnhouse Music and e-Jazz
Lines. He remains active as an adjudicator and clinician. More
information can be found at www.richderosa.com.
University of North Texas College of Music
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Philip Dizack is one of the most important and versatile jazz
trumpeters of his generation, fulfilling DownBeat magazine’s 2007
proclamation “[one of twenty-five] Trumpet Players for the Future.”
In 2019, Dizack joined Israeli-born pianist Shai Maestro’s newly
expanded quartet. The band’s subsequent album, Human, was
released on the ECM label in January of 2021 to critical acclaim.
Philip was also a featured soloist on the 2021 recording Assembly
of Shadows by Remy Le Boeuf which received two Grammy©
nominations for Best Instrumental Composition and Best
Instrumental Arrangement.
PHILIP DIZACK
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF JAZZ TRUMPET -
IMPROVISATION EMPHASIS
COORDINATOR OF JAZZ CHAMBER MUSIC
In his late teens and early twenties, Dizack was mentored in the
tradition through his time performing, touring and recording with
Jazz Messenger Bobby Watson and eight-time Grammy© winner
and Latin Jazz legend Eddie Palmieri. He has since performed
and recorded alongside an extremely wide array of musicians
unencumbered by generation or genre - in clubs, concert halls,
arenas, stadiums and on television and films in over 25 countries.
A truncated list of artists includes Wycliffe Gordon, Thundercat,
Nicholas Payton, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Immanuel
Wilkins, Kamasi Washington, Aaron Parks, Ben Wendel, Melissa
Aldana, Greg Tardy, Myron Walden, Jon Batiste, Morrissey,
Foreigner, Robert Redford and many more.
In 2019, alongside touring and performing, Philip was appointed
assistant professor of jazz trumpet at the University of North
Texas. Philip Dizack has released three solo albums and has been
featured on over 35 albums as a supporting member.
With an international presence in several facets of the music
industry, Rosana Eckert wears many hats as a versatile live
and studio vocalist, dynamic improviser, creative songwriter
and arranger and a lauded educator of jazz and voice. She has
performed and recorded with many jazz luminaries, including
Christian McBride, Bobby McFerrin, Kenny Wheeler and the
New York Voices. Recently she was one of the three vocalists
on the 2021 Grammy Award-winning composition Eberhard
by legendary jazz pianist Lyle Mays. Rosana’s latest solo
album, Sailing Home, was praised as “bright and innovative”
(AllAboutJazz) and “alluring” (Jazz Weekly), and in 2021, her
Brazilian jazz fusion band, Brasuka, released their debut
album of original songs titled A Vida Com Paixão. Celebrated
as “addictively joyful” (Exclusive Magazine) and “positively
infectious” (The Big Takeaway), the album received 4 stars in
DownBeat magazine, was featured in Jazz Times magazine and
made several “Best of 2021” lists.
ROSANA ECKERT
PRINCIPAL LECTURER OF VOCAL JAZZ
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
Rosana is also a member of the Mike Steinel Quintet, utilizing
her instrumental background to vocally function like an alto
saxophone. The group’s second album of original music Saving
Charlie Parker was released in September 2022. An alumna of
UNT, Rosana was the first woman and first minority added to its
esteemed jazz faculty in 1999, helping build its renowned vocal
jazz program. Her many published arrangements, original songs,
and educational resources, including her method book Singing
with Expression, are used by singers worldwide. In addition to her
live performing, writing and teaching, Rosana works regularly as
a studio vocalist, producer and voice-over actor.
43
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Nick Finzer is one of the most dynamic musicians of
the millennial generation. An award-winning trombonist,
composer, producer, entrepreneur, and educator, Finzer
is bringing the joy and power of Jazz to traditional fans
and the most modern 21st century audiences. He’s on a
mission to be a passionate voice defining the sound of
Jazz in this age.
NICK FINZER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF JAZZ TROMBONE
Never satisfied with just one singular path Finzer can be
found on stages all over the world with the likes of the
Grammy nominated Anat Cohen Tentet, leading his own
band Hear & Now through their most recent critically
acclaimed album Cast of Characters (Outside in Music,
2020), topping DownBeat magazine’s 2020 “Rising Star
Trombone” Category of their Critics Poll, producing albums
and videos for his record label Outside in Music, educating
the next generation of musicians as the inaugural assistant
professor of jazz trombone at the renowned University
of North Texas and maintaining a robust presence on
his YouTube channel/social media sharing resources on
trombone, jazz education and music marketing.
With a unique style and sound, which echoes the
influences of his past, Brad Leali is one of the most
notable saxophonists of current times. Leali has toured
and recorded with numerous jazz greats, including several
years with the Harry Connick Jr. Orchestra and with the
Count Basie Orchestra. Leali was a standing member of the
Kennedy Center Honors Band and performed for President
Obama’s inaugural celebration.
Brad has had a long-time endorsement with Keilwerth
Saxophones and D’Addario Reeds. Currently the Professor
of Jazz Saxophone at UNT, Brad continues to perform
domestically and abroad, including touring with Lyle Lovett
& His Large Band. See www.bradleali.com/press-kit/ for
videos and more information.
“His solos are sparkling and Cannonball Adderley
influenced.”- Evening Standard (London, England).
BRAD LEALI
PROFESSOR OF JAZZ SAXOPHONE
44
“ Saxophonist Brad Leali was among the most soulful and
exciting I’ve heard recently.” - New York Times
University of North Texas College of Music
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Federico Llach is a Latino creative musician whose music has
been described as “a thought-provoking demonstration of
multidimensionality” and “a piece of art that proves that life is
profoundly beautiful and disturbing at the same time”. Credits
in experimental and commercial music have found outlets in
internationally recognized orchestras and ensembles, international
jazz festivals, AR apps, award-winning films and commercial
pieces for global brands such as Coca-Cola and Yonex.
Llach has performed or presented music in dozens of countries
at venues of such geographical and aesthetic diversity as
Festival Internacional de Jazz Buenos Aires, Bang on a Can
Summer Festival and Darmstadt Ferienkurse. He has received
awards and scholarships from Styria Artist in Residency, Paul
Sacher Stiftung, Los Angeles County, Orquesta Sinfónica
Nacional Argentina, Fondo Nacional de las Artes, University of
California Institute for Research in the Arts, Borchard Foundation
and UCSB Humanities and Social Sciences.
FEDERICO LLACH
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COMMERCIAL MUSIC
Musically raised in Buenos Aires as a double bass jazz performer,
music for media producer and classical composer, his music
combines the energy of popular music studio production with
the intimacy of acoustic instruments and innovative sound
design. His sound draws from a wide range of experiences
with jazz music, songwriting bands, Argentine rock, tango,
orchestras, modular synthesizers, samplers and electronics
of all kinds. Llach holds degrees from Escuela de Música
Contemporánea/Berklee Global Partner (2003), Universidad
Nacional del Arte (BM, 2009), University of California, Santa
Barbara (MA 2013; PhD 2017) and has produced research
published by Cambridge University journal Tempo.
Pianist, composer, and educator Dave Meder is one
of the prominent artists of his generation, known for a
broad musical palette and interdisciplinary approach
recognized in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz
Piano Competition, the American Pianists Awards, and the
Chamber Music America New Jazz Works commissioning
program. Beyond the accolades, his defining aesthetic
is a strikingly postmodern sense of stylistic adventure,
incorporating what All About Jazz describes as “a vibrant
hybrid of the whole American spectrum.”
DAVE MEDER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF JAZZ PIANO
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
His first album Passage was counted among the top five
jazz debuts in the Ottawa Citizen and was included in the
annual “Favorite Jazz Albums” list from All Music Guide,
noted for its skillful balancing of “post-bop harmonies
with soulful gospel warmth and contemporary classical
sophistication.” His recent release Unamuno Songs and
Stories uses the works of Spanish Civil War-era philosopher
Miguel de Unamuno to respond to sociopolitical turmoil
in the United States. Meder has headlined stages or
conducted educational residencies at Jazz at Lincoln
Center, The Kennedy Center, as well as internationally in
Beijing, Tokyo, São Paulo and most recently Egypt as a
United States Fulbright Scholar. Dave is a Yamaha Artist
and a professor at University of North Texas.
45
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Davy Mooney is a jazz guitarist from New Orleans who
records for Sunnyside Records and is Assistant Professor
of Jazz Studies and head of the jazz guitar program at the
University of North Texas, where he teaches private lessons
and advanced jazz improvisation.
He has recorded seven CDs as a leader. His latest Sunnyside
CD, Davy Mooney and the Hope of Home Band Live at National
Sawdust, was recorded live in Brooklyn, NY in January 2020
with Brian Blade, Jon Cowherd, John Ellis, and Matt Clohesy.
His other Sunnyside releases are 2018’s Benign Strangers,
2017’s Hope of Home, and 2012’s Perrier St. In promotion of
these CDs, Mooney has toured the United States, as well as
Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Peru and Myanmar.
Mooney has two books published by Mel Bay: Personalizing
Jazz Vocabulary (2019) and Into the Labyrinth: An Anatomy
of Position Playing for Jazz Guitar (2022). Mooney has a PhD
in jazz performance from New York University, and wrote a
dissertation on the early 1960s work of Joe Pass entitled “Joe
Pass’s Catch Me!, For Django, and Joy Spring: Transcription
and Analysis.” He competed in the 2005 Thelonious Monk
International Guitar Competition, placing third, and studied
at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance from
2007 to 2009, under artistic director Terence Blanchard.
DAVY MOONEY
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF JAZZ GUITAR
Mooney received his master’s degree from the University of New
Orleans in 2005. In 2006 he recorded a duo guitar CD with John
Pizzarelli entitled Last Train Home. The following year he recorded
Astoriano, released on the Japanese label LateSet Records.
Born in Miami, FL Jessica Muñiz-Collado is a music consultant,
composer/producer, percussionist, and an Assistant Professor
of Music Business at the University of North Texas. She is also the
founder/owner of NIZCO MUSIC – a music career consulting service
that helps musicians compose their careers to their own B.E.A.T. Her
company offers services in music career planning, music curriculum
development, music technology training and artist development.
Jessica has presented multiple times at the National Association
of Music Merchants (NAMM)/ GenNext Conference, the Association
of Popular Music Education (APME) Conference, the National
Association for College Admission Counseling’s Performing Arts
Fair and presented at the international music conference LeRock
& L’Amour held at the Université Paul-Valery in Montpellier, France.
In addition to speaking on music income opportunities at various
colleges/universities and multimedia conferences, Jessica serves
on The Recording Academy’s education committee (TX Chapter)
and is an Academy voting member. She is NAMM/College Music
Society Fellow grant recipient, and also serves as a music technology
judge for the Hit Like A Girl-Beats By Girlz International Beatmaking
Contest where she once was an award-winner in 2019.
JESSICA MUÑIZ-COLLADO
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MUSIC BUSINESS
As a composer/producer, she has created music for numerous
production companies and music libraries including MundoFOX,
Univision, PBS, IMAX and Universal Production Music to name a few.
She is also a published and commissioned composer with both
national and international performances of her work and works as a
sound designer for theater and dance mediums. As a percussionist,
Jessica has had the privilege to perform and/or record with
numerous Grammy-nominated musicians and world-renowned
artists. She has been featured in Music Connection magazine, Digital
Drummer magazine and the Percussive Arts Society’s Percussive
Notes magazine. To learn more about Jessica, please visit www.
nizcomusic.com.
46
University of North Texas College of Music
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Rob Parton is Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet and Chair of
the Jazz Studies Division at the University of North Texas where
he also directs the Two O’Clock Lab Band. Prior to joining the
faculty at UNT, he held positions at Capital University, Roosevelt
University, and Chicago State University. A dedicated jazz
educator, he has directed All-State Jazz Ensembles in twelve
states as well as serving as a clinician at universities and high
schools throughout the United States.
A versatile and in-demand trumpet player, Parton has been
called on to perform or record the music of diverse composers
from Karel Husa to Leonard Bernstein to Duke Ellington. He has
performed with many of America’s major orchestras including
the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, New York
Philharmonic, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.
He has also performed as lead trumpet on numerous Broadway
shows in the Midwest and with Grammy, Tony, and Academy Awardwinning
artists from Faith Hill to Natalie Cole to Tony Bennett. As a
recording artist, he has performed on hundreds of recordings for
national commercials and with various artists on Concord, Verity,
Mark Records, Sea Breeze and Sony record labels.
ROB PARTON
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF JAZZ TRUMPET –
LEAD TRUMPET EMPHASIS
DIRECTOR OF THE TWO O’CLOCK LAB BAND
CHAIR OF THE DIVISION OF JAZZ STUDIES
While comfortable in various musical settings, be it jazz trio or brass
quintet or as a soloist with larger ensembles, leading a professional big
band is the area in which he has enjoyed the most acclaim. Founded
in 1984, the Rob Parton Big Band has released eleven recordings,
performed at the Midwest Clinic three times, at the International
Trumpet Guild Conference and at numerous jazz festivals featuring
guest artists such as Lew Soloff, Conte Candoli and Joe Williams.
Dozens of the band’s recordings and live videos can be found on
YouTube.
Regents Professor Lynn Seaton has an active career in
performing and recording that co-exists with teaching young
professionals. His work at the University of North Texas began
in 1998 following thirteen years of a professional career based
in New York City. Professor Seaton has performed with worldrenowned
jazz musicians including Woody Herman, the Count
Basie Orchestra led by Thad Jones then Frank Foster, Tony
Bennett, George Shearing, Diane Schuur, Tim Hagans, Maria
Schneider, Jeff Hamilton, John Fedchock, Kenny Drew Jr., Bobby
Shew, Joe Williams and Monty Alexander. Seaton has performed
in thirty-five countries and forty-nine states. Recording credits
include over one-hundred-twenty-five albums or CDs including
one Grammy and two Grammy nominations. Recordings under
his leadership, Solo Flights, Bassman’s Basement, Live!!!, Puttin’
on the Ritz and Zoom Blewz received notable recognition.
Forty-six recordings have been released since Seaton’s arrival
at the University of North Texas. The significance of his career
is recognized in magazine reviews and history books including:
The Grove Dictionary of Music, The Penguin Guide to Jazz, The
Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz, Leonard Feather’s Encyclopedia of
Jazz and several references in The All Music Guide.
LYNN SEATON
REGENTS PROFESSOR OF JAZZ BASS
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
Seaton’s honors and awards include teaching and performing
in Riga, Latvia as a Fulbright Scholar, induction into the
Cincinnati, Ohio and Oklahoma Jazz Halls of Fame, and
nominations as Sammons Artist of the Year and Sigma Alpha
Iota National Arts Associate. Alumni of Professor Seaton’s are
university professors, bandleaders, Broadway performers,
military band members, touring Jazz, Hip Hop & Pop artists
and Grammy awardees.
47
JAZZ STUDIES FACULTY
Kimberly Hannon Teal joined the faculty at UNT in
August of 2021 as assistant professor of jazz history and
research. Her work addresses contemporary jazz, and she
is interested in how live performance contexts contribute
to musical experiences and meaning. Her book Jazz
Places: How Performance Spaces Shape Jazz History was
published by the University of California Press in 2021.
She holds a PhD in historical musicology from the Eastman
School of Music, where she also taught music history and
served as the Director of Graduate Advising. Her writing
can be found in American Music, Jazz Perspectives, The
Journal of the Society for American Music, Jazz Education
in Research and Practice and Jazz Research Journal.
KIMBERLY HANNON TEAL
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF JAZZ HISTORY & RESEARCH
Prior to working at UNT, she was an assistant professor of
musicology at the University of Arkansas.
Scott Tixier is a five-time GRAMMY affiliated award-winning
violinist and 2018 DownBeat Critic Poll Winner. He has
performed in major venues across the world including The
Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, The Paris Philharmonie,
Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Jazz at Lincoln
Center, The Blue Note in New York, The Apollo Theater,
The Hollywood Bowl, Shanghai Conservatory Of Music and
United States Capitol.
He has performed, recorded and toured with jazz legends
and music icons such as Stevie Wonder, Kenny Barron, Elton
John, Pink Floyd, Ed Sheeran, Cassandra Wilson, Coldplay,
Chris Potter, John Legend, Christina Aguilera, Natalie Cole,
Anthony Braxton, Ariana Grande and many others.
SCOTT TIXIER
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF JAZZ VIOLIN
COORDINATOR OF JAZZ PERFORMANCE
FUNDAMENTALS FOR STRINGS I & II
DIRECTOR OF THE JAZZ STRINGS LAB
In addition to performing in and out of the jazz world, Tixier
is known for his work on motion picture scores such as The
Lion King, John Wick, Charlie’s Angels and TV shows including
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on NBC, The Late Show
with Stephen Colbert as well as the previous format with
David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, America’s
Got Talent and most recently with Netflix for Spike Lee’s new
film in collaboration with composer Terence Blanchard as
well as Warner Bros for Father of the Bride.
48 University of North Texas College of Music
Reflecting on a Career at North Texas
By Craig Marshall
The jazz studies program at UNT is unlike any other. One
of the many ways it differs from the rest is its sheer size—in
number of jazz majors, jazz faculty, formal ensembles, and
schedule of performances on and off campus. To meet
the organizational challenges of such a large jazz division,
North Texas has both a lab band manager and an administrative
coordinator. These two staff positions cover a
wide range of duties, each in concert with the other to keep
things running smoothly in the jazz division. This is both a
necessity and a luxury that smaller jazz programs, where
the director would typically handle most or all of this themselves,
don’t enjoy.
My responsibilities broadly include assisting with auditions,
the scheduling and production of concerts on and off campus,
managing tours and festival appearances, producing
albums and facilitating digital distribution for the North
Texas Jazz label, and overseeing the jazz chart library and
jazz division instruments and gear.
At this writing I am in my 27th year in this role. It’s an interesting
moment for me as I come to the realization that my
mentor Neil Slater served 27 years as director of the One
O’Clock Lab Band® and jazz division chair (1981—2008); it’s
been 27 years since I last performed with the One O’Clock
Lab Band in the trombone section, and that year’s album,
Lab ’94, is precisely halfway between today and the very
first studio lab album, Lab ’67. I’m now the same age that
Neil Slater was when I first met him. He led the jazz program
for another 20 years after that! The passage of time certainly
brings with it perspective.
I’ve learned a lot from my peers and colleagues since arriving
in Denton as an undergraduate transfer student in 1987.
Across three decades I’ve served as a thread of continuity
working alongside three division chairs, four One O’Clock
directors, five jazz division administrative assistants/coordinators,
and over thirty jazz faculty. As the unofficial historian
and keeper of institutional knowledge, I apply this experience
to inform our stewardship and provide perspective
on decisions that impact the future of the program.
The One O’Clock Lab Band is truly one of a kind, at once
a professional ensemble performing at the height of jazz
artistry and yet still a group of college students attending
classes. The flagship of the jazz program, it represents UNT
in a capacity unparalleled by its peers, because in a way
it truly has none. No other college jazz band enjoys the
status of regularly headlining jazz festivals, music conferences
and jazz clubs around the world, commanding
performance fees rather than applying for participation or
competing with other schools. With seven Grammy nominations
and counting, we treat the band as a professional
organization. The expectation of excellence permeates
everything—the way rehearsals are held, concerts are presented,
tours are organized, and albums are recorded.
Having been in the band provides me the insight to manage
it in a way that best honors the level of commitment
and artistry that elevated these students’ musicianship to
the degree required to make the cut. Students who earn
a spot in the One enjoy special opportunities, but also
experience the pressure and responsibility to honor and
respect the legacy of those who have graced those chairs
before them—to perform at the level of excellence that is
in the tradition. Just as coal under intense pressure forms a
diamond, the mutual bond and lifelong friendships formed
along the journey shape the facets of each band member.
Such friendships and countless memorable shared experiences,
both on stage and off, are what I treasure the most
from my decades-long career performing with and managing
the One O’Clock Lab Band and being part of the North
Texas Jazz community. It’s been an honor to serve.
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
49
JAZZ STUDIES STAFF
Craig Marshall has served as manager of the Jazz Studies
Division at UNT since 1995. Marshall earned degrees in
jazz studies from UNT, where he is now manager of the
lab bands and producer for the North Texas Jazz record
label. As former trombonist in the UNT One O’Clock Lab
Band, Marshall appeared on six CDs, including the Grammynominated
composition “Values” by Neil Slater on Lab ‘91,
and the commemorative box set North Texas Jazz: Fifty
Years that he also co-produced. Three additional Grammy
nominations were awarded for Lab 2009 and Lab 2015, where
Craig was producer. His production of the landmark tribute
CD collections honoring Neil Slater, Jim Riggs, Jay Saunders,
and Rich DeRosa (to commemorate 70 years of jazz at North
Texas) are unique milestones in the history of this storied
jazz program. As a performer and record producer, Craig
Marshall’s credits include more than half of the entire North
Texas Jazz catalog, with nearly 50 albums on his discography.
CRAIG MARSHALL
PROGRAM MANAGER FOR JAZZ LAB BAND
ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR - JAZZ STUDIES
Marshall served as festival manager/director/co-founder of
the North Texas Jazz Festival in Addison from 2001–2009,
and has solidified a presence in Dallas and Fort Worth for the
One O’Clock Lab Band through his establishment of ongoing
concert series now in their second or third decade. His duties
include managing the One O’Clock Lab Band, including
domestic and international tours, CD & DVD recording projects,
on-campus and off-campus concerts and concert series
production, and assisting with publicity, marketing, and media
relations. Craig continues to be a crucial link to our numerous
jazz studies alumni over the past 30 years.
Texan musician Madison Russell explores introspection
and perception of others through performance and
composition with a blend of styles. Utilizing a crystalclear,
unique, and versatile vocal tone, Madison is able
to convey a wide range of emotion. She explores the
subtleties and intricacies of the human condition through
sounds that craftily mix folk, rock, and jazz influences.
With roots in classical and jazz music, Madison has been
performing and writing music of various genres since
childhood. She studied classical voice, jazz voice, opera,
and percussion while studying at Booker T. Washington
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. In
2015, she was named a Winner in Jazz Voice with the
National YoungArts Foundation. Madison then attended
the University of North Texas, where she was named
Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Jazz Studies
after earning a bachelor’s degree in 2019. She went on
to earn a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies
in 2020 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in
library science.
MADISON RUSSELL
ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR
DIVISION OF JAZZ STUDIES
50
Madison performs as a live and session vocalist
professionally across the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She
performs as a soloist and ensemble member in choirs,
small groups such as Lydian Blue, and alternative rock
bands such as Modern Modem. She is currently writing
for her first official release as a solo artist.
University of North Texas College of Music
JAZZ STUDIES STAFF
As any student who has ever been in the jazz studies office will attest, the jazz studies staff
is their primary point of contact, the face of the jazz program, and the people who have a
major impact on how they experience being a student in the jazz program at North Texas.
Every jazz division chair has recognized that the work of the jazz studies staff has been
essential to achieving the goals of the division and keeping the program running. We
acknowledge and thank those who have held these roles, and whose dedicated work
has made such a positive impact on thousands of alumni of the North Texas Jazz Studies
program over these many decades.
JAZZ DIVISION SECRETARIES,
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS & COORDINATORS
CINDY KAMENITSA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1974 – 1978
CARLA KRUGER ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1978 – 1981
LORI THIESSE---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1981 – 1982
LISA FISCHER--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1982 – 1985
BRYANT COLEMAN-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1985 – 1988
JANET NELSON------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1988 – 1989
DARLA MAYES----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1990 – 2011
JULIE BICE-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2011 – 2013
KATY KINARD---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2013 – 2016
CHRISTOPHER WALKER-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016 – 2021
MADISON RUSSELL---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2021 – Present
LAB BAND STAFF ASSISTANTS & MANAGERS
JOEL SEARS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1964 – 1967
CHARLES HACKETT --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1967 – 1976
KENNETH ELLIOTT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1971 – 1975
J. FRANK LIVELY------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1975 – 1977
RON BERGAN---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1977 – 1978
BOBBY KNIGHT--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1978 – 1983
PHILIP BROWN-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1983 – 1990
MIKE BOGLE------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1991 – 1995
CRAIG MARSHALL----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 – Present
CURRENT JAZZ LIBRARIAN STUDENTS
Ariel Glassman, Thomas Reilly, Natalie Suvarnasuddhi & Zachary Williamson
We graciously recognize the countless jazz librarians over the decades who contributed greatly to the
success of the lab band program, both in keeping the bands in playable charts and assisting with hundreds
of concerts, special events and tours along the way. Carting gear, setting up and running sound systems,
serving as stage crew, helping with merchandice sales... you name it. Thank you all for your hard work!
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
51
PROGRAM CREDITS
NORTH TEXAS JAZZ 75 TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION
EVENT PRODUCER
Craig Marshall
EVENT COMMITTEE
Jennifer Barnes, Alan Baylock, Rosana Eckert, Craig Marshall, Rob Parton, Madison Russell
EVENT PRODUCTION
Madison Russell, Administrative Coordinator for Jazz Studies
Derek Miller, Audio Technical Director, Front of House Engineer
Michael Vazquez, Monitor Engineer
Julie Hohman, Lighting Technical Director
Austin Martinez, Director of Recording Services, Recording & Live Stream
Jake Chaffee, Music Performance Technician, Recording & Live Stream
Jordan Batson, MPAC Building Operations
Destiny Andrews, Assistant Director for Event Management, Box Office
EVENT PROGRAM
Matt Hellman, Graphic Design Specialist, Program Design & Photography
Linda Strube, College of Music Programs, Copy Proofreading
Matt Hardman, Director of Communications, Marketing & Public Relations
Maristella Feustle, Music Special Collections Librarian, Archival Photo Curator
Kimberly Hannon Teal, Assistant Professor of Jazz History & Research, Historical Essay Editor
EVENT ASSISTANCE
Michael Clements, Photography
Vickie Napier, Budget & Purchasing Officer
Joel Wiley, Director of Admissions, College of Music Ambassadors
Amanda Miller, Concert & Event Scheduling Coordinator
Bailey Garrison, Catering Coordinator, Verde Dining Services
Courtney Burke, Assistant Director of Events, Gateway Center
Daniel Suda, Director of Affinity Programming, Alumni Relations
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Mike Steinel, Event Planning Guidance
Ian Calhoun, Jazz Archival Organization
Jeff Bowerman, Groggy Dog, Merchandise
Jayna Whitehead, General Manager, UNT Bookstore
Steve Severance, Proprietor, Steve’s Wine Bar, Receptions
Darla Mayes, Carla Kruger, Philip Brown, Mike Bogle, Charles Hackett, Historical References
52
University of North Texas College of Music
UNT ADMINISTRATION
UNT SYSTEM
MICHAEL R. WILLIAMS
Chancellor
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
NEAL SMATRESK
President
MICHAEL MCPHERSON
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
JOHN W. RICHMOND
Professor and Dean
WARREN HENRY-------------------------------------- Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
FELIX OLSCHOFKA--------------------------------------------------- Associate Dean for Operations
EMILITA MARIN-------------------------------------------- Assistant Dean for Business and Finance
RAYMOND ROWELL------------------------ Assistant Dean for Scholarships and External Affairs
KIRSTEN BROBERG---------------------------------------------- Director of Undergraduate Studies
JAYMEE HAEFNER------------------------------------------------------- Director of Graduate Studies
BENJAMIN BRAND-------------- Chair, Division of Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology
MOLLY FILLMORE----------------------------------------------------- Chair, Division of Vocal Studies
STEVEN HARLOS------------------------------------------------- Chair, Division of Keyboard Studies
JOSEPH KLEIN------------------------------------------------ Chair, Division of Composition Studies
KIMBERLY COLE LUEVANO--------------------------------- Chair, Division of Instrumental Studies
ROB PARTON------------------------------------------------------------ Chair, Division of Jazz Studies
SEAN POWELL------------------------------------------------------Chair, Division of Music Education
ANDREW TRACHSEL---------------------------------Chair, Division of Conducting and Ensembles
CYRIEL AERTS-------------------------------------------------------------------Director, Piano Services
CREDITS
MATT HARDMAN---------------------Director, Communications, Marketing and Public Relations
AUSTIN MARTINEZ------------------------------------------------------- Director, Recording Services
CAROL POLLARD---------------------------------------------------Director, Undergraduate Advising
JOEL WILEY-------------------------------------------------------------------------Director, Admissions
MARIA BAYLOCK------- Executive Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the College of Music
MATT HELLMAN----------------------------------------- Program Design, Graphic Design Specialist
Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion
53
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MEAN GREEN
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UNT ALUMNI
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