Jazz Fest at Kemah

The University of Houston-Downtown held a wonderful alumni event this weekend at the Kemah Boardwalk during the 2009 Kemah Jazz Fest. We had alumni, supporters, faculty, staff, and friends of UHD, along with a few of the jazz musicians who preformed this weekend. I made a lot of new friends and was impressed by the many people who work with the Jazz Fest. I even got to present the 2009 Jazz Performer of the Year Award.

The Kemah Jazz Fest couldn't be held last year because of the aftermath of the hurricane, which damaged quite a bit of the boardwalk. You can still see the damage in other areas near the boardwalk. But, the Boardwalk and the Jazz Fest are back in their full glory.

The Kemah Boardwalk is great place. The event was held at the Kemah Inn owned by one of the UH System newest Regents, Tilman Ferttita, founder of Landry's, and owner of several restaurants in Houston. There are restaurants, a hotel and, of course, lots of rides for the kids. You can watch the sailboats, take a ride from the dock, kick-back and have a soda, or maybe a margarita or a beer, eat great food, and watch some of the best musicians in the country.

All of it is organized by one of the UHD faculty, Robert Wilson, in cooperation with the Houston Professional Musicians Association. Robert teaches English and jazz courses at UHD. He is also an award-winning musician. In fact, in the near future he will be honored in Austin as one of the Texas legends of music (Past award winners include Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughn.) That's pretty amazing company. It says something about Robert and about UHD.

But Robert Wilson is not just a performer or educator, he also organizes two very successful jazz groups affiliated with UHD. Both performed on Sunday. The first group is the Young Sounds of Houston Jazz Orchestra made up of middle school and high school performers, most of the them Black and Latino, but it includes kids from all backgrounds and from all over Houston. They practice at Jeff Davis High School. Several of them became interested in jazz as a result of the Jazz Camps held each summer by Robert Wilson. Some started studying music as a result of their exposure to jazz. Most go on to college because of their participation in the Orchestra.

The quality of the music of the Young Sounds of Houston Jazz Orchestra is amazing. Their performances are tight, well-orchestrated, sophisticated and mature, with great solos. I could easily see these kids performing on a television show, like the Tonight Show. They are that good.

Late Sunday afternoon, the UHD Civic Jazz Orchestra performed with vocalist Julie Wilson, Robert's wife. She's an amazing performer who became interested in jazz as a result of studying Jazz at UHD in Robert's classes. Julie sang Frenesi in Spanish, an arrangement by Quincy Jones.

The UHD Civic Jazz Orchestra brings together adults (many of them professionals from throughout Houston) with high school and college students mixed in. Equally exciting is that the band members are joined by renowned musicians from all over the country who come each year to Kemah for one reason--because UHD educator, Robert Wilson, asked them. They get to play with him, other musicians, and with the young people--and they contribute to the jazz scene in Houston.

Great going Robert, thank you for all you do for UHD. Congratulations on your upcoming award!