Northeast Campus' Jazz Lab Band

Jazz fans will hear big-band glory in full voice when Northeast Campus' Jazz Lab Band cranks up at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, in the NE theater. Flaming, smoldering passions will be at work. 

Those are the fires that meld successful musicians with their instruments and music, said NE Music Instructor Philippe Baugh, who has been developing the Jazz Studies Program since 2006. And that's a key concept that Baugh instills in nearly 40 students who aspire to pursue degrees in jazz performance. 

"A musician has to develop a true relationship with his/her instrument and music," Baugh said. "For myself personally, when I'm performing, directing or teaching music is when I feel completely engaged in life, everything else is just waiting." 

The jazz program involves work with "contemporary charts along with an array of standards by such artists as Stan Kenton and County Basie," Baugh said. It has earned recognition and built a regional and national reputation that's attracting invitations to appear at festivals around the country, including the noted Temple Jazz Festival in Waco. 

Previously a freelance jazz musician (his principal instrument is upright and electronic bass), Baugh is a TCC alum. He holds a bachelor's in music from Texas Wesleyan University and a master's from the University of North Texas. He is preparing for dissertation work at UT Dallas. 

Open to the public, the upcoming concert will showcase students' polish gained in a program aligned "with the jazz studies undergraduate improvisation cycle at the University of North Texas," Baugh said. "This (prepares) my students ... (for auditions) at practically any university with a jazz studies program." And to play, as the ballad croons, with heart and soul.

- By David House