Division of Jazz Studies

Alumnus Brad Allen Williams has been touring internationally with José James (Blue Note), Kris Bowers (Concord), and Cory Henry. He will release the album Lamar on September 4, 2015. It features Tyshawn Sorey on drums and Pat Bianchi on B3.

Students from Paschal High School in Ft. Worth will play at Montreux Jazz Festival on July 7 and 8. The group is directed by UNT jazz studies master's alumnus Mark De Hertogh.
http://www.dfw.com/2015/06/29/1008893/paschal-high-school-students-performing.html
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article25974616.html

Doctoral Teaching Fellow Justin Binek (Jazz Studies, '17) and Retired Adjunct Assistant Professor of Voice and Vocal Pedagogy Diana R. Spradling (Western Michigan University) co-authored "Pedagogy For The Jazz Singer," which appeared in the June/July 2015 issue of the Choral Journal, the official monthly publication of the American Choral Directors Association. Among the topics covered in the article are Musical, Vocal, and Style Requirements Specific to Jazz Group Singing; Organization Structure and Signature Sounds of Jazz Singing Groups; How Spectrography Defines Behaviors of the Jazz Voice; Verifiable and Definable Pedagogical Tools as Confirmed through Scientific Research; Vocal Percussion and Vocal Bass; and the Future of Vocal Jazz Ensembles.

Justin's clinic proposal, "The Not-So-Standards: Discovering Non-Traditional Repertoire to Adapt for Vocal Jazz Soloists and Ensembles", was accepted for the 2016 JEN conference. This will be the fourth consecutive JEN Conference at which he has presented as either a clinician or as a solo performer.

Current doctoral student Aaron Hedenstrom is now a Keilwerth Saxophones artist:

http://www.julius-keilwerth.com/en/artistes/artiste/aaron-hedenstrom

The Tyler Mire Big Band has released its second CD, "Movin' Day". The album features 11 originals compositions with guest artists Jeff Coffin, Daniel Pardo, Don Aliquo, Thomas Eby and Nashville's finest jazz and studio musicians. Tyler completed his master's degree in Jazz Studies in 2012. Other UNT alumni on the recording include Andrew Golden (trumpet), Lindsey Miller (guitar), Jeff Coffin (saxophone), Thomas Eby (trumpet) and Kelsey Mire (woodwinds). You can purchase it at Tyler's site, CDBaby, and iTunes.

Alumni Matt Hornbeck and José Perez, who are working in Los Angeles, play acoustic guitar/mandolin and drumset, respectively, on the Angela Parrish song Different Tomorrow, which was heard on the soundtrack of the opening segment of the CBS show "The Briefcase" on June 10, 2015.

"I wouldn't be surviving out in Los Angeles," Matt said, "if not for the butt-kicking I got while in Denton."

source

Congratulations to Stuart Mack (above, second from left), current undergraduate Jazz Studies major, who won First Place in the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Improvisation Competition. Stuart was one of three finalists who performed on Friday May 29th in the competition, which was part of ITG Conference held in Columbus, Ohio. For first place he received $1500. The other two finalists were Adam Marchand from Ball State and Tristan Napoli, a recent graduate of SUNY Purchase. The competitors all performed the same repertoire: "Triste", "Scotch and Water", "Stormy Weather", and "Yes or No". The judges were Paul Tynan from St. Francis Xavier University, Tiger Akoshi from Berklee College of Music, and Michael Hackett from UNC Charlotte. This was Stuart's second time to be a finalist in this competition.

Jennifer Barnes has earned tenure and promotion to Associate Professor.

Rich DeRosa has earned promotion to Full Professor.

In April 2015, UNT jazz studies master's alumnus Edgar Dorantes conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa of the Universidad Veracruzana in a concert of his arrangements. Event website

Pianist, keyboardist, and organist Pat Coil will join the UNT Jazz Studies faculty as an associate professor starting in Fall 2015. His teaching assignment will include private lessons in jazz piano, coordinating the jazz small group program, and teaching improvisation.

Pat has been an adjunct faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University since 2006, has taught at the Nashville Jazz Workshop since 2004, and has taught at many other workshop. He attended UNT in the mid-1970s and was a member of the One O'Clock Lab Band.

His recent CD releases include Bird House and True North.

Pat brings to our faculty a deep foundation in straightahead jazz and an extraordinarily broad range of collaborations developed over many years of live and studio performances as a member of the Los Angeles and Nashville scenes.