NWF Jazzers Make Some Noise

By Chris Manson
April 16, 2009 Issue

It’s Tuesday afternoon in the music wing of the Mattie Kelly Arts Center at Northwest Florida State College, and the Jazz Ensemble is rehearsing pieces for their free April 28 concert to take place on the main stage at 7:30 p.m.

“A little jazz fusion, a little jazz pop, then the big band comes in,” says Fred Domulot, co-director with Tom Latenser. “It’s like two concerts in one. Plus singers, so it’s not just instrumentals.”

Latenser adds, “We’ll have our jazz-rock workshop students there. They play music that I would call ‘contemporary’—not from the past five years, but not from the ‘30s. We’ll play things that are rhythmically challenging, pieces involving aspects of rock and jazz.”

The jazz ensemble is made up of 19 or so musicians. There are electric guitar and bass players, a drummer, trumpets, trombones and saxophones, plus celebrated pianist Sean Dietrich. Soon the group is working its way through “Gig for a Ghost,” a Richard Maltby tune, the intro of which sounds like “Hit the Road Jack” to me.

Domulot and Latenser make up two-thirds of the Guffman Trio, along with Domulot’s wife, vocalist Cynthia. They have performed all over the area—mostly at festivals—but recently took a brief hiatus following the birth of the Domulots’ daughter, Sofie. “I’m ‘Mr. Mom’ on Mondays and Fridays, and I have her listening to Kind of Blue,” says Domulot. “She’s always matching pitches with her mom.”

Fifteen-year-old J. Roe strums some chords as the various brass players tune up. The white board has a few chord progressions on it, some of which—“Thriller,” “Last Kiss”—well, I don’t suspect those are part of the ensemble’s repertoire.

The young musicians haven’t quite come down from their first high profile, well-received public gig, the jazz festival in Pensacola’s Seville Quarter last fortnight. “We pulled out all the whistles and had a couple dance instructors doing the mambo at the end,” says Domulot. “It couldn’t have been better, and it didn’t rain on us. Charlie DeChant, the tenor saxophonist from Hall and Oates’ band, sat in with the ensemble.”

DeChant—nicknamed “Mr. Casual” and recognizable from his solo on Hall and Oates’ “Maneater”—had played with Domulot in some projects around Orlando. “I invited him out, and he just walked into the park with his horn,” says Domulot.

“If you don’t treat everything as music, you miss a lot of opportunities,” says Latenser, who has performed with Big Daddy O, Blue Lew and Nora, the Red Bar Jazz Band, and the Northwest Florida Symphony. “They all have value, and if you’re not looking for it, you’re not wearing the right attitude to be a well-rounded musician.”

Latenser also teaches music at Shalimar Elementary School. “I have 500 students, and that falls into my feelings about being well-rounded. I get a chance to touch and influence these kids, some of whom will be jazz musicians when they grow up. If I can have a part in that, it’s extremely well worth it.” When does he sleep? “From 12 to 5:30, but not on gig nights!”

In addition to the free concert this month, the ensemble will perform at Valparaiso’s Jazz in the Park April 25. They will host a free all-county middle and high school jazz band festival in the NWF Amphitheatre May 8 and have cleared their October calendar for a Panama City Beach jazz festival appearance.

This is the first year Domulot and Latenser—drum and bass instructors at the college, respectively—have been involved with the student ensemble. “Eventually, we’d like to have an audition process, but right now anybody is invited to come out and play,” says Domulot. The current group—the core of them are returning from last semester, notably the rhythm section and three of the trumpet players—has added more trombones, and what Domulot describes as two “outstanding” vocalists. “We’re trying to make some noise at the college, and I think we’re on the right track.

“There’s always a wish list every semester. We get our rosters, but we don’t know who plays what. Sometimes you may end up with five guitar players, which may not work for a big band. But we got lucky this semester. Trumpeter Tom Malone brought a lot of players in.” The band meets twice a week for a couple hours—Domulot says the rehearsals are better attended “close to crunch time.” “They’re starting to get into the habit of sending a ‘sub’ if they can’t make it to rehearsal, but I always tell them, ‘Don’t send a sub that’s better than you, or you may not be back!’”

The NWF Jazz Ensemble has been around for almost three decades and was most recently under the direction of Beachcomber Music Award winner Cheryl Jones. Now, Domulot and Latenser are trying to build the band into something even more special, and they say the college is behind them 100 percent.

“What’s cool about this band is, sometimes you feel there’s kind of a demeanor about this school where nothing great is going to get done,” says Latenser. “But since Fred and I got involved, we pulled off a good concert, found more people and rehearsed hard. That’s why I’m happy for these kids. They just had an experience that paid off that will never leave them. Being an old guy, I know that good experiences like that will last a lifetime.”

Befriend these talented musicians at www.myspace.com/northwestfloridajazz, and have a look at the Northwest Florida Jazz Ensemble rehearsing “Zodiac Girls” at www.youtube.com/user/beachcomberdestin.

FRIENDS OF THE BEAT
One listen to Doc Roc’s “Will Call After Dark” mix, and you’ll know why this turntable giant was voted Best Club DJ in last year’s Beachcomber Music Awards (not to mention numerous other honors). Infectious, danceable and seamless, you can download it free at www.myspace.com/djdocroc. See the man--the artist--in person at Panama City Beach’s Club La Vela April 25 at 9 p.m.

(Top)

More Musician Profiles