![]() Souris grew up attending various College of Music performances with his father, but the One O’Clock ensemble shaped the way he viewed and played music. “A big part of it is how I can contribute in a way that is respectful to that history and that pain, in a way that uplifts and reaches out to people that genuinely do have a more historically personal pain to this music.” When I’m thinking about my part, my role,” Souris explained. “For me, there is a huge social part of this music. “If we’re gonna talk about what jazz is, then we need to address that jazz is a protest music from an oppressed people that found an outlet to express pain, but also rose above and beyond that pain to express joy and solidarity within their own communities.” I’m just the person answering it right now,” Souris said. I’m not the best person to answer to answer this question. The word alone suggests an array of meanings and concepts, but at its core, jazz is about and of the soul. As a medium, it is full and as a message, it is fulfilling. Like worn high tops and 90s hip-hop, it is timeless and, dare I say, cool. It is a homage to the past and an entryway to the future. It is the spiritual hymns of the marginalized, the praises of the freed. Jazz is the unification of players and their practice, the rhythmic translation of ideas and feelings. Both the genre and the culture embody a certain effortlessness that transcends fads and trends. The music is full of melodic inventiveness and harmonic density, however, its significance is more than just notes and tempos. Jazz is undeniably one of the most compelling art forms. And you just have to be able to nail it.” “It’ll just be one or two pages of music that I have about 30 seconds to look at. They usually take the name off of them, so I don’t have a reference.” One O’Clock Trombonist, DJ Rice said. “For the trombone audition, my professor will pull out three big band charts. Players are expected to play anonymous charts in a way that demonstrates their ability to interpret and stylize the music. That is difficult in its own way because now you have that audible context and you’re playing with real human beings, which is always nice, but at that point, the pressure is really on.” Souris said. “The people that are selected from the first stage to move on, play with one of the top three bands in the second stage. Once the members of the One O’Clock are selected from the general audition week, each drummer must then play alongside the top three bands to test compatibility and performance. There is nothing else happening audibly except these charts.”ĭrummers face the challenge of auditioning twice: first as individuals, then with the band as a whole. “The first stage is just you and the drum professors in a room with some drums and you have to read these charts with no play on’s, no band. “The drum audition is broken up into two stages.” One O’Clock drummer, Alex Souris said. Each instrumentalist experiences a bit of a different process, but the intensity is high for all of them. During this week, two for drummers, players are tested on their ability to improvise various styles and tempos. ![]() It’s a very elite group that is difficult to get in and stay in.”Įvery semester, music students go through the rigorous audition process. “The band has had dozens and dozens of very successful musicians come out of it. ![]() “It’s called the One O’Clock because we rehearse at one o’clock,” Baylock explained. Alan Baylock serves as the current director. The founding director, Gene Hall, led the initial ensemble in 1947, then Leon Breeden, Neil Slater, Steve Wiest, and Jay Saunders followed as directors after. The seven-time Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band is just evidence of the jazz program’s success. The music faculty and students contribute a degree of talent and tenacity that makes our program one of the best nationally and globally. In 1947, UNT started offering the nation’s first jazz degree program which gave way to greats like Norah Jones, Snarky Puppy, Jeff Coffin, Ari Hoenig, and Charlie Young. The identity of our university is like a tapestry and our jazz scene is one of its most vivid fabrics. He looks at the players and the One O’Clock Lab Band rehearsal begins. The tuning is not as pleasant as the sounds to come, but somehow it is still chilling and beautiful. At some point, about 12:54 pm, most if not all of the players are sitting in their chairs. There is a vibrant kinship amongst these musicians. They greet their fellow players, maybe crack a joke or two. They set up their instruments, review their sheets. On an autumn Tuesday, around 12:47 pm, a group of players begin prepping for rehearsal in Kenton Hall.
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