Jazz @ University of Houston

Auditions for Fall 2012

Ryan Gabbart — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:46:36 +0000

Audition music for the jazz area is now posted in PDF format at the Downloads page.

Jazz auditions will take place on Tuesday 8/28 & Thursday 8/30 in room 175 from 11:30am – 1pm
Jazz auditions are open to all students, including rhythm section players & non-music majors
This EXCLUDES horn players who have already auditioned for Wind Ensemble & Orchestra
Rhythm section players must be able to comp/walk through the chord changes & play written figures
Sign up for an audition time (sign up sheet will be posted at Room 146)

2012 spring concert takes place on Wednesday, April 18

Ryan Gabbart — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:38:50 +0000

It’s our final concert of the 2011-12 school year, so we’re taking it out with a bang. Our season closer will feature both big bands performing several new works. The concert will feature new arrangements based on the music of Radiohead (“There There”) to Tom Harrell (“Blue in One”) and the premiere reworking of an old classic (“Nature Boy”). As always, there will be something for everyone that is a fan of quality jazz music and we hope to see you there. Program and ticket information below.

Infernal Jamnation, Jeff Lopez
Nick Madden, baritone saxophone
Brett Bousley, guitar
Thanushka Lewkebandera, piano

Six P.M., arr. Mark Taylor
Thanushka Lewkebandera, piano
Brett Bousley, guitar
Jacob Starr, tenor saxophone
Alex Johnson, trumpet

Lili’s Song, Paul G. White
Alex Winkler, piano

Six by Six, Doug Beach
Thanushka Lewkebandera, piano
Michael Autry, guitar

Pea Shooter, Jeff Lopez
Zack Woolhouse, tenor saxophone
Chad Tumminello, drums

Sambanice, Rob McConnell
David Ramirez, piano
Ruben Sepulveda, tenor saxophone
Landon Petersen, guitar

Nature Boy, arr. Gerald Massoud
Gerald Massoud, bass

Dearly Beloved, arr. Rich DeRosa
Justin Neumann, baritone saxophone

Blue in One, arr. Ryan Gabbart
Landon Petersen, guitar

There There, arr. James Miley
Darrel Materum, soprano saxophone
Henry Darragh, piano
Cameron Kubos, trumpet

Sister Sadie, arr. Michael Abene
Henry Darragh, piano
Darrel Materum, alto saxophone
Gerald Massoud, bass
Rick Harris, trombone

Concert details

Wednesday, April 18, 7:30pm
Moores School of Music Opera House
$10 general admission / $5 students
Click here for ticket information and directions

Recap: 14th Annual Moores Jazz Festival

Ryan Gabbart — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:20:22 +0000

The 14th Annual MSM Jazz Festival welcomed several schools from across not only Houston, but the entire south Texas region, and (as usual) we were impressed by the amount of talent heard during our two-day event. Each year’s bands continue to improve their skills along with their competitive spirit. Our judging panel had to spend a LOT of time deciding the results of each day’s activities. We are truly encouraged and inspired by the abundance of great jazz ensembles throughout the state of Texas.

Friday evening’s concert featured the Texas Music Festival Jazz Project, Houston’s all-star big band, and Saturday evening showcased saxophonist Seamus Blake with the MSM Jazz Orchestra. This may seem biased, but both evening’s performances were superb. Seamus Blake especially delivered on Saturday evening, performing a mix of his own original music with classic jazz and one standout composition by Vickie Yang. We were very happy to have him visit and contribute his knowledge in the afternoon clinics, as well. Any fan of jazz will want to take notice of Blake now as his star continues to rise in the jazz world. He is a fantastic musician who already boasts a distinguished pedigree and certainly has a promising future.

Thanks to our judges: Joel Fulgham, Johnny Gonzales and Armin Marmolejo for their great work. A HUGE thanks goes out to each school and band director for attending our festival; it cannot exist without your support and we hope that both you and your students gained some experience, knowledge and joy from this year’s event.

Outstanding High School of the Festival
Spring High School Jazz Band

Outstanding Middle School of the Festival
Memorial Middle School Jazz 1 – Harlingen, TX

Outstanding Soloist of the Festival
Clayton Farris, HSPVA

Outstanding High School of Friday
Katy High School Jazz Band

Outstanding Soloist of Friday
Clayton Farris, HSPVA

Outstanding High School of Saturday
Harlingen High School Honors Jazz

Outstanding Middle School of Saturday
Crosby Middle School

Outstanding Soloist of Saturday
Jessica Davis, Harlingen High School

All-Star Awards

Crosby Middle School, dir. Don Heaselet
Marcel Camacho
Shelby Innmon

Dekaney High School, dir. Trent Cooper & Ramsey Hampton
Jose Escovedo
Henry Espinoza
Kahlil Pinson

Harlingen High School, dir. Ronnie Rios, Maria Coronado & Marc Telles
David Dorado
Aaron Gomez
Juan Maldonado
AJ Padilla
TJ Saenz

Hastings High School, dir. Erich Sonnier & Paul Brodt
Luis Chacon
Emmanuel Otinwa
Salvador Velasco

Hightower High School, dir. Eduardo Tito Hernandez
Ashley Bacon
Davonte Jackson
Lumina Meneres

Houston School for the Performing and Visual Arts, dir. Warren Sneed
Ben Ackley
Paul Cornish
Jeremy Dorsey
Jeremy Dritton
James Francis
John Koozin
Blake Opper
Sterling Overshown
Andrew Sneed
Alex Wheeler

James E. Taylor High School, dir. Bruce Melville
Erik Jaimes
Thomas Zak

Katy High School, dir. Terence Gorton & Andrew Lee
Blake Meynig
Jessica Mortensen
Ryan Wollenberg

Lake Olympia Middle School, dir. Ray Hundl
Sahir Kahn

Memorial Middle School, Harlingen, TX, dir. James Keltner & Julissa Garcia
Dylan Flores
Alyssa Uribe

Quail Valley Middle School, dir. Kenny Borak
David Young

Pasadena High School, dir. Jacob Faske
Oscar Cruz
Eric Peña

Seven Lakes High School, dir. Geroge Archer & Jonathan Yoo
David Rebellon
Luis Quintero
Shane Smith
Austin Snowden

Spring High School, dir. J.D. Guzman
Victor Gonzalez
Theo Meadough
Zach Robinson

Spring Woods High School, dir. Jeffrey Munger
Kyle Guillemette

Waltrip High School, dir. Charlie Stephens & Jesse Espinoza
Jose Barrios
Mario Derreza
Johnny Olivares
Christina Peña
Carnell Simmons

The 14th Annual Moores School of Music Jazz Festival

Ryan Gabbart — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:46:34 +0000

Seamus Blake (Photo credit: TurboFreddy)

featuring saxophonist Seamus Blake

February 24 & 25, 2012

We are very pleased to announce that the 14th Annual MSM Jazz Festival will feature world renowned jazz artist Seamus Blake.

The Moores School of Music Jazz Festival features performances from middle and high schools throughout the day as well as two free clinics with Seamus Blake and the Jazz Orchestra at noon each day. No admission fee is required to observe these school performances or clinics.

Friday evening’s concert will showcase The Texas Music Festival Jazz Project, a big band made up of Texas-based jazz professionals, while Saturday evening’s performance belongs to Seamus Blake with the MSM Jazz Orchestra.* It promises to be an exciting event full of masterful musicianship, education and great jazz. If you are a student, teacher, professional musician or just a jazz fan we guarantee that you will not want to miss this weekend’s activities!

Click here for more information on the festival, including schedule, ticket information and details on how your school can participate.

*Evening events are ticketed

Auditions for Spring 2012

Ryan Gabbart — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:51:04 +0000

Auditions are open to both music majors and non-music majors. All trumpet, saxophone and trombone students are required to prepare and perform the jazz etude for their Wind Ensemble audition.

For those students who are NOT auditioning for Wind Ensemble (non-music major wind players & rhythm section players), audition requirements are as follows:

Sign up for an audition time (sign up sheet will be posted at Room 146)
Rhythm section players must be able to comp/walk through the chord changes AND play written figures
Jazz auditions for the aforementioned will take place Tuesday, January 17 and Thursday, January 19 in room 175 from 11:30am – 1pm

You can download the audition music in PDF format at the Downloads page.

Winter Concert: November 16 & 17

Ryan Gabbart — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:28:14 +0000

The month of November always means the beginning of a hectic two months of holiday madness. We believe that jazz fans will find this concert a brief reprieve from such things and enjoy the music. If this will be the only live music you can witness during this season, then rest assured that it will be some of the best of the year.

The closing concert for the fall semester includes something special for everyone. Our big bands will be playing old favorites. new arrangements on old standards and some completely new compositions altogether. In addition to this, the program will feature some select combo features playing a Charlie Parker classic and a new work by student composer, Alex Winkler.

We are happy to be able to perform throughout the greater Houston area this concert season. The Jazz Orchestra will perform this concert again on November 17 at Spring High School in conjunction with the Spring High School Jazz Band under the direction of J.D. Guzman.

Program is as follows:

On Green Dolphin Street. arr. Dave Wolpe
Evan Withner, alto saxophone
Thanushka Lewkebandera, piano
Brett Bousley, guitar

In a Mellow Tone, arr. Roy Phillippe
Thanushka Lewkebandera, piano
Alex Johnson, piano

City, arr. Mike Tomaro
Yakub Saputra, piano

Last Minute Changes, Alex Winkler

Old Devil Moon, arr. Ryan Gabbart
Nick Madden, baritone saxophone
Alex Winkler, piano
Evan Withner, alto saxophone
Jose Hernandez, trombone

Wyrgly, Maria Schneider
Zack Woolhouse, tenor saxophone
Rick Harris, trombone
Andrew Dugas, guitar

If You Could See Me Now, arr. Bill Holman
Cameron Kubos, trumpet

Have You Heard, arr. Robert Curnow
Lee Redfearn III, alto recorder
Robert Wolf, guitar

Awakening, arr. Aaron Lington
Landon Petersen, guitar

Au Privave, arr. Med Flory

Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box, arr. Dan Cavanaugh
Darrel Materum, alto saxophone

Groove Merchant, Thad Jones

Concert details

Wednesday, November 16, 7:30pm
Moores School of Music Opera House
$10 general admission / $5 students
Ticket information

Thursday, November 17, 7:00pm
Spring High School
Admission is free and open to the public.

2011 Concert Season opener – October 5 & 6

Ryan Gabbart — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:00:45 +0000

The Moores School of Music jazz department will perform its first concert of the season on Wednesday, October 5 at the Moores School of Music. It’s the beginning of another exciting year for the jazz department atMooresand we are very eager to feature some new works by both new and established composer/arrangers.

Also new this year is a continuing concert series in conjunction with select schools acrossHouston. The MSM Jazz Orchestra will be repeating each of their concerts the following evening at another location. The October 5 concert will be repeated with the HCC Southeast Jazz on Thursday, October 6 as part of Houston Community College’s Fall Concert Series.

And in the future: our November 16 concert will be performed again on November 17 at Spring High School.

Program is as follows:

Para Los Rumberos. Tito Puente
Nicolas Diaz, Matthew Jones, Russell Maley, percussion
Ike Ukazu, drums

Just Squeeze Me, arr. Ryan Gabbart
Alex Winkler, piano

Naima, arr. Eduardo Hernandez
Jacob Starr, tenor saxophone
Yakub Saputra, piano

Doin’ Basie’s Thing, Sammy Nestico
Alex Winkler, piano
Nick Madden, baritone saxophone
Brett Bousley, guitar
Evan Withner, alto saxophone

A Lift of the Foot, Alan Baylock
Zach Woolhouse, tenor saxophone
Henry Darragh, trombone

I Thought About You, arr. Vern Sielert
Darrell Materum, alto saxophone
Cameron Kubos, trumpet

Black Orpheus, arr. Eric Richards
David Ramirez, piano
Glen Ackerman, bass
Ruben Sepulveda, tenor saxophone
Rick Harris, trombone
Ike Ukazu, drums

Idioteque, arr. Patty Darling
Darrell Materum, soprano saxophone

I Hope That in Time a Change Will Come, Oliver Nelson
Darrell Materum, soprano saxophone

Ya Gotta Try… Harder, Sammy Nestico
Henry Darragh, piano
Landon Petersen, guitar

Concert details

Wednesday, October 5, 7:30pm
Moores School of Music Opera House
$10 general admission / $5 students
Ticket information

Thursday, October 6, 7:00pm
Houston Community College Southeast Learning Hub
Admission is free and open to the public.

Quantum Mechanics concert October 3

Ryan Gabbart — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 01:41:40 +0000

We at the MSM Jazz Department are pleased to announce a special concert featuring UH alumnus and saxophone instructor, Woody Witt. Dr. Witt is part of a new collective group called Quantum Mechanics. The group features original material played in all forms and styles of contemporary jazz music. Quantum Mechanics is rounded out by a rhythm section featuring Eric Wollman (guitar, compositions), Jim Donica (bass, compositions), Peter Grant (drums) and Witt on saxes and compositions. The rhythm section is based in NYC and have played together for about 10 years and in that time have accomplished a high level of musical communication and interplay within their ensemble.

The new collective has been enjoying a very busy fall with an extensive tour of the Southern United States and we are very excited to have them stop by the University of Houston just before they record all their material for a debut album.

Concert details
Quantum Mechanics
Monday, October 3, 7:30pm
Dudley Recital Hall (located inside the Fine Arts building)
Admission is free and open to the public

The 2011 Texas Music Festival opens June 7

jazzdept — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:59:13 +0000

You won’t ever have a better reason to come out and hear some great jazz music than Tuesday evening (June 7). The 2011 Texas Music Festival will kick off its season with an outdoor party taking place at 6:30 pm in the Moores Opera House courtyard. This pre-concert event will feature UH students and alums, with pre-concert music provided by the Henry Darragh Quartet. Food will be served from the Camarena Tequila Food Truck, helmed by Chefs Hugo and Ruben Ortega of Hugo’s Restaurant.

The concert will begin in the Moores Opera House at 7:30pm. Tickets are available for purchase here. We are finally selling tickets online!!!

Program is as follows:

Back to Basieques, Matt Catingub
Bolivia, arr. David Metzger
A Child’s Dance, Woody Witt, arr. Aaron Lington
Donnie’s Tempo, Michael Kocour
Evensong, Aaron Lington
Kickin’ and Screamin’, Chuck Owen
The Palmieri Effect, Brian Lynch
Surge, Chuck Owen

Saxophones
David Caceres
Kelly Dean
Woody Witt
Warren Sneed
Karl Fulbright

Trumpets
Gary Weldon
Dennis Dotson
Danny Wilson
Mike Harris

Trombones
Ryan Gabbart
Armin Marmolejo
Ed Lowe
Bruce Melville
Carl Muller

Rhythm Section
Mike Wheeler, guitar
Ken Ward, piano
Anthony Sapp, bass
Joel Fulgham, drums

This will be the Houston premier of the 2011 Texas Music Festival, but for jazz fans outside of Houston, the TMF Jazz Project will perform on Monday, June 6 at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center on the Texas A&M University campus at 7:30 p.m.

Sponsored by KTSU 90.9 The Choice FM and Defender Network.

Jazz Orchestra/Ensemble Auditions for Fall 2011

Ryan Gabbart — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:52:53 +0000

Auditions are open to both music majors and non-music majors. All trumpet, saxophone and trombone students are required to prepare and perform the jazz etude for their Wind Ensemble audition.

For those students who are NOT auditioning for Wind Ensemble (non-music major wind players & rhythm section players), audition requirements are as follows:

Sign up for an audition time (sign up sheet will be posted at Room 146 on Monday, August 22)
Rhythm section players must be able to comp/walk through the chord changes AND play written figures
Jazz auditions for the aforementioned will take place Thursday, August 25 in room 175 from 11:30am – 1pm

You can download the audition music in PDF format at the Downloads page.