Jacob Hodgin fell in love with me at a STU Jazz concert in our first year.
It was late November and we arrived at the auditorium late. We waited outside of the doors until we heard applause then made our way inside.
The audience became silent as the band started playing a familiar tune—Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” I love the song so I began to lip sync along, making sure that my date didn’t hear me sing.
During my humming, Jacob turned around to look at me. He said he instantly became mesmerized by my glistening eyes and the smile on my face, and thought to himself “Damn it, I really love this girl.”
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St. Thomas University is celebrating its centenary this year – 100 years of educated young minds.
To celebrate, STU director of communications Jeffrey Carleton said the university has been working on projects designed to show onlookers what STU is all about.
On April 7, another project will debut as STU Jazz releases “Fast Forward.”
“I’ve been at St. Thomas for five years now and you discover these wonderful things that happen at STU that make you so proud to work here,” Carleton said. “Whether it’s a faculty book launch, whether it’s the men’s or women’s basketball teams, whether it’s the great guest lecturers, and STU Jazz fits in that.”
STU Jazz – a 21-member jazz and swing band – have been playing the classics for 14 years under the direction of Don Bosse.
The idea to launch a CD came when Carleton and Bosse spoke with each other about doing a project for the centenary.
“Fast Forward” will be the second album for the Jazz ensemble. Recorded in the Kinsella Auditorium, it’s made up of songs from the group’s repertoire over the last two years.
“They recorded the tracks and they did the vocals and solos separately,” Carlton said. “So they did that in November and mastered it in December and now we are just finishing the production touches. It’s a real STU effort.”
The creation of Fast Forward might have been easier to make then STU Jazz’s earlier CD “Wednesday Woodshed,” but Bosse said it did come with its own challenges.
“The biggest challenge, first of all, was to find a room big enough for all those instruments and accommodate the sound,” he said.
They decided that the Kinsella Auditorium was best for the production. To host the production in a studio would have cost the group a few thousand dollars.
However, getting everything in place was challenging. The production required 24 microphones, audio and recording equipment, audio mixers and music stands, among other things.
“It was an unconventional set-up for them but it worked quite well,” Bosse said. “The CD’s at least three times better. The first one was experimental.”
Political Science professor by day, drummer by night, Tom Bateman has been playing the drums for STU Jazz since 2003.
“One of the first things that I did when I arrived and got settled into St. Thomas was to inquire about the music scene and if there was a chance to play drums or if anyone needed a drummer,” Bateman said.
After bumping into a lady in the education department and asking her about STU’s music scene, she told him to get in contact with Bosse. When Bosse told him that they were looking for a drummer, he suggested Bateman come down to the next practice.
Bateman said he didn’t know what to expect.
“I knew how to read music but hadn’t read music in a really long time,” he said. “When I practiced that first night with the band I noticed that they used charts and tight music. It wasn’t like sitting around and jamming or doing any 12-bar blues or anything like that.”
The second thing Bateman noticed was how out of practice he was. He hadn’t played in a while and when he noticed everyone else sight-reading the music that had been passed out, he knew he had a lot of work to do.
“Everybody there was pretty gracious and so forth. Encouraging.”
Because STU Jazz doesn’t perform competitively, a standing ovation and loud applause are the best awards. However, Bosse hopes to nominate “Fast Forward” for an East Coast Music Award, to show his appreciation for the hard work and dedication the musicians have shown throughout the years.
It’s not just about STU Jazz for Bosse, though – it’s about the music. In addition to STU Jazz, Bosse also works with middle and high school students to raise money for music programs and create relationships with incoming talent to prepare them to play after high school.
“It’s like a mentorship to help “weak” players,” he said. “We pair them up with stronger players in the band and they can learn off of one another.”
The CD launch was planned for Apr. 7 in hopes more students will want to come and unwind before heading to the library to cram for exams.
“We are one of the fewest universities in Atlantic Canada that supports a jazz ensemble and they do it for the love of music and it’s just a great fit for St. Thomas University,” Carleton said. “Their concerts are absolutely fantastic!”
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As STU Jazz played their final song, Jacob and I were sitting closer in our chairs. Not only did we share the same feeling between each other, but both of us fell in love with the band.
The music was loud and on point. The singers were extraordinary. I wanted to get out of my seat and waltz in the aisles of Kinsella.
