A high school for young artists, musicians, dancers, actors? THIS CONCEPT, unique to Dallas, and with the exception of a few other schools, in the U.S., IS the Arts Magnet High School.
This particular high school refines the concept to an even greater degree through the pioneering of Curt Bradshaw's unique program of jazz performance and pragmatic approach to the teaching of jazz improvisation and arranging.
This album is the extension of the jazz arranging class experience, in that each arrangement is the original work of a student and is the culmination of the year's study. As such, this album exists primarily for the arrangers, but they, the arrangers wish to dedicate this second album to those who support the AMHS Music program and to appreciators of jazz everywhere. Accept is as their "gift to share."
The band put the show together with three weeks rehearsal, with singers coming in the last week. It was just under the wire for the May 14, 15, 16 performances and the recording sessions a week later, so "pardon the bloopers, folks".
From the vibrant upbeat opening of Archie Endly's "It's Just One Of Those Things" with stops for the eloquent "Angel Eyes" of Gary Wooten, and the quietly beautiful "A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square" a guitar solo arranged and performed by Mark Turner, to the gusty "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", arranged by Tyrone Smith, on through to the spectacular ending, "Call Me Irresponsible", arranged by Pam Arthur, a "Big Spender" and Wooten's "Angel Eyes" these charts are works of first year arrangers.
Special appreciation and thanks to Catherine Warner for an extra verse to go with "Manhattan"; to Lisa Wildman for flute assistance on "Angel Eyes"; to Crystal Clear Sound for the use of the Hammond Organ on "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"; to Don Thomas and the Charles Tubbs Family for photography and to Mary d'Etienne for providing food during rehearsals.

Jazz and Wind Ensembles Notes of Interest

The lab band opened the AMHS concert series with Dance and All That Jazz (a combined production of the music and dance clusters) and closed the series with Jazz By Special Arrangement.
A very special event was a performance by the lab band at Texas Women's University in Denton. Featured was "Reparata" an original composition by Curt Bradshaw, choreographed by Lily Weiss of the AMHS dance faculty.
Another first venture was a performance by the combined Eastfield College and AMHS Lab Band under the direction of Curt Bradshaw and Pete Lengyel. The proceeds from the concert were used for Eastfield's tour trip of the Bahamas.
The Symphonic Wind Ensemble under the direction of Syd Goodwin presented several concerts, one of which was a Christmas Concert at the Hyatt Regency premiering "Song for Midnight Sun" by Syd Goodwin.