North Texas One O’Clock – Page 4

September 6, 2015

Collecting North Texas Lab Band Albums Since 1967

I have been collecting the annual recordings of the North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band since 1967, when the tradition began. In our museum, we have a display of all of them and is the only place I know of where they can be seen publicly.

Because they haven’t made the record album format in years, it is difficult now to find all of the original albums. I think it would be very hard to put together this collection if I had to start now. Sometimes you can find them on eBay, and sometimes certain years never seem to show up for sale. Even when you do find a particular year, it could be very expensive to buy.

I don’t know how long they will be making an annual recording, but I plan to keep adding to our collection each year. The display gets a little more impressive each year. Now you can just download the tunes, or you can buy the cd. I still buy the cd to display, but because many people may just be downloading now, the hard copy may be worth even more in the future than past recordings some day. I still think having a hard copy of music is the best way for the long term of a music collection, even if it costs more originally. It is something tangible to pass down, and also might appreciate in value.

September 5, 2015

“Clams Anyone?” from Lab’67 at NTSU

Bill Leon Breeden, Maynard Ferguson, North Texas One O'Clock 0

This is a song from the very first annual lab band record at North Texas, Lab’67. The band sight read an an original composition in the studio. Leon Breeden felt that music students were harmed by playing only a few pieces of music each year to take to contest. He thought this 48 years ago, and he was, and is in the minority of music educators to think this way. Considering he was in charge of the top stage band in the country, you would think more educators would have listened to him. One of the major reasons I made the One O’Clock Lab band my first semester up there was that I could read music well. It didn’t matter how many first divisions my high school band had been awarded. It was all about me, and my skills. I was prepared for college, and too many students aren’t, who come from very good band programs. Leon Breeden may have been right 48 years ago.

August 28, 2015

Dr. Gene Hall & Leon Breeden Interview at Intermission KERA TV 1976

Bill Gene Hall, Leon Breeden, North Texas One O'Clock, Rare recording 0

A rare interview with the founder of the Jazz Studies program at UNT in 1947, Dr. Gene Hall, and Leon Breeden who followed him in 1959. These were the first two directors of the program, which was the first in the country to offer jazz courses for credit. Dr. Hall mentions how the term “stage band” got started. You could not use the word “jazz” in those days in a college setting.

August 28, 2015

Big Band Medley KERA TV 1976 One O’Clock Lab Band

Bill Leon Breeden, North Texas One O'Clock, Rare recording 0

Leon Breeden always knew how to play tunes for the crowd, and since they were going to Russia the next month he chose this big band medley. This is the type of composition that Mr. Breeden would have us sight read on a concert without telling the crowd we were sight-reading. We weren’t sight reading on this performance, but we did it on other performances. He probably didn’t want to take any chances since we were on TV that night. The band hated playing these tunes because we all did it on dance gigs every weekend. However, it was great publicity for the band and we knew it was important to play these tunes.

August 28, 2015

Rachael Lebon sings “The Way We Were” with the North Texas Lab One O’Clock Lab Band

Bill Leon Breeden, North Texas One O'Clock, Singers 0

One things that always impressed me about this band as how well the woodwind players doubled on flute, clarinet, and sax. I know that the lead alto player, Roger Dismore, started out as a clarinet player in junior high school and learned saxophone later. That’s a good way to do it. Also, he started out in the Eight O’Clock Lab band his freshman year at school, and worked his way up to the One.

August 28, 2015

Rachel Lebon sings with the One O’Clock Lab Band–1976

Bill Louis Armstrong, North Texas One O'Clock, Rare recording 0

Rachel sings “A Day In The Life of A Fool”. We rehearsed a couple of hours that afternoon, and probably read through her charts once. She is now Dr. Lebon and teaches vocal jazz at the University of Miami.

August 28, 2015

One O’Clock Lab Band 1976 KERA TV Opening Number

Bill Leon Breeden, North Texas One O'Clock, Rare recording 0

This was our opening tune on May 15, 1975 at KERA TV in Dallas, TX. It is a Thad Jones composition called “61st & Rich It”. Flugelhorn solo is by Clay Jenkins who is now the jazz instructor at the Eastman School of Music. Jim Milne on piano, and Marc Johnson on bass.

August 27, 2015

“Threshold” One O’Clock in Ft. Worth Dec. 1975

Bill Leon Breeden, North Texas One O'Clock, Rare recording 0

This is probably my favorite piece we did while I was in the One O’Clock Lab Band. Pat Williams did the composition and is one of my favorite writers. Mike Davis is on the trumpet solo, and Pete Brewer is on flute and tenor sax solos. Marc Johnson is on bass and may be the best bassist ever in the One.

This was recorded at the North Side Coliseum in Ft. Worth in early December of 1975, on a Friday night. There were other groups on the concert, but I don’t remember who they were. The recording isn’t great because the sound man had us peaking out on the recording meters. He didn’t know we could play with so much power! I tried to adjust the levels a little bit myself here at home, but it’s still distorted at times.

The night was very special for me, although I was not impressed with where we had to play. My parents and Susan were there to hear me play on my only trip with the band back to my hometown. My dad used to take me to hear the One O’Clock play in Fort Worth when I was in junior high school. I remember meeting Leon Breeden after one of the concerts, and he told me that the sky was the limit when he heard I was a trumpet player. To be back in Fort Worth playing in that band with Leon Breeden conducting was a great feeling for me. I had come a long way from that junior high kid talking to Leon Breeden, and the odds of a kid from Ft. Worth making the nation’s best college jazz band were remote. Only about 5 of the members of the band were from Texas.

There is another reason I like this recording. Most of the lab band albums that have been issued annually since 1967 have been studio recordings. Most people never hear live recordings of the band, and live recordings are always more exciting. You can hear an energy in this band that you don’t hear in the studio. There is no substitute for playing in front of a live audience. The great players raise their game when the lights go on, and this band was full of great players.

Chuck Schmidt’s lead trumpet playing is amazing. This piece has the hardest lead trumpet lines I have ever heard. Most professionals could not play this piece as well, and Chuck was just a student. We all knew he would do well after he left school, and he played lead trumpet with Buddy Rich for over a year in 1977-78. Also, his power was incredible, and this live recording picks up on that.

By the way, we only played this piece a few times before that night. It came together more each time we played it, however. It could have been a train wreck for any other college band. You have to remind yourself that you are listening to school kids play this music. I’m glad the tape survived for almost 40 years.

August 26, 2015

“A Good Time Was Had By All” 1976 One O’Clock

Bill Leon Breeden, North Texas One O'Clock, Rare recording 0

This was our final number of the night. We had a two hour rehearsal in the afternoon, then a two hour concert ending with this tune with three encores. It was outside, hot, and it had been a long day. I don’t know how Chuck Schmidt, our lead trumpet, did all of this by that time. My lip was gone at that point, unless we had a break. Chuck was an amazing trumpet player, and we all knew he would make it in the music business. He played lead trumpet with Buddy Rich’s band for over a year, and Buddy always thought that was his best band during that time.

August 26, 2015

Rachel Lebon & The One O’Clock Lab Band 1976

Bill Leon Breeden, North Texas One O'Clock, Rare recording 0

This was our singer that year, who also went on the Russian trip the following month. She is now Dr. Lebon and teaches at the University of Miami in the jazz vocal department.

Category: North Texas One O’Clock