UCO JAZZ LAB - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Jazz Studies
- Head of the Jazz Studies Division for the University of Central Oklahoma School of Music
serves as Head of the Jazz Studies Division for the University of Central Oklahoma School of Music. Gorrell, a former pianist for the Lawrence Welk Orchestra, also manages operation of the Jazz Lab Recording Studio, serves as Graduate Advisor for the Master of Music in Jazz and teaches a number of performance and recording technology-related courses. Mr. Gorrell completed a bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of Central Oklahoma and received a master's of music degree in Saxophone Performance from Oklahoma City University. Equally proficient on both saxophone and keyboards, Gorrell has produced many album projects including In Some Other World (1995),Soulmates (1999), In The Swing of Christmas (2001), and The Jazz Company Live @ the UCO Jazz Lab (2008 release). In addition to the Welk Orchestra, Brian has performed on saxophone and/or keyboards with such notables as The Manhattan Transfer, Louie Bellson, Phil Woods, Bill Trujillo, Jay Migliori, Jay Daversa, Clark Terry, The Lennon Sisters, Ralna English, Patti Page, Slide Hampton, Kay Starr, Steve Allen, Jim Nabors, Ty England, Diane Schuur, Christopher Cross, The Temptations, The Drifters, and many others.
began his rich history with Central in 2001, serving as a graduate assistant for the College of Arts, Media and Design, now known as the College of Fine Arts and Design. By 2002, in addition to working as support staff for A+ Schools, Clint started work as ticket office manager for the brand new UCO Jazz Lab. The following year, the college recognized a need for a Jazz History course as part of the degree requirements for the college's minor and graduate jazz studies programs and Clint was selected as the first Jazz History professor at Central. In the same year, Clint began his service under director Lee Rucker as manager of the UCO Jazz Lab. He has been director of the facility since 2012. Throughout his stay at Central, Clint has worn many hats as he has evolved from student to faculty and staff. As well as his position in the Central community, he also serves the greater Oklahoma community as a performer, sharing the stage with Phil Woods, Jay Daversa, Byron Stripling, and The Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra.
Job Titles:
- Professor Emeritus
- UCO Jazz Program Founder
Dr. Kent Kidwell, a member of the music faculty at UCO since 1969, recently completed a one year appointment as the Interim Director for the School of Music. His teaching duties over the years have included director of university bands, music education, conducting, music theory, arranging, and he also served as the chairman of the music department for eight years. Since 1974, "Doc" (as his students call him) has helped the UCO jazz program grow to three 20-piece big bands, several jazz combos, a traditional "Dixieland" jazz band, and several applied courses in jazz theory, arranging, and improvisation. The UCO jazz groups have won numerous national and international honors. The UCO Dixieland bands have been national finalists five times, and were twice named "National Champion Collegiate Dixieland Band". The UCO big bands have participated in jazz festivals and competitions nationwide, including those at Notre Dame, Disneyworld, Wichita, and IAJE conventions in St. Louis, Atlanta, and Columbus. The UCO jazz bands have also participated in European concert tours on four different occasions over the years. Prior to UCO, Dr. Kidwell taught for five years in the public school system of Oklahoma. His professional playing experience includes three years as second trombonist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and he has been principal trombonist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra for twenty years. His performance background dates back to his teen years when he played in his father's dance band and led his own jazz groups in college. He continues to perform nationally as a symphonic, jazz, commercial, and solo trombonist. Dr. Kidwell is in constant demand as a clinician and adjudicator nationwide.
Dr. Michael Geib, double bassist, composer, and pedagogue, joined the faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma School of Music in 2010. He has also taught at Florida State University, Oklahoma Christian University, Edmond North High School, and the Quartz Mountain Music Festival. He is committed to teaching bassists to be versed in all types of music, with his doctoral treatise focusing on teaching improvisation to orchestral double bass players. His principal teachers have included Melanie Punter, Rodney Jordan, Ian Bracchitta, and Delbert Felix.
As a symphonic musician, Dr. Geib has performed in professional orchestras in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Currently he is the principal bassist of the Enid Symphony Orchestra and Edmond Chamber Orchestra, as well as a member of the Norman Philharmonic, the Painted Sky Opera Orchestra, and the Colorado Mahlerfest Orchestra. He has performed on multiple recordings for the Naxos Label, including Ellen Taafe Zwilich: Millennium Fantasy, Images, Peanuts Gallery in 2009, where he was principal bassist and a featured soloist. He has performed in festivals internationally, including the Ringling International Arts Festival in Sarasota, Florida and the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has also been featured on a number of radio broadcasts, including Performance Today on American Public Media and Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know? on National Public Radio.
As a jazz musician, Dr. Geib has performed with Benny Golson, Dave Douglas, Kenny Garrett, Jerry Tachoir, John Fedchock, Marcus Roberts, Jason Marsalis, Marcus Printup, Walt Weiskopf, Martin Bejerano, and Paul McKee, among others. He has frequently performed at The Jazz Corner on Hilton Head Island, recognized by Downbeat Magazine as one of the "150 Great Jazz Venues of the World." He has performed at several national festivals including Jazz in June Inc., Chamber Music Amarillo, and the Jazz Education Network Conference. Internationally, he has performed in such clubs as The Music Village in Brussels, Belgium. Currently he performs with the 5th Street Jazz Collective, the Claire Piersol Band, the Edmond Jazz Orchestra, and various other groups in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. He is also an active jazz composer, having written original music for productions and festivals in Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
An active theatre orchestra musician, Dr. Geib has performed in the musicals Assassins, Kiss Me Kate, Anything Goes, Spring Awakening, Beauty and the Beast, South Pacific, The Last Five Years, Little Shop of Horrors, and Big River, among others. He has performed in multiple premieres, including Mann... and Wife in 2016, Bernice Bobs Her Hair in 2015, and Broadway Tonight's Flipside: The Patti Page Story in 2011. He also performs regularly for the Lyric Theater of Oklahoma.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the University of Central Oklahoma
Dr. Ryan Sharp is currently Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the University of Central Oklahoma, Principal Trumpet with the Edmond Chamber Orchestra and Soprano Cornetist of the Fountain City Brass Band, Kansas City, KS. Ryan enjoys an active performing schedule including recent performances with the Kansas City Symphony, Mahlerfest Symphony Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, Bobby Watson and the 18th Vine Big Band, the Temptations, Clark Terry, as well as numerous regional orchestras, big bands and salsa bands. In addition to live performances, Ryan has recorded with many gospel artists such as Natalie Grant, Clint Brown, Myron Butler & Levi and Marcus Cole. In 2005, Ryan had the opportunity to record on Marvin Sapp's Grammy nominated album Be Exalted. From January 2003 to July 2005 Ryan was the lead trumpeter of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus performing across the United States and Mexico for over 15 million people. He has performed in concerts, festivals and masterclasses in Greece, Canada, Mexico, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Holland and Japan.
Garrett Jacobson is currently the faculty jazz piano instructor at the University of Central Oklahoma. Known as a dynamic blues guitarist/vocalist and jazz pianist/organist, Garrett Jacobson has been captivating audiences for since 1996. The depth and expressive delivery of the blues began tugging at Jacobson's musical sensibilities when he was eight years old. While taking classical piano lessons as a child, he began learning to play the blues on piano by listening to records from Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Charles Brown, and others. It was at an elementary school summer arts workshop that Jacobson met Oklahoma blues legend, D.C. Minner, who became a musical mentor to him during his early formative years. Although he started as a pianist, Garrett was captivated by the electric guitar when at age ten he saw B.B. King perform in Oklahoma City. Jacobson's professional debut at age twelve with Minner's band at the Dusk ‘til Dawn Blues Festival in Rentiesville, OK came just two years after he acquired his first guitar. Having a large stature at a young age, Minner gave him the nickname "Big G".
After performing at numerous festivals and schools across the state with Minner over the next two years, Garrett formed his own blues band in 1998, recorded his first album, and began performing at clubs and blues festivals throughout Oklahoma and the surrounding region. The Garrett "Big G" Jacobson Band has performed at notable venues across the country such as Buddy Guy's Legends, The Chicago Blues Festival, The Grand Emporium, and B.B. King's Blues Club. Jacobson has also performed with blues greats Jimmy Johnson, Carl Weathersby, and Smokey Wilson. Having released six records to date, his recordings have received critical praise in national and regional publications such as Living Blues, Blues Revue, Blues Blast, and Southwest Blues.
On his latest jazz recording, Without Notice, Jacobson's piano, organ, and arranging skills are on display with a memorable set of original material.
His interest in jazz developed as a teen while playing piano with the University of Central Oklahoma's jazz ensembles during his high school years. While attending college at the same university, where he later graduated with a Master's degree in music, Jacobson became hooked on the Hammond B-3 organ's unique sound and began learning jazz organ. This eventually led to a deeper interest in the piano, composition, and arranging, and Garrett began playing jazz dates on both piano and organ while simultaneously maintaining a busy schedule as a blues guitarist.
With more than two decades of experience as a blues and jazz performer, Jacobson became involved in music education in 2018 as a piano instructor. In addition to teaching the mechanics of the music, he emphasizes the importance of critical listening, playing with feeling, and harnessing one's creativity to develop their own musical voice.
Job Titles:
- President of Hideaway Pizza
Job Titles:
- Instructor With the University of Central Oklahoma 's School of Music
- Jazz Lab Assistant Director
Jeff Kidwell is an instructor with the University of Central Oklahoma's School of Music in Edmond. His duties include Applied Trombone, Jazz Ensemble, Assistant Director of Jazz Studies, and Assistant Director of Jazz Lab Operations. From 1998 to 2006 Kidwell served as Assistant Director of Bands with the Edmond Public Schools; here his duties included Marching Band, Symphonic Bands, and Jazz Ensembles at the high school and middle school levels. Prior to coming to Edmond Mr. Kidwell taught in the Norman Public Schools, The University of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma City University. He is a highly sought after musician/clinician who has performed with the likes of The Temptations, The Four Tops, Pete Fountain, The Supremes, Branford Marsalis, Randy Brecker, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Toby Keith, Wayne Newton, Vince Gill, and Amy Grant among many others. He also performs for "Lyric Theater," "The Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra" and "The Civilized Tribe" Dixieland band. Jeff has been a musician for Norwegian Cruise Lines and played for National tours of Broadway musicals such as "Wicked", "Peter Pan", "Spam-A-Lot", "The Will Rogers Follies", and "The Color Purple". He is a top call studio musician and functions as trombonist and arranger for one of the Southwest's top party and show bands, "Souled Out". Mr. Kidwell has been a featured clinician and educator throughout the Southwest including the New Mexico State Jazz Ensemble contest, the OBA-OKJE All State Jazz Ensembles, and the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute Honor Jazz Ensemble. Jeff lives in Edmond, Oklahoma with his wife Susan and their three daughters, Madeline, Gracie, and Emma Jane.
Lee Rucker has been teaching at UCO since 1981. Mr. Rucker has served since that time as the director of the UCO Jazz Lab, Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Ensembles I, II, & III, Music Theatre Pit Orchestras, and many smaller jazz groups. His ensembles have been recognized with numerous awards on the state, regional and national levels for musical excellence. As a performer, Lee has worked with the Woody Herman Orchestra and the Louis Bellson Orchestra as a featured soloist, and he has performed with countless other nationally recognized artists throughout the U.S. and Abroad.
When developer Mark Neighbors donated land at South Litler and Fifth Street to the university through the UCO Foundation, UCO President Roger Webb's dream to build a jazz lab and an evening performance venue began to unfold.
Job Titles:
- Instructor of Jazz Composition
Zac Lee is the instructor of Jazz Composition, Jazz Arranging and Music Technology. A student of Dr. Kent Kidwell and Prof. Lee Rucker, he holds a Bachelors in Music Performance and a Masters in Jazz Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma. Over the course of his career he has performed in Europe and South America, the Caribbean and all over the American coasts. In 2009 he was invited to participate in the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music where he had the privilege of studying and performing with some of today's most creative voices in modern American music such as Dave Douglas, Josh Redman and Tony Malaby. In his collaborations with UCO's Broadway Tonight he has scored the music for Kay Starr, A Life in Song and Flipside: The Patti Page Story, a score for which he received a Kennedy Center Commendation during the American College Theater Festival. His compositions and arrangements have been featured in performances with Dr. Kenny Garrett, Delfeayo Marsalis, Tony Monaco and Jeremy Thomas, and he has recently been seen performing with The Count Basie Orchestra, Donny McCaslin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and numerous luminaries on the Oklahoma City jazz scene.