Second Jazz CD for Professors of Pleasure
The Professors of Pleasure, led by saxophonist and Tulane instructor John Doheny, recently released the group's second CD, Volume Two, to good reviews. The mainstay personnel of the group are all music instructors at Tulane, as indicated by the playful moniker, including Doheny, pianist Jesse McBride, drummer Geoff Clapp, guitarist John Dobry and bassist Jim Markway.
The Professors of Pleasure celebrate their newest CD. They are, from left, Jesse McBride, Geoff Clapp, John Dobry, Allen Dejan, Jim Markway, John Doheny and Andrew Baham. (Photo from John Doheny)
Special guests fill in the lineup of musicians.
“Jazz education is more than just classroom work and rehearsals,” says Doheny. “By maintaining careers as active professional musicians as well as educators, we act as a conduit to the professional world for our students and a connection to the larger jazz universe for the university.”
Green Wave fans will love the Dixieland-style rendition of the “Tulane Fight Song.” But modern jazz is the prevailing theme of Volume Two, which features some jazz standards and original compositions by band members as well as by the New Orleans composer, musician and educator Harold Battiste, whose music was recently celebrated at a Tulane concert.
“This CD marks the beginning of a commitment on our part to showcase as many 'modern' New Orleans jazz compositions as possible,” says Doheny. “The history of jazz in New Orleans does not begin and end with the 'traditional' form of the music.”The Professors of Pleasure will celebrate the CD release with two performances at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro on Frenchmen Street in New Orleans on Sunday (Jan. 23) at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The CD also can be purchased online from the Louisiana Music Factory.
Doheny says that the group looks forward to future recordings, potentially with newly hired instructors Delfeayo Marsalis (trombone) and Edward Anderson (trumpet).
