2008 Woodie Awards
Retired jazz directors to be honored in alumni concert
Melissa Crowe
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE
The tap of drums stacked on layers of wailing brass and woodwinds will fill NT's Coliseum this weekend.
Musical greats from coast to coast will come back together at NT for a concert honoring two recently retired directors of NT's jazz department, Neil Slater, the former director of the One O'Clock Lab Band, and James Riggs, the former director of the Two O'Clock Lab Band, at 6 p.m. Saturday. The concert takes the place of the program's annual fall concert.
Among the many alumni that will play in big bands at the event include trombonist Tom "Bones" Malone, a member of the CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman and a band member from the original Saturday Night Live band whose feature-film credits include "The Blues Brothers," and saxophonist Dan Higgins, who recorded with Phil Collins, Cher, and Randy Newman.
"People have even started to call it a reunion show," said John Murphy, interim chairman of the NT jazz studies division.
The evening begins with a program celebrating both directors' achievements at NT. Former students will retell their favorite memories of the directors in video clips, slideshows and photographs.
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and features four big bands made of NT alumni and the current One and Two O'Clock lab bands. An "after party jam session" will follow the concert until 1 a.m.
The One O'clock Lab Band will debut one of Slater's new songs, "Another Other," One O'Clock Lab Band director Steve Weist said in a Daily video. They will also play a chart by alumnus Dave Richards.
"It's a way of celebrating 60 years of the program's existence," Murphy said.
Murphy stressed how special this event is compared with other concerts the program has sponsored.
"It is very unusual to gather this many alumni," Murphy said. "We have nearly 100 top-level musicians playing."
He said the concert compares to the program's 1997's 50th-anniversary concert that had only one alumni band.
Musical greats from coast to coast will come back together at NT for a concert honoring two recently retired directors of NT's jazz department, Neil Slater, the former director of the One O'Clock Lab Band, and James Riggs, the former director of the Two O'Clock Lab Band, at 6 p.m. Saturday. The concert takes the place of the program's annual fall concert.
Among the many alumni that will play in big bands at the event include trombonist Tom "Bones" Malone, a member of the CBS Orchestra on the Late Show with David Letterman and a band member from the original Saturday Night Live band whose feature-film credits include "The Blues Brothers," and saxophonist Dan Higgins, who recorded with Phil Collins, Cher, and Randy Newman.
"People have even started to call it a reunion show," said John Murphy, interim chairman of the NT jazz studies division.
The evening begins with a program celebrating both directors' achievements at NT. Former students will retell their favorite memories of the directors in video clips, slideshows and photographs.
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. and features four big bands made of NT alumni and the current One and Two O'Clock lab bands. An "after party jam session" will follow the concert until 1 a.m.
The One O'clock Lab Band will debut one of Slater's new songs, "Another Other," One O'Clock Lab Band director Steve Weist said in a Daily video. They will also play a chart by alumnus Dave Richards.
"It's a way of celebrating 60 years of the program's existence," Murphy said.
Murphy stressed how special this event is compared with other concerts the program has sponsored.
"It is very unusual to gather this many alumni," Murphy said. "We have nearly 100 top-level musicians playing."
He said the concert compares to the program's 1997's 50th-anniversary concert that had only one alumni band.
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