2022 Jazz 75th Anniversary Reunion Program

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
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