The Texas Tech Jazz Band is creating a buzz not only through the mouthpieces of their instruments, but also throughout the Lubbock music scene by bringing a largely unknown musical genre to the Hub City.
"It does kind of feel like I'm not in Lubbock when I'm doing this for a couple of hours," said Alex Blue, a junior music education major from Arlington. "Maybe that's why I like it so much."
Blue plays bass trombone for the 17-piece Tech jazz band. The band's solid gig at Rocky La Rue's on Broadway brings a hip excitement to Lubbock, he said.
"I like the atmosphere we get in here when it's packed, and it's just really noisy and people get into the music," Blue said.
Much of the out-of-city experience the band and its audience encounter during the group's weekly 10 p.m. to midnight shows could be contributed to the group's new director, Brad Leali.
Leali hails from New York City and was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for a solo performance with the famous Count Basie Orchestra. He also worked as Harry Connick, Jr.'s musical director for five years.
Colt Compton, a sophomore music performance major from Lubbock, plays lead alto saxophone in the Tech Jazz Band. He said he appreciates getting to learn from Leali's musical expertise and outside perspective.
"He's a new director, and he's really done a lot of the jazz scene around Lubbock," Compton said. "I think he's one of the best sax players in the world."
Already into his first semester at Tech, Leali said he loves his new position in the music department. He said he chose to come to Lubbock to give something back to music, specifically jazz.
"I felt that this was a community that didn't have access to the things that people on the east coast have access to," he said.
In addition to bringing a jazz mood to Lubbock and teaching jazz students about self expression through music and musical performance, the concerts the Tech Jazz Band puts on also educate Lubbock residents, Leali said.
Audience members who come to Rocky La Rue's to see the Tech Jazz Band perform get lessons in jazz songs and also in etiquette associated with performances different from rock or reggae concerts, Leali said.
For example, it is not uncommon for spectators to clap in the middle of a jazz song after a soloist has demonstrated his skill on a particular instrument, Leali said.
"Rocky La Rue's is a place where people aren't familiar - this is new to them," he said. "I like it because it's an atmosphere where people can have fun."
Also not uncommon is a featured vocalist who sings along with the jazz band, Leali said. Sometimes, one of the band's trumpet players will lend his voice, also.
Chassity Call, a freshman music education major from Allen, plays saxophone at Tech and is a fan of jazz music. She frequents Rocky La Rue's because she's been a jazz fan since she was little.
"It's live jazz, it's free and it's pretty good," she said. "We're here 'till they kick us out or it's all over, whatever comes first."
Call said the Tech Jazz Band puts on a fun, unique show that features big band and classical pieces as well as some well-known songs from artists such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
"It's a great experience for people who haven't heard jazz or know jazz - it's a real culture shock," she said. "There's African rhythms, American beats, R&B - everything under the sun is mixed into one thing - and that's jazz."
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