Jazz festival celebrates 40 years

Jazz festival celebrates 40 years

By Eddie Glenn
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS (TAHLEQUAH, Okla.)
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — He may be in his late 70s, and he may have retired as a music educator a few years ago, but Lowell Lehman can still remember the first Green Country Jazz Festival as if it were yesterday.

"We did a whole concert with the NSU jazz band, and the reception was fantastic!" said Lehman, with his characteristic enthusiasm. "That's when I decided, 'OK, this should be a full-blown jazz festival.'"

That was in 1967, and under Lehman's direction, a "full-blown jazz festival" is exactly what it became, and what it still is. Over the past 40 years, the Green Country Jazz Festival has turned Northeastern State University into not only one of the best venues in the state for big-name jazz players but also a mecca for young, potentially big name music students.

"At times, we had as many as 40 high school jazz bands come in for the festival [for competition]," said Lehman.

"We actually got jazz programs started at a lot of these little high schools."

Lehman ran the festival for 12 years before handing it off to the late Joe Davis. Before becoming music educators, both Davis and Lehman had played with some of the most recognizable names in the music business, and often brought those artists to Tahlequah to help judge the festival's student competitions – and to play a few tunes while they were in town.

"We had Count Basie, Woody Herman, Doc Severinsen ...," Lehman began, before taking off on one of the many stories from his tuba- and bass-playing days (which, by the way, aren't over yet. He still picks up an occasional gig in Tulsa, his current home.)

"Doc was wonderful!" said Lehman. "I got to play with him over in Fayetteville, Ark. He needed a bass player that night, and we had a ball!"

Lehman also had a ball spreading his love for music all over the state through music education at both the high school and college levels.

"I enjoyed my teaching at Northeastern more than I ever thought I would," he said. "It was the highlight of my life, next to marrying the most beautiful girl in the world."

That girl would be Janelle, who – amazingly – married Lehman even after he played "I Love You Truly" on the tuba outside her house. By all accounts, her father wasn't quite as charmed as Janelle was.

Janelle is one of the several people Lehman credits with making the NSU Jazz Festival – and the music program in general – a success.

"There were times when she cooked for 40 or 50 band kids at one time," said Lehman. "The festival was never a one-man show, and [retired NSU theater professor] Jim Malone handled everything in the theater. He sold tickets, he was the usher, he did just about everything that needed to be done."

In 1979, Lehman handed the Green Country Jazz Festival reins to Davis, who kept the festival going until his death in 1995.

"There is a whole group of teachers and musicians who came through NSU who directly benefited from Joe's tutelage," said Brad Henderson, who studied under Davis and managed the NSU Jazz Lab for several years.

"Whether it was writing, or arranging, or playing, we definitely benefited from those situations that Joe thrust us into – whether we wanted to be thrust into them or not."

In 1996, NSU hired Will Campbell to run the jazz studies program. At a relatively young age, Campbell had already toured with jazz pianist/vocalist Harry Connick Jr., but he knew he had some pretty big shoes to fill when he began his music education career at Northeastern.

"I still encounter people, on a regular basis, who speak very favorably about Joe," said Campbell, who is now the director of jazz studies at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. "These are internationally known artists and educators, and they still talk about Joe. It was a huge loss for the whole state when he passed."

Because of Davis' illness, he wasn't able to put as much energy into the festival as he once had, and one of the challenges Campbell faced was, to put it musically, "jazzing up" the event.

"It had dwindled in attendance the last few years due to Joe's health," said Campbell. "We had five bands my first year. But it grew to a point where we had to use two sites, with bands playing all day at both sites."

Campbell also added a few new elements to the event, including musical jams featuring NSU jazz students playing with the artists who came to perform and judge at the festival.

"I used to tell the students all the time, 'This sort of thing doesn't happen everywhere,'" said Campbell.

"I think a lot of them were under the impression that it was a common thing, but it's a rare opportunity for students to perform with artists of that caliber."

In 2004, Campbell moved on to UNC-Charlotte, and Arthur White took over as director of jazz studies. He's continuing the tradition of having well-known musicians – like this year's guest artist, trombonist Robin Eubanks – perform with members of the NSU Jazz Ensemble.

"When Will first came here, in less than a month he not only got the festival organized, but also got [saxophonist, clarinetist] Phil Woods to come down and play," said White.

"When Joe Davis died, I think a lot of people thought jazz at NSU – and the entire state, actually – would die too, but Will worked incredibly hard to make sure that didn't happen. Will's an incredibly organized cat, a hell of a nice guy, and an overall great man. We're definitely enjoying the benefits of what he did."

In addition to the student/guest artist performances, White also added a few elements of his own, like the "Judges' Jam."

This year's jam will feature Eubanks, who's an established musician and composer in his on right, as well as the brother of NBC Tonight Show music director Kevin Eubanks; White on the saxophone; bassist Steve Haines, director of the jazz ensemble at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro; drummer Thomas Taylor, who teaches at several North Carolina universities; saxophonist/flutist Paul Scea, director of jazz studies at West Virginia University; and trumpeter Andrew Cheetham, director of Jazz Studies at OSU.

"That's one of the real high points of the festival," NSU music Professor Don Studebaker said of the Judges' Jam.

"That's where the big dogs get together, and they're all pros. What they do all day is sit at a table and write stuff down, so the judges' jam is a great opportunity to see why those guys are qualified to be judges."

Another new festival event this year is the jazz combo competition.

"I think that's going to be where some of our fiercest competition is going to be," said White. "I'm hoping, in the next couple of years, we can also have a vocal jazz competition as well."

As for Lehman, he's glad to see the festival he started in 1967 is still growing, and still bringing in some of the top jazz artists in the country. But he's most proud of the musicians who've come out of the NSU jazz program and gone on to become great musicians and educators themselves.

"I've got kids all over the place, playing music, teaching music," he said, adding that the music directors of both the University of Tulsa and the University of Arkansas are both two of those "kids," who've gone on to make their livings making music.

"It's a great school, and people have finally figured that out. I've always loved it!"



Catch the show: The Green Country Jazz Festival Judges' Jam will be held Sunday, March 4, at 8 p.m. in the NSU Jazz Lab. Tickets are $5. During the day of the festival – Monday, March 5 – junior high and high school jazz bands will perform for judges at the NSU Center for Performing Arts and the NSU University Center. Trombonist Robin Eubanks will perform Monday evening with the NSU Jazz Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are $12 general admission, and $6 for students or groups of 10 or more.