Friday, February 16, 2018

One O'Clock Lab Band: Lab 2017

North Texas Jazz
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Lab 2017

I’ve always been partial to colleges that offer degrees in jazz. The University of North Texas is one of many and, in fact, was the first to do so. The school formed a stage band as far back as 1923, performing Friday night concerts that were broadcast live from a Fort Worth radio station. The unit really became famous in 1927, and in 1947 North Texas launched the world’s first jazz degree program. Things have accelerated ever since, and the program’s faculty, students and graduates are legion. 

The One O’Clock Lab Band — named for the class rehearsal time — is one of nine such university units, all of which use standard 19-piece instrumentation: five reeds, five trumpets, five trombones, piano, bass, guitar and drums.

The band director for this album is Alan Baylock; all charts were arranged by band members. Only three are from the Great American Jazz Standards book: Harold Arlen’s “My Shining Hour,” Chick Corea’s “500 Miles High” and Ellington’s “I’m Beginning to See the Light.” Every track is a gem, but my favorite is the opener, “My Shining Hour.” It’s a real barn-burner; I haven’t heard a track that swings like that in years.

The band is stunning.

Two words say it all: swinging and meticulous. You can’t often group those words, because one of the key factors in jazz is spontaneity; that sometimes leads to fluffs or mistakes. Not so with his group; it’s one of the best-rehearsed units I’ve ever encountered.

Fortunately for all jazz fans — and this blog’s readers — North Texas’ many years of operation, and its excellence, have produced an extensive discography starring the various Lab Bands.

Don’t miss this album ... and stay tuned for more equally fine releases from the University of North Texas!

Tom Rizzo: Day and Night

Origin Records
By Ric Bang
Buy CD: Day and Night

This album is proof-positive of several things:

• Tasty, swinging jazz is alive and well in the Los Angeles/greater West Coast region;

• The artists from that neck of the woods continue to demonstrate that they’re among the best who share the love for this genre; and

• Origin continues to be one of the top distributors that satisfies the souls of true jazz fans.

Guitarist Tom Rizzo produced this release, and his performance truly stands out. He has been heard by millions, due to his membership in several of the bands that have been key to television’s Tonight Show. His basic quartet — pianist Dennis Hamm, bassist David Hughes, and drummer Steve Schaeffer — is the core of the tentet (the “little big band”) that makes this album groove.

Trombonist Dick Lane did all the arrangements; the rest of the brass section includes Bob Summers (trumpet), John Dickson (French horn) and Doug Tornquist (tuba). The reed section features Bob Sheppard (tenor sax) and Jeff Driskill (soprano sax).

The menu is a nice blend of standards and originals: Cole Porter’s “So in Love,” Vincent Youmans’ “Without a Song” and Henry Mancini’s “Moon River,” along with up-to-date melodies such as Wayne Shorter’s “Infant Eyes,” Peter Bernstein’s “Little Green Men,” Ornette Coleman’s “Law Years” and Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City.” And if those aren’t enough, we also re-visit “School Days” and “Lonesome Cowboy,” as interpreted by Rizzo.

This a genuinely pleasant jazz journey: danceable, listenable and quite swingable. Bring it home.