UNA Studio Jazz Bands Shares the Love Once Again
Feb. 4, 2015
By Carole Maynard, UNA Department of Music & Theatre
The UNA Studio Jazz Band will once again bring “love and all that jazz” to the Shoals with their annual Big Band Bash on Thursday, February 12.
Audiences will enjoy much-loved jazz standards and Broadway favorites. They will also have a chance to win Valentine’s Day-inspired giveaways, such as a dozen roses and restaurant gift certificates. But this year’s Bash promises to be bigger and better than ever.
“For the first time in the Shoals, we’ll have three big bands taking the stage,” said Dr. Lloyd Jones, director of bands at UNA.
Joining the UNA Studio Jazz Band on the program will be the Shoals Area Big Band, founded by Dr. Lyman Mitchell in 1979, and the Swingin’ River Big Band, founded by Mr. James Ed Champion in 2008.
The Shoals Area Big Band has played for numerous events throughout the Shoals during its 34-year existence. Three members of the original 1979 band—Dr. Jimmy Simpson, Mr. Edsel Holden, and Dr. Edd Jones—continue to perform with the group. Before he passed away in 2009, Mitchell asked Dr. Lloyd Jones to take over fronting the band.
“It’s such an honor to be fronting the Shoals Area Big Band. I grew up listening to all these great musicians,” said Jones. “Dr. Mitchell’s Big Band was a place where young, aspiring musicians could sit-in and learn during a rehearsal and sometimes get a chance to perform on a concert.”
Jones remembers the first time he received that chance.
“Buddy Ingram, Dr. Mitchell’s great lead tenor saxophonist, began feeling ill during an intermission. He called me over and asked if I had my ax [horn] with me. I replied that I did and he told me to go get it and perform on the second half of the show. After that, I became a sub whenever someone couldn’t make it. Eventually, I became a regular.”
James Ed Champion, a retired music educator who taught for more than 40 years in the Shoals, felt the area had enough talented musicians to form a second swing band. Since 2008, the band has performed at the Handy Music Festival and numerous other civic events in the Shoals.
“It’s a real treat for me to lead this group of wonderful musicians,” said Champion. “There is so much great talent and music in the Shoals area. We are honored to be included as special guests and hope the audience will enjoy our brand of swing.”
The UNA Studio Jazz Band, reinstituted by Jones in 2002, is a very popular performing ensemble at UNA. His father, Dr. Edd Jones, formed the original concept in 1965 at Elmore County High School. The ensemble became very popular through the 1970s as jazz education impacted music education across the country.
The concept of studio jazz band (also referred to as the studio lab band) is to experiment with additional tonal colors by augmenting the instrumentation of the traditional jazz band to include flutes, clarinets, French horns, a tuba and an additional percussionist. In doing so, the educational value of the studio jazz band transcends that of the traditional jazz band by allowing more students to learn in specialized areas.
The Big Band Bash will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Norton Auditorium on the UNA campus. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. All military personnel and children 10 and under are admitted free. All proceeds benefit UNA band scholarships.
For more information contact the UNA Department of Music and Theatre at (256)765-5122 or visit una.edu/music-theatre.