JazzWeek Notes Success of UTEP Professor’s Album

Last Updated on October 15, 2020 at 12:00 PM

Originally published October 15, 2020

By UC Staff

UTEP Communications

The Big Bad Bones, a music group that includes UTEP Department of Music Chair and Professor Steve Wilson, DMA, debuted its latest album, “Emergency Vehicle Blues,” at No. 32 in JazzWeek’s Jazz album chart for the week of Sept. 28, 2020.

Steve Wilson, DMA, professor and chair of The University of Texas at El Paso’s Department of Music, helped conceive and produce the album, “Emergency Vehicle Blues,” which debuted at No. 32 in JazzWeek’s Jazz album chart for the week of Sept. 28, 2020.

Wilson, bass trombonist with The Big Bad Bones, helped conceive and produce the project that was recorded in June 2019 in Omaha, Nebraska. The group consists of four trombones and a rhythm section.

“This CD was incredibly fun to record and is a blast to listen to,” said Wilson, who joined The Big Bad Bones more than 10 years ago. “My favorite aspect of being a professional musician is getting to play with my friends.”

Internationally recognized musician Scott Whitfield is the lead trombonist and featured soloist on the 10-track CD, which highlights the group’s comfort and mastery in the genres of funk, swing, samba, boogie and light rock. The compilation’s title was an attempt at humor by group member and composer Brett Stamps, whose title track incorporates the sounds of emergency vehicle horns and sirens into an upbeat blues chart.