Swingin’ Christmas with Houston Jazz Orchestra

SASS is a Houston supergroup of female vocalists who have each, for decades, sung here and around the world. Although individually known for their signature styles (Becky is a rockin’ blues mama, Gigi is a pop diva, and Sharon’s a swingin’ jazz gal) their love of vocal harmony brought them together in this wildly fun collaboration. Their signature shows feature only tunes originally done by men – and only songs they REALLY love, which guarantees a high energy good time! See and hear them on their Facebook page: SASS Sings.

Grammy-nominated composer Richard DeRosa is currently the director of jazz composition and arranging at the University of North Texas (UNT) and the artistic director for American Jazz Venues (AJV). Since 2012, he has conducted and arranged for the prestigious WDR Big Band in Cologne, Germany, and served as the band’s chief conductor, 2014-2016. Since 2001, he has arranged and conducted projects for Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Throughout his career, Rich’s compositions and arrangements have encompassed a vast variety of writing styles, which have been heard on stages and in venues around the world, on television and in film, on and off Broadway, in videos, audio books, and numerous CD recordings. Neil, his original work for big band garnered a 2015 Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition and is featured on Lab 2015 recorded by the UNT One O’Clock Lab Band. In addition to his commissioned work writing and conducting and teaching at University of North Texas, he is a publishing author and remains active as an adjudicator, clinician, and guest lecturer.

Jim McLaughlin has been a professional trombone player for more than 50 years. He has a bachelor of music degree in jazz from the University of North Texas and an MBA in business management from the University of Dallas. Following graduation from North Texas, he performed with numerous house orchestras in Las Vegas until relocating to Houston in 1982, where he continued to play with various local big bands and the Houston Symphony POPS.

In addition to being a professional musician, Jim worked for more than 40 years in commercial real estate development and consulting to Fortune 500 corporations and is now retired from corporate life.

The Houston Jazz Orchestra (HJO) was started and organized as a Texas non-profit corporation in 1989. It has been in continuous existence during the past 35 years, with occasional periods of inactivity. In October 2016, the HJO qualified for exemption as a 501(c)(3) organization.

The HJO vision is to be accessible to students who are studying and learning to play jazz music by filling the void left by the demise of the legacy professional touring orchestras. In the decades of the 1970s and 80s, many professional big band orchestras regularly tour and performed. The orchestras of leaders Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, and Maynard Ferguson had touring schedules with heavy emphasis on performing at colleges and high schools, in addition to the traditional venues of clubs, theaters, and jazz festivals. These performances fostered the burgeoning jazz education movement by targeting young audiences with performances and masterclasses in high schools and colleges. Moreover, these orchestras recruited talented musicians form colleges with jazz programs most notably University of North Texas, Berklee College of Music, Eastman School of Music, and University of Miami.

With the deaths of Kenton, Herman, and Rich in the 1980s and the subsequent death of Ferguson in 2006, few professional jazz orchestras performed publicly, although jazz education is now more prolific than ever in school systems and colleges. There are few opportunities for students to hear, see, and interact with a professional orchestra performing the music they study in school. By performing regularly at a public venue and scheduling clinics through our educational outreach program at area schools, the HJO fills this void.

Houston’s top professional jazz musicians make up the 17-piece orchestra. The HJO performed monthly at the House of Blues form 2015 through 2023. Starting in 2024, the HJO performs monthly in The Woodlands at the Dosey Doe Big Barn.