Dallas Jazz Orchestra

Co-founder Galen Jeter played trumpet in the University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band and in the Woody Herman Orchestra. Forming the Dallas Jazz Orchestra, they held rehearsals at the SMU band hall, As the band gained momentum, many accomplished musicians joined DJO, Leon Breeden, Director of Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas College of Music, who had taught Jeter as a student, served on the governing board of DJO. Over three decades, Galen Jeter also encouraged hundreds of talented young musicians from UNT and other schools to join the DJO or play alongside them. == Performances and recordings ==

Dallas Jazz Orchestra held its first concert at Joe Miller's club in 1974. Its second album, Tuesday the 15th, was also recorded at Maxine Kent's in 1976. From 1978 through most of the 1980s, the Dallas Jazz Orchestra played every Sunday night at Popsicle Toes, a club owned by Wayne Morgan, who became more involved with the group and served as chairman. In 1982, Popsicle Toes's listing in the Texas Monthly said that the DJO "rallies the fans of Kenton, Herman, and Ferguson, many of whose alumni staff the band." The Dallas Jazz Orchestra was invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1985 and 1989. before becoming regulars at the Village Country Club for many years. In 1998, the Dallas Jazz Orchestra released its twelfth album, Scrapbook: The First 25 Years. Its 1990 album, Thank You, Leon, was a tribute to Leon Breeden, with a title track commissioned by Abilene, Texas, radio personality Cone Johnson, also known as "Dr. Jazz", a major supporter of the DJO who attended nearly all of their performances. == Organization ==

As a nonprofit organization, the band struggled at times to stay afloat. Band members would typically take home $10 each after a weekly performance, and then put any remainder of earnings from the $5-per-person door charge toward a travel fund. Otherwise, the DJO relied on donor contributions and sales of CDs and t-shirts. To finance the group's trip to Switzerland in 1989, Galen Jeter took out a loan for $23,000; for the trip to Spain, he helped to raise $50,000. In the early 2000s, Galen Jeter left the DJO to form the Dallas' Original Jazz Orchestra, taking most band members with him. The Dallas Jazz Orchestra continues to perform concerts as a separate entity. == Discography ==

Dallas Jazz Orchestra: • Hey Man! (1975) • Tuesday the 15th (1976) • North Garland Jazz Live (1980) • Super Chicken (1980) • Morning Glory (1982) • ''Fat Mamma's Revenge'' (1984) • Live at Montreaux (1985) • Romeo and Juliet (1988) • Thank You, Leon (1990) • Turning Twenty (1992) • Dallas Jazz Orchestra Plays Dee Barton (1994), featuring Don Menza • Scrapbook (1996) Galen Jeter and Dallas' Original Jazz Orchestra: • The Big 3-0 (2004) • ''Messin' with Texas'' (2006) • ''Where There's Smoke'' (2009), featuring Drenda Barnett Dallas Jazz Orchestra directed by Curtis Bradshaw: • The Dallas Jazz Orchestra Presents Victor Cager (2006) == Notes ==